Burned

by orphan_account

Summary:

Ranboo Beloved deals with the consequences of the fire that once took his mother's life every day. His vocal chords are fatally damaged and burns decorate his skin.

When the Beloved family moves, Ranboo is instantly intrigued by Tubbo Underscore. Will he conquer his fears and face the blue eyed boy, or will he stay in the shadow, where it's safe?

After all, he is still burned.

(Completed <3)

Notes:

Ranboo's dad just has a random name. He's mainly there for the angst.

Chapter 1: I

Fire.

That smell.

That awful smell.

The smell of burned wood, melted furniture, ashes.

And the screams.

The screams of pain of his mother.

The desperate shouts of his father.

The cries of his baby brother.

The heat.

"Ranboo! Wake up, we need to go to school!"

Like they did every day, Ranboo's eyes moved underneath their lashes, yet they didn't open. His chest was heaving, desperately trying to even his breathing. Charlie would barge in any second now to attempt him to get him out of bed and he didn't want the fourteen-year-old to worry. In the few seconds he had left, he watched the flames dim behind his eyes, the horrid smell leaving his nostrils.

Like he expected, the door opened gently. The footsteps suggested that it was indeed his little brother that walked in, due to the small amounts of time between the steps. Despite his normally somber mood, a small smile crept up his face when he felt a weight on the left side of his bed. He was faced towards the wall, which would make sure that his brother thought he was asleep.

"Ranboo. Ranboo. You need to wake up. I don't want to be late for my first school day." Charlie shook his shoulder gently. Ranboo pretended to wake up and opened his eyes, only to want to sigh. It was just the same, white wall as he woke up to every day that reminded him that his life was real. He turned around to look at his brother and nodded.

"Dad made us food already. He asked me to get you," Charlie continued, now knowing that he was awake. He was rewarded with another nod, which was all he was gonna get.

Ranboo swung his legs over the edge of the bed and flinched immediately as his eyes made contact with his right leg. The shattered skin could be compared to a rough, wild sea, only was it not able to ease away like the calm after the storm. No, Ranboo's body was a constant reminder of his past. Therefore, his hate for himself had reached a limit. At least, he hoped so.

It wasn't just his right leg that carried severe burn marks. The flames had damaged almost a quarter of his body, burns covering the right side of his stomach and chest up to his shoulder and neck. With just enough care he could cover it all up and pretend it never happened.

But it did.

In the bathroom, he splashed water on his face before dabbing it with a towel. His reflection showed him- in Charlie's words- unique green and red eyes and freckles splattered across his cheeks and nose. His lips were pressed together as his stare went to his burns. He knew his leather jacket would cover up his neck perfectly, but he couldn't help to feel anxiety making its way through all of his body.

Once the people at school found out about h is condition, Ranboo started to get bullied. He was laughed at, mocked at, but he never told his father. Three weeks earlier, bullies had screamed that there was a fire in the middle of the room. Ranboo had a massive panic attack and was sent to the nurse's office. Mark Beloved had immediately pulled both his sons out of school and even went as far as moving. Ranboo couldn't help but feel quilty for causing all that, but his father kept saying it was nothing. The expensive bills told them another story, but Ranboo wasn't supposed to know about those in the first place.

"God, finally. I still need to brush my teeth and we have to leave. Dad packed us lunch and made you some breakfast to go," Charlie rambled. Ranboo was still standing in the door frame of the bathroom, slightly dumbfounded as his brother walked past him and grabbed his toothbrush. Then he just shook his head and left to get dressed.

His clothing style contained lots of plaid and jeans without holes. Because of the collar, it was simple to hide his burns and it was simply comfortable. Because he never took his jacket off, it might seem unnecessary, but he liked the security of extra coverage. It was better than a scarf. He ruffled his hands through his hair once before grabbing his bag and walking downstairs.

"Good morning, son," Mark Beloved spoke, he was reading the newspaper while leaning against the kitchen counter. He signed a 'morning' back. Ranboo msiled lightly when his father folded the paper, walked towards him and kissed him on his forehead. "Now you can take the car. Be careful."

Ranboo nodded quickly, his face lighting up when his dad spoke of the car. Mark chuckled at his eagerness and pat his shoulder before putting a bag in Ranboo's backpack.

"-and if anyone bothers you because of your voice or your scars, text me." Again Ranboo nodded, rolling his eyes at the man's concern. Charlie came running into the kitchen with his backpack already on his back. He threw Ranboo's jacket at him before grabbing his right hand and pulling him towards the door. Ranboo could just catch the keys that his father threw at him and watch the amused smile that played on his lips before the front door slammed shut behind him.

"Come on, Ranboo!" Ranboo watched as his little brother started walking. He didn't know how to catch his attention so he just stood there until Charlie realized that he wasn't going anywhere. When the smaller boy did, he twirled they keys around his pointer finger. "Oh my god, Ranboo! Do you know how much attention we'll get! We'll totally be cool-"

Ranboo stopped listening to his brother's rambling and started the car, closing his eyes when hearing the satisfying purr of the engine.

The car rides- or basically all conversations- between the brothers were very one-sided. This was, of course, since Ranboo couldn't speak. Because of the amount of smoke he had breathed in while searching for his parents, his vocal chords had been damaged to an extent where he could possibly never speak again. After all, his vocal chords had grown while being injured. His father and brother knew sign language. Of course, they didn't need to use the non-verbal language, but it was one of the two ways for him to communicate.

"Ranboo. We're here. You coming?" Ranboo nodded, breaking eye contact with whatever he was staring at. He didn't know why his brother was so excited about this new school. He himself felt so anxious he might as well have fainted. He followed Charlie's exciting run at a normal pace, scanning the school ground.

The high school was enormous, white walls carrying grey letters with the school's name on it. There was this typical field of grass and trees where friends met. A few guys were playing soccer, passing the ball to one another. Ranboo only noticed their game when the ball came rushing his way. He stopped the ball when it reached his feet, looking up for any demand to give it back. Much to his surprise, there was no disrespectful scream to kick the ball back, but one of the boys ran towards him.

"Hi, thanks for stopping the ball. I swear, round objects just have to tease us by showing they can continue rolling." The boy who spoke was around Ranboo's age. His hair was a pretty dark brown, which contrasted against his immense blue eyes. Ranboo ducked and grabbed the ball, trying not to smile at the guy.

"Thanks again. So, are you new here?" Ranboo nodded. His behavior seemed to confuse the soccer player, which didn't really surprise him that much. "Cool. Well, I'm Tubbo. See you around then-"

Ranboo knew he was waiting for him to say his name, but he couldn't. He just smiled awkwardly.

"Ranboo!" Charlie dragged out from behind him and grabbed his hand, pulling him towards the gates of the school. Ranboo shot the soccer-playing teen an apologetic look, but Tubbo just shook his head with a smile on his face before running off again. Ranboo focussed on Charlie again, following the smaller boy who was walking way too fast for his length. Charlie had probably already found out where they should be to get their schedule because they found some sort of help desk and Charlie stood on his tiptoes to see the woman.

"So, this must be your brother, Ranboo Beloved?" The woman behind the desk asked. Her badge suggested that her name was Dana. Charlie nodded frantically. "Well, welcome to our school. Just so you know, if you show the teachers the note your father wrote, they will fully understand."

'He wrote a note?' Ranboo signed towards Charlie with a raised eyebrow. The boy scratched the back of his neck. He absolutely hated watching the teachers go from confused to pitiful and he had specifically told his dad not to write it down but to notify the teachers beforehand.

"Yes, he did. I know how much you hate it but he didn't have enough credit to call and the school was closed when he wanted to come by. Please don't be mad at him," Charlie pleaded. Ranboo let out a sigh but nodded. There was nothing he could do but stay quiet. Dana, who had been watching the brothers, looked at them sumpathetically before grabbing three pieces of paper and sliding them over the desk.

"Here's your schedule, boys. Good luck." Ranboo nodded kindly before grabbing them. Once of them was a handwritten letter by his father and the other two held both their schedules on them. Charlie thanked her as well. At that moment, a loud bell rang above their heads.

"Hey miss D. Johnson said you needed me." Ranboo turned around quickly, only to see a lanky boy with mid lenght mullet like black hair mostly hidden under a blue hoodie and a smirk on his face. The mexican accent wasn't hard to miss. Ranboo stood there awkwardly as the boy not so subtly checked both him and Charlie out.

"Ah, you're just in time, Quackity. Could you please show Ranboo and Charlie here the way to their classrooms?" Dana said. The boy's- apparently named Quackity- uncomfortable stare left the Beloveds.

"And why the hell would I do that? Of course, that would mean I'd be late and it would break my heart to get even more detention," Quackity replied dramatically. Ranboo decided that he already didn't like this guy's attitude. He was obviously mocking the employee and it was also clear that he wasn't exactly a good student either.

"I'll extract three weeks detention if you do this," Dana spoke. Three weeks?! Ranboo made eye contact with Charlie, who looked at him with the same shocked expression on his face.

"Why didn't you say so! Let's go pendejo's." The Beloved brothers shared one more confused look before following the weird boy through the school. Ranboo was the first one to go seperate ways since his Biology class was close by. He waved at his little brother, who gave him a desperate look in return before he walked in.

Surprisingly, the room wasn't filled with students yet. It didn't help the discomfort because people still stared at him as if it was a miracle to have someone new in your class. The teacher, a middle-aged woman, looked up from her desk and smiled politely at him.

"Ah, you must be Ranboo Beloved. I'm misses Milligan, your new biology teacher. You can sit next to Purpled." A sort of small, American boy waved at him. Ranboo gave him a nervous smile in return before turning back to the teacher again. She hadn't really given him the chance to speak, so he uncomfortably handed her the letter. The teacher looked confused but read it either way.

As he expected, she started reading curiously, before her hand covered her mouth. She looked sad and pitiful. Ranboo waited until she had finished before grabbing the letter and quickly walking off. He waved at Purpled once he sat down, who waved back. He was still confused why the classroom was still half full, but his question was answered when, what seemed to be the jocks, ran in the moment the bell rang. Ranboo recognized the boy he had been speaking to earlier, although he had forgotten his name. Their eyes met for a second before Ranboo looked down awkwardly.

"Now, now, boys. Sit down. There you go. Yes, Fundy, that's your seat," Misses Milligan ordered as if they were small children. Ranboo couldn't help but smile a little at the htought that they were acting like children so it wasn't really that surprising. "Now, before we start. We have a new student in our class, Ranboo Beloved." Ranboo waved one time to let them know he was there, before fixing his gaze on the table once again. He was waiting for the explanation he knew would come.

"Ranboo's vocal chords are heavily damaged, which means he can't speak. Please don't tease him about it and be nice." Ranboo burried his head in his hands as she spoke. The way she said it, the word target was literally sprawled across his forehead. The woman continued talking about today's topic, which didn't ease Ranboo's concerns and awkwardness.

"Hey, it's Ranboo right?" The american boy, Purpled, whispered in his direction. Ranboo nodded carefully. "I'm sorry about your voice. It's all up to you, but this school isn't that bad. You just have to know who you can talk to. Or- well, you know- communicate."

Ranboo nodded in appreciation, the corners of his mouth quirking up in a small smile as he corrected himself.

"So, how do you communicate?" The boy whispered. Ranboo grabbed a pen and twirled it between his fingers before pointing at his free hand. "Wait, does that mean you write words on your hands or that you know sign language?" Ranboo put up two fingers in reply. Purpled blushed lightly, much to Ranboo's amusement. "Right. I knew that."

Ranboo msiled lightly with his mouth closed like he always did, while looking out of the window on the other side of the room. That's when he noticed someone looking at him. He turned his eyes to the left, where he was met with that same stare of the brown haired boy. Ranboo smiled awkwardly before looking away. What was up with that jack? He could still feel his stare on him, but when he looked up again, the boy was looking down at his books. Purpled raised an eyebrow.

"Who are you looking at?"

Ranboo used his notebook to write down a sentence before he skillfully handed it to kevin.

'The jock in our row by the window with the brown hair. Who is he?'

Much to his surprise, instead of replying by talking, the boy wrote something back. Ranboo watched slightly impatiently how the boy wrote his reply slowly.

'That's Tubbo Underscore. Be careful, Ranboo. He's dangerous.'

Ranboo furrowed his eyebrows as an uncomfortable feeling crept up inside him. Dangerous? The boy couldn't be older than him. How could he be dangerous? He couldn't ask Purpled why because the bell soon rang and it was too crowded to talk privately. It did manage to spike Ranboo's curiosity.

It was later at lunch when he saw Purpled again. Before he even had the chance to distance himself from all these people, the short boy had grabbed him by the arm and dragged him towards a crowded lunch table. Ranboo felt uncomfortable as three pairs of curious eyes look his way.

"Ranboo, this is Niki, Punz and Eret. Guys, this is Ranboo Beloved. He's new," Purpled introduced. Ranboo looked from the pinkheaded girl to the brown haired one and ended at the boyt with messy blonde hair. Ranboo respected his choice andn odded his head before pointing at how own hair and putting up a thumb.

"You like it?" Ranboo nodded as he sat down in front of him.

"Oh my god. You're the mute guy everyone keeps talking about. I'm sorry, that came out incredibly harsh. Nice to meet you, Ranboo," The pinkhead- Niki- Rambled. Ranboo rewarded her a closed-mouthed smile and nodded.

"Ranboo!" Ranboo looked around after he heard Charlie's familiar voice close by. He turned around and waved at his little brother weaved himself trough the mass of people.

'How is your day going so far?' He signed. He watched Charlie's eyes lower as he used sign language and meet his eyes again when he was finished.

"It's great! Ranboo, this school doesn't seem all that bad. I made some people that could be great friends and the teachers are great," Charlie rambled. Ranboo looked at his little brother fondly and ruffled his hair. Charlie yelped and tried to escape to restrain his hair from being messed up. "Don't do that! Anyways, are those your friends?"

Ranboo shrugged. Purpled was a classmate and he had only met Niki, Eret and Punz two minutes ago. Of course, the definition of friends was different for both the brothers. Charlie shook his head playfully.

"Right. I gotta go to class. See you later!" Charlie said before running off again. Ranboo shook his head in an amused manner, though he was concerned due to his brother being late for class. It happened a lot that Charlie got detention because he was too busy making sure Ranboo was OK to go to class. That had been how their father had found out baout the abuse and got them transferred.

"Was that your brother?" Eret asked once he sat back down. Ranboo nodded at them. They pursed their lips, but Ranboo noticed that it wasn't in a judging kind of way. "Cool."

In the meantime, Ranboo had grabbed his lunch, only realizing that moment that he hadn't eaten all day. His stomach started to rumble at the thought. He unpacked whatever his dad had made him and gave an aproving nod when he saw it was PB&J. This whole time, the table had been relatively silent and Ranboo liked that.

"So, Ranboo. Why did you move to this dump of a school?" Niki asked. Ranboo watched her awkwardly for a few seconds, chewing on his bread. Realizing her mistake, she grabbed a notebook out of her bag, a pen following. Ranboo smiled in appreciation and wrote his reply quickly.

'Got bullied.'

Niki read the words, before frowning. "You got bullied? Why?" Ranboo simply shook his head, which apparently was too less of an explanation. "No? But you wrote it down?" Ranboo was about to grab the notebook again, but Purpled replied before he could.

"He obviously doesn't want to talk about it, Niki," Purpled explained. Ranboo mouthed 'thank you' towards him. Surprisingly, Purpled seemed to understand him just fine, and replied with a 'no problem'.

"Oh, sorry," Niki said, an embarrassed blush covering her face. Ranboo shrugged. He didn't judge her for misjudging him. She didn't know him after all.

"So what's your schedule?" Punz asked the mute boy. Ranboo grabbed it from his backpack and showed it to them. As he expected, gasps filled the table soon enough. For a second, Ranboo regretted accepting Purpled's offer of sitting with them.

"How on earth did you manage to skip PE?" Eret asked. Ranboo didn't look up but grabbed the notebook again.

'Personal reasons' He wrote down. This time, there was no question about it. Thankfully, they left it alone and continued eating. Ranboo looked around the cafeteria, curious how so many people were in so little groups. Obviouslt, the jocks and cheerleaders sat beside each other and there were some emo kids. Ranboo wondered where he belonged now.

As his eyes trailed from face to face, he was surprised to see someone already staring at him. Somehow, he couldn't draw his eyes away from those extraordinary blue ones that belonged to Tubbo Underscore. The jock cocked his head as his mouth quirked up in a smirk. Ranboo just blinked in surprise.

"What are you staring at?" Niki asked, turning around to see the source of his stare. Ranboo broke eye contact and watched Niki look around the room frantically. Ranboo noticed how Tubbo had looked away as well, and shook his head in amusement as Niki failed. He shook his head once she turned around again. "Does that mean, 'nothing'?" Ranboo nodded.

"Underscore is interested in him," Purpled said, glaring at the jock table for a second. Ranboo watched as Niki groaned and Eret frowned. Punz looked completely blank. He grabbed the notebook again.

'What does that mean? He seemed nice this morning. What's wrong with him?'

Ranboo wanted to ask more questions but decided not to because he didn't want to come off too eager. Purpled sighed.

"Rumours go that he abused his last girlfriend and an ex-boyfriend of his went missing the day after insulting him. He turned out to be dead. Like I said, that boy is dangerous," Purpled explained. Ranboo made a weird face, searching for some kind of joke. Unfortunately, luck wasn't on his side. Oh, who was he kidding? Luck didn't exist in the life of Ranboo Beloved.

"You could've said that a little bit moresubtly," Eret said awkwardly. The group of people was sitting there, silently, and Ranboo didn't want to know what floated around their heads. He looked up at the spot where he had met those dangerous blue eyes not even a minute ago, only to see them gone.

Chapter 2: II

Summary:

Tw: Break down

"Ranboo, get in the car."

Mark Beloved's voice felt like an explosion to Ranboo's eardrums. He turned around, angrily facing his father with a disgusted look on his face.

'A hospital visit, Ok. But you can't force me to go to a shrink as well! I'm not worth that money, dad. We need food, no chick-flick moments.' Ranboo angrily signed towards his father, who watched his movements carefully. The older man sighed, scratching the back of his neck.

"Ranboo. Don't worry about money. All that matters is that you're alright and not in pain," Mark replied, laying his hand on his son's shoulder. Ranboo shrugged it off and walked away from him-again.

'Liar.' Mark's face- who had been marked with desperation before- now shifted to anger.

"Get in the damn car," he said, now through gritted teeth. Ranboo clenched his jaw and walked towards the passenger seat, where he- not so carefully- sat down. He felt his father's stare on him, but he was too annoyed to look back.

His father had, without the consent of his son, signed him up for therapy to help understand what he was going through. He had tried this method before, but Ranboo had always made sure that the therapists soon became sick of him and claimed him unhelpable. He didn't want to talk about his nightmares, about his self-hatred or himself for that matter. Not to Charlie, not to hos father and definitely not to some therapist.

He knew his father was short on money, he had seen the piling envelopes and knew that they couldn't afford him having a checkup, let alone medical treatment for his vocal chords. He knew better than that. His priorities meant Charlie going to college and living well. It was having food on their dinner table every night, not medicine for an unfixable cause.

He watched how they entered a new environment with houses looking way too expensive and luxurious. Ranboo rolled his eyes. Of course, they just had to go to a place that screamed 'waste of money'. The change of scenery had gotten him out of his trance. Only then, he noticed that his father was talking.

"-but I truly believe that this will help. Doctor Puffy knows her way around sign language and is known to be the best therapist here in Manburg. Please, give it a chance, Ranboo." Ranboo watched his father incredulously, shaking his head to let him know he dismissed his words and didn't give in to his pleas.

They stopped in front of a huge, white house, the word mansion more fit as a description. Ranboo eyes the place suspiciously, reading the sign 'Puffy Enterprises'. Right. Of course, it was an enterprise. Ranboo hesitated before stepping out of the car and walking after his father.

At first, he had managed to convince Mark that he could go towards sessions alone. Of course, he never went and just hung out in the neighborhood unitl the said session was supposed to be over. Unfortunately, they had called his father to notify him of his absence, so he always made sure that his son actually entered the room.

Much to Ranboo's disappointment, that was.

Mark had his hand wrapped around Ranboo's arm tightly as they walked since the boy struggled against his hold. It must've looked suspicious, but Ranboo really didn't want to go. They sat down on a fancy, white couch, which made Ranboo seld-conscious about moving at all. He tried to sit as still as possible as he sat next to his in grease covered father.

"Ranboo Beloved," a female voice spoke. Ranboo looked up to see a girl in her twenties, with bright purple hair, standing on the top of the spotless stairs. He stubbornly stayed put, until his father sighed and pulled him up, again with that little too tight grip. The woman raised her eyebrows at the scene.

"Make sure he enters that room," Mark said, pushing an angry Ranboo towards her, resulting in him stumbling on the stairs and having to block his fall with his hands. He glared at his father, before slowly walking up the stairs himself. The woma smiled awkwardly and nodded. Mark walked towards the waiting room again, and Ranboo couldn't help but dig his nails into his palms.

In contrary to what others thought, Mark Beloved was actually a caring father. He was so caring that arguments like these were bound to happen. Like Ranboo mentioned earlier, their priorities were elsewhere. When angry, his father could get slightly dangerous. That didn't mean that Ranboo gave in quickly, as he was just as stubborn.

"I'm Minx, Puffy's secretary. It will mostly be me to pick you up, although you might her youngest son drop by once in a while. He's your age actually. Well, good luck, Ranboo." Ranboo faked a smile in her direction before walking through the door she had opened.

In contrary to the white, clean house he had stepped out of just moments ago, this room was quite the opposite. Ranboo wouldn't say it as messy, but it was definitely less awkward and spotless. It made Ranboo feel more at ease, but not enough to change his mind. In a comfy looking chair, he noticed a figure, seeming relaxed as their eyes met.

The woman - well - everything yet nothing like Ranboo expected. She had the age to be a mother to children his age, her blue eyes boring trough Ranboo's skull - if that was possible. The woman stood up, turning out to be shoulder length to Ranboo.

"You must be Ranboo Beloved. I'm Doctor Puffy, but in this room, you can call me just Puffy." Ranboo nodded since there was nothing else he could and wanted to do. The woman had stretched out his hand for Ranboo to shake, but Ranboo ignored it and walked to what he supposed to be his chair. The woman followed him without any disappointment and sat opposite of him. Ranboo noticed the notebook and pen laying on the table in front of him, eying it suspiciously before looking up at the therapist.

"So, Ranboo. How was your first day of school? You can write it down if you like," Puffy gestured towards the notebook. Ranboo grabbed it hesitantly, before starting to write. Instead of a one-word answer, he kept on writing with big letters, until almost a whole page was covered. Then, he exaggerated the dot in the end and handed the notebook over to the therapist.

"So, here's how we're gonna do this," Puffy began reading, and Ranboo couldn't help but blush at his failed attempt to sound threatening. "My dad isn't thinking straight. We've barely got enough food to get trough the week, for God's sake. So, you're gonna say I'm untreatable- which I am - and that I'm fine, so I can at least make sure that Charlie gets food and education. Deal?"

The therapist chuckled.

"Ranboo, I actually talked to your dad on the phone. I do this voluntarily. You see, I got rich by writing books, this is just a profession on the side." Ranboo pursed his lips, not knowing wether to be mad or embarrassed. That would've been a handy fact to know.

"So, tell me about your brother. Charlie, right?" Ranboo nodded quickly. No motter how much he wanted to rant- well, write - about his little brother, he kept staring at the page blankly. He knew that it was a strategy to get him to talk, to show that he indeed wasn't alright, but he couldn't give up that easily. Puffy stared at him calmly, and slowly he grabbed the pencil.

'What do you want to know?' He wrote down before handing it over to the therapist.

"How your relationship is, how you feel about him. That kind of stuff." Ranboo nodded, not moving his hands an inch. "-and although you're trying to hide it, I can see that you love him and that you're proud of him. It's not a shame to talk about your feelings, Ranboo. It can be quite refreshing, actually."

Ranboo snorted sarcastically, which didn't work well for his vocal chords and resulting in a painful coughing fit. Puffy waited patiently until he stopped. He subconsciously signed that he was sorry, totally forgotten that the woman could read sign language.

"Don't apologize. Take your time." Ranboo provided him a thankful look, clearing his throat once again. A minute later, he grabbed his pen and started writing about Charlie.

/-\

"I'll see you next week then," Puffy said with a smile. Ranboo nodded, giving him a close-mouthed smile as well. They shook hands before Ranboo waved one last time and turned towards the stairs. His father hadn't seemed to have moved but stood up as soon as Ranboo got in sight.

"How did it go?" The man asked hopefully. Ranboo shrugged, before making his way towards the front door. Mark didn't have to push him this time since he liked to get out of here. Just as he wanted to grab the door handle, the latch was already pulled down and the door practically swung open.

Ranboo did definitely not expect Tubbo Underscore to be standing there.

Tubbo seemed to be surprised as well, merely raising his eyebrows. Ranboo figured that it wasn't weird because the new kid in town was just standing in his doorway. Ranboo presumed that this was his house. Those blue eyes were too identical to Puffy's not to be related.

"Ranboo, right?" He said, making a hesitant gesture. Ranboo nodded. "Right. Let me guess, pro bono therapist session with my mother?"

"You're Cara Puffy's son?" Ranboo's father asked, and Ranboo jumped up, having forgotten about him for a second. He shot his father an incredulous glare, who shrugged.

"Yes, sir. Sorry for the interruption. Ranboo and I are in the same year. I'm Tubbo," Tubbo said, holding out his hand to shake. After a moment of suspence, Mark took it, which caused a relieved sigh to escape Ranboo's mouth. His father was usually very protective of him and had a habit of coming over as threatening to others.

"Well, I'll let you guys catch up. I'll get the car." Mark pat his son on the back before walking past them. Ranboo smiled awkwardly at the boy in front of him, who seemed all but awkward himself.

"Well, that was something," Tubbo said, a small smirk present on his face. "I presume you're daddy's boy?" Ranboo scoffed, pulling a face.

'He's very protective,' he signed. He realized what he had done and again shot an apologetic tight smile in his direction. He was suprised when Tubbo replied that he could see that. He frowned. 'You can read sign language?'

"One of my little brothers was born deaf. It's just like English to us," Tubbo explained. Ranboo nodded thoughtfully. It made sense how both Puffy and he could read the language. When he focused on Tubbo again, he couldn't help but wonder how someone this nice could have such a bad reputation.

'I'm sorry to hear that,' he signed. Tubbo's smirk faltered for a second, but it returned fairly soon afterward.

"Don't be. We all got out issues, right?" Ranboo nodded, not able to force a msile in his face this time. Tubbo looked back at him, his eyes shining with something Ranboo could recoognize as happiness. He wondered how it felt to look into the mirror and not want to cut off your own skin. He wanted to know how one could always be intantly happy, instead of hearing screams every time you close your eyes.

That thought worked as a reminder that his life wasn't like that. As a result, his mind wandered off to the night of the fire.

[FLASHBACK]

"Hey, kid. I got you a blanket. Are you ok?" Ranboo felt something fall over his shaking, small shoulders before a warmth spread through his body. The sensation sent him into a state of panic, as he shrugged the blanket off. Everything on his right side hurt. He looked at the young firefighter, who had crouched down in front of him. p> "Charlie. Where are my mommy and daddy? And Charlie," Ranboo croaked out, before coughing weakly. He wanted to stand up, but his legs gave out as soon as he tried. The firefighter caught him and set him back on the back of the fire truck. The employee put the blanket over the boy's shoulders once again.

"Take it easy. See, there's your brother. They are checking on him first, and then it's your turn. Look, there's your dad," the firefighter said, first pointing at the ambulance, where could, indeed, make out the bundle he had carried his brother in. The four year old felt arms wrap around him, panic filling his insides again. He calmed down when he heard that this was his father.

"Ranboo. I'm so glad you're ok! What were you thinking running inside like that! You could've gotten yourself killed!" Ranboo felt his father's dirty hands on his cheeks, but he didn't look at him. He looked at the house which started to make weird noises.

"Where's mommy?" He asked, sounding even worse than before. He was engulfed in his father's embrace once again. However, this time Mark returned in his eyesight sooned than he had wanted.

"You're burning up. I need a paramedic here, now!" Ranboo blinked, looking at his father, who looked worried. The man pelled the fabric off him, gasping as he did so. Ranboo felt his father's thumb on his neck, letting out a loud cry.

"It hurts, daddy. It hurts everywhere," he whimpered. All he remembered after that was being scooped up in his father's arms, lots of screaming and the words 'she didn't make it.'

[END FLASHBACK]

"Ranboo."

Ranboo looked up, surprised when he saw Tubbo standing there. The boy was watching him worriedly, and all Ranboo could do was fake a smile and look down. He noticed that he had gotten a hold of his burned arm, which he quickly let go.

"There we go. You zoned out for a minute. Your dad is waiting for you," Tubbo said. Ranboo noticed that he constant smirk on the boy's face was gone and replaced by a frown. Ranboo nodded, taking a step backward. He saw the car standing a few feet away from them and forced another smile. A single wave funtioned as a goodbye before he opened the passenger door of the car. His father drove off wihtout saying a word, and Ranboo was too embarrassed to look at his classmate as they left.

"The hospital just called. They said thay may have found something positive," his father spoke happily. However, Ranboo couldn't, at all, share his excitement. Not only was he too caught up with the flashback and the curious appearance called Tubbo, but he was just so done with his father spending money on useless purposes.

The first time they ever heard that there was a possible treatment for his voice, was when he was thirteen. He was so excited, and he had gotten his hopes up to an extent where they got crushed when he heard that he was too young; that his vocal chords still needed to grow. The second tome, when he was fifteen, he had been less, but definitely relieved to hear that there was a cure. Obviously, that was a bust as well. This was the fifth time he was told he could get better, and he didn't feel anything special.

"I've seen that look, kiddo. Did he do something to you that triggered memories? Is it the treatment?" Mark asked, looking at his son through short glances to the side. Of course, Ranboo was quiet, and he made no move to reply. His father sighed as Ranboo looked out the window.

Even when they came home, Ranboo didn't make any sign of communication. It wasn't time for dinner yet, which meant that he didn't have an excuse to go upstairs. He skipped going to his bedroom and immediately slammed the door of the bathroom shut. Locking the door, he got rid of his jacktet, feeling air brush against the burn marks in his neck. He shivered in disgust, not taking off any more of his clothing.

It wouldn't be long until people find out about the truth, the reason why he couldn't speak, the reason why he had the privilege not to have to go to physical education. He knew that the persons he had met today would hate him and he'd get bullied again. It was just a matter of time before history would repeat itself, and Ranboo wasn't ready for it.

Water soaked through his t-shirt and jeans, which made the fabrics stick onto his body uncomfortably as he stood in the shower. His breathing was quickening, and his legs were slowly giving out. Before he would hit the ground painfully, he kneeled down and leaned his head against the cold tiles. Closing his eyes wasn't helping, as his breathing accelerated even more. The fabrics that had earlier served as protection now felt like an immense burden.

He ripped his shirt off, before holding his head. Memories relived themselves behind his eyes, which started a headache he knew would only get worse. The tears that fell down his cheeks reminded him of the moment they found out his mother hadn't made it. The scars burned like it was that night. His throat felt like it was about to close up as breathing became harder and harder.

He barely noticed the lock on the door being picked and it opening. It caused surprise and even more panic to rise when he felt two thin arms wrap around him. He didn't have to look up to know that this was Charlie, which actually increased his break down. A large hand grabbed his arm, which momentarily scared him off before he realized it was and could only be his father's.

That's how they sat there for half an hour, Charlie curled up against Ranboo in an attempt to calm him down and Mark keeping both his children in his arms. Although the thoughts full of hatred didn't leave the boy's mind, the night of the fire was forgotten for a minute. He had even missed the water that stopped running.

Just like he missed his mother.

Chapter 3: III

Notes:

[Update from now on every sunday]

Tw; Panick attack

Sometimes, Ranboo wished he could smoke. He wished he could drag in as much of the killing substance as he could and then blow it out as a sign of victory. The fight against the smoke. He wished he could stop feeling so numb by holding a killer stick in his hands and getting addicted to the nicotine. He wished he'd have the chance to die more early because of smoking.

Sadly, his vocal chords protested.

He had actually tried it once in his last school before the kids found out. They had offered him a drag, and well, he was curious if it would be just like they said. It had resulted in a panic attack because inhaling smoke reminded him too much of that night and it caused even more damage to his vocal chords. He had to stay home the rest of the day and drink a shitload of water to make a nasty cough go away.

God damn it, his life sucked.

"Hey, Ranboo!"

Ranboo shook his head and stopped watching the group that was smoking. It had been the jack group, which Ranboo thought was stupid since most of them were football players. He hadn't noticed that Tubbo had joined the group, immediately looking away when their eyes met. Nope, he was definitely avoiding that boy. Instead, he turned to the hyperactive american boy had called him and now stood next to him.

"Please don't tell me that you're stalking those dickheads, or worse, their awful smoking habits," Purpled rambled, following his gaze. To avoid more awkwardness, Ranboo started walking, shaking his head.

It had been a few weeks at his new school, and it had been alright so far. Niki, Eret, Punz, and Purpled were nice to him, and although he wouldn't call them friends- Niki called them besties which Ranboo thought was irrelevant- they were company and company was good.

Tubbo, that had been another story. Since his flashback in the boy's presence, he felt too awkward to even look at him. He was the son of some weird- but nice - therapist which means that he knew Ranboo was troubled. What if he got a look at his file and knew about his backstory? No, Ranboo couldn't risk getting exposed so soon.

"So, Niki said there's a new movie in the theatre, and since her cousin works there she can get discount on tickets. She already asked us to go, but she really wants you to come as well. I just thought I'd give you heads upbefore you get overwhelmed," Purpled ranted. The bell rung as he spoke, which caused the hallway to fill with students. Luckily, they were close to their destination, which saved Ranboo lots of trouble concerning big crowds.

'What movie?'

Ranboo had taken his seat next to Purpled and grabbed his books, writing the words down in his notebook. Purpled grinned, probably thinking he was already convinced to go. Ranboo thought that it was kind of amusing since he didn't have any interests in going out yet.

"The second Kingsman. Niki says it's full of comedy and action but we all know that she wants to go because she thinks Roxy is hot and there's another new female character involved." Ranboo nodded thoughtfully, then shrugged. He wasn't really one for movies, especially in theatres because that was way too expensive and he knew that they couldn't afford that luxury. Besides, he hadn't watched the first one. And who was Roxy?

Ranboo was caught off guard when the door slammed closed. He was immediately aware that it was the jocks trying to get attention. Normally, he tried to ignore their actions because somehow, Tubbo was always looking at him when such things happened. Again, this time, Ranboo felt uncomfortable under the boy's stare. He had quickly looked down and his eyes never went back to Tubbo's seat by the window.

Classes went by as quickly as they could be. They didn't exactly go fast, but it was school and Ranboo thought that he couldn't complain. He was mentally preparing himself for Niki's enthusiasm that was something he still had to get used to.

He wasn't disappointed. As Purpled and he made their way to the cafeteria, Ranboo felt a hand slip around his waist, under his backpack. He gently pulled the arm away, because he wasn't one thet enjoyed touching very much. Niki didn't seem to mind the hesitant rejection but started rambling.

"So," she dragged out. "Purpled texted me that you know about our plans tonight. You'll come right? It's gonna be us, Punz and Eret. It'll be so much fun!"

Ranboo shook his head apologetically, and was taken back when the pink head stopped walking. As a result, she bumped into someone, sadly one of the more annoying jocks.

"Watch it, skank," the jock, Ranboo could vaguely remember him being named Dream, spat at her. Three others crowded around them as Dream stepped closer to the fearful looking pink-head. Purpled huffed next to Ranboo.

"Stay away from her!" Purpled said loudly, and although Ranboo admired the effort, he couldn't help but pinch the bridge of his nose. Dream snorted and tried to pass Ranboo to get to Purpled, but Ranboo put a threatening hand on his shoulder. Dream seemed surprised by his strength, and raised his eyebrows. Ranboo looked at him with such intensity that he even was surprised when Dream slowly walked off, mumbling for the other two to follow him.

"Holy shit. How the hell did you do that?!" Purpled gasped. Ranboo blinked a few times, before looking at the amazed boy. As a response, he just shrugged.

"You just grabbed him by the shoulder and glared at him and he left, Ranboo. That's not just something that happens everyday," Niki continued. Again, all Ranboo knew to do was shrug.

"Remind me to keep you next to me," Purpled mumbled. Ranboo raised an eyebrow and put a thumb. Niki shook her head in amazement and turned back to the mute boy. They started walking again.

"So, back to reality. Put up one finger if you can't come and two if you don't want to. Oh and three if there's another reason," Niki said. It had been their way of communicating, since the group wasn't well known when it came to sign language. Ranboo started with one finger, but then he switched it to three, signalling that he didn't know which one to choose.

"We're almost there, Niki. Don't pressure him when he can write it down," Purped said. Ranboo looked at him gratefully. They entered the already crowded cafeteria and found Eret and Punz fairly soon. It wasn't that hard, since Punz's idiotic, nerdy pc almost covered the whole table. The old group hugged, and Ranboo sat down in the meantime, just like he always did. They had found out that he wasn't one for touching and thankfully respected that.

"So?" Niki asked. Ranboo rolled his eyes at her eagerness and zipped open his backpack. He wabed sarcastically with the notebook he pulled out and watch how her cheeks burned red. 'That's better.'

'I can't afford it. Sorry guys, we need all the money we can get at home.'

He messily wrote down. The notebook passed the table and Niki seemed more guilty than before. Eret nodded understandingly.

"Is it because you guys moved?" Ranboo nodded. He understood that thye wanted an explanation, but he didn't feel like sharing even more that they were short on money because of him. Instead, he grabbed his lunch.

"Are you ever gonna talk about what happened, man? I mean, it's kind of hard to talk about things like this when you don't talk. Like, at all," Punz said. Ranboo was taken back by his words and by the sudden silence of the rest of the group, so were they. He stared at the boy blankly, who looked quite frightful all of a sudden. "Look, I'm sorry man. It wasn't my intention to be so rude."

"He isn't the best with words?" Niki tried to stand up for her friend, her attempt failing miserably because Ranboo glared at her as well. "Please don't be mad, Ranboo. We're not gonna force you to talk. And about that movie, I can pay. My family is wealthy enough."

Ranboo shot a wary look in Punz's direction, who looked everywhere but at him. Ranboo then grabbed the notebook again and started writing.

'I dunni Niki. Don't want to burden you family and friends.'

"If it makes you feel better, I could ask them? You deserve to have some fun too, Boo-boy," the pinkhead suggested after a few seconds. Ranboo shrugged, despite having lost the small bit of motivation he had of seeing a movie. He wouldn't stand a chance against Niki, which was why he didn't even try.

-/\-

It turned out that mister and misses Nihachu were as generous as Niki had said. They had even encouraged him to go out and meet new people. Oh hell no. Although his father had been wary as well, he shared the other elder's opinions. He was glad that he had positive connections - Ranboo forbade him to say friends- and he didn't have to pay, which was another advantage.

It was now then minutes before the movie started. Niki's mother had dropped them off and they were in line to get food. In the end, Punz had decided not to come, which Ranboo suspected was Niki's work. Wether that was the case or not, he would ask her later.

"You want something to eat?" Niki asked, nudging his shoulder. Instinctively, he stepped one step to the left to avoid her touch, but the pink-head didn't seem to mind. He shook his head politely. Niki snorted.

"You better like salted popcorn because we're sharing." Ranboo would have mistaken her kind gestures for flirting if she wasn't as straight as a rainbow. Instead, he shrugged. He had only gone to the theatres once, which was years agi, and he had forgotten how popcorn tasted.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me." Ranboo turned around when he heard Purpled complain, raising his eyebrows while following the boy's eyes.

Oh.

Apparently, they weren't the only ones that wanted to watch the new Kingsman movie- or were forced to go. Almost the whole football team stepped inside the theatre that played the movie, being obnoxiously loud as always. Ranboo's breath caught in his throat as he noticed that Tubbo was with them as well, trailing behind them next to a boy.

"Let's just pretend that they're not here," Eret said, patting Purpled on his back. Purpled huffed as Ranboo swallowed. That really wasn't something he wanted to deal with at that moment. "They won't ruin our night."

"Hell no they won't," Niki said, snapping her fingers sassily. "Thank you," she added when the huge bowl of popcorn was handed to her. The girl behind the counter winked, which made the pink-head blush. Ranboo smirked to himself, turning around to walk off after Purpled and Eret. They unfortunately had seats just below the jocks, which made Ranboo feel slef conscious until the lights dimmed.

The start of the movie was confusing and plainly weird to Ranboo, since he hadn't watched to the first movie. Some things happened that he just knew couldn't possibly be real- like sitting on the door of a car while it's driving or holding your breath for three minutes at least. By then, Niki had already finished her popcorn, while Ranboo hadn't eaten a bite.

The relationship of Egsy and his girlfriend was confusing as well. She was a princess? What? He didn't know how that happened or could possibly happen. Apparently, he was meeting the king and queen? Other high titled parents? Again, Ranboo couldn't find himself to care. He was already bored, although he was slightly amused when he started to scream at his friend, making it look like he was screaming at the king.

Then, the explosion happened.

As soon as the main character's house exploded, Ranboo tensed up. When Roxy's apartment and Arthur's were blown up as well, sweat started to break out on his head. He swallowed hard, feeling his hands start to shake.

The heat.

The burning.

The smoke.

The screams.

As quickly as he could, he stumbled through the row of people, not even hearing the annoyed sighs of people he passed and Niki whispering at him. He almost fell while walking up the stairs and was incredibly happy that he had seen the restroom on his way in. He fell on his knees as soon as he entered the restroom on his way in. He fell on his knees as soon as he entered the restroom, choking, hoarse sobs escaping his mouth. He wanted to get rid of his jacket, but he couldn't get himself to do so. Instead, he curled his legs up and leant his head between his legs.

"Ranboo?"

Ranboo tried to make himself even smaller, trying to disappear. He knew that voice. Of course it just had to be the one person he was avoiding. He heard footsteps getting closer and vaguely noticed Tubbo coming closer.

"It's me, Tubbo. Eh, we talked a few weeks ago. God, how does that woman do it? Shit, you're shaking. Are you ok?" Ranboo scurried away when the boy tried to touch him. "Ok, No touching. Got it. Do you want me to call someone?"

Ranboo merely nodded, sniffing quietly.

"Right. So, maybe your father? Mother? I do need to lend your phone," Ranboo heard Tubbo speak. He shook his head quickly, not wanting to look up or reach for his phone. It was silent for a couple minutes, and Ranboo just couldn't stop crying and reliving the trauma that haunted him.

He felt a hand on his knee, which felt cold against his too warm skin. He froze completely and without even wanting it, he looked up. Tubbo was looking at him with those remarkable blue eyes of his, seeming both uncomfortable and worried. Ranboo lowered his gaze towards the boy's hand, which caused another wave of tears to flow.

"I'm gonna need your phone to call your parents," Tubbo said slowly. Ranboo's lips began to tremble again. He nodded slowly, reaching for the phone in his pocket. He shakily handed it over to the unknown boy, who took it carefully.

Ranboo owned a cheap Nokia, meant for texting and worse case scenarios. Most of the sime, or Charlie or his father were wit him, but in times like this it was hard. Tubbo seemed surprised as well to see the cheap throw away phone. He only looked at the boy, who had turned into his old position, rocking back and forth, before unlocking the phone.

There were three numbers in the phone. The first was called 'Dad' and the second one 'Charlie'. The third one labeled 'Phil'. Tubbo didn't hesitate to call the first number, putting it against his ear. The phone barely needed to ring twice because someone picked up.

"What happened to my son?"

Tubbo was taken aback by the harshness of Mark Beloved's voice. He had heard him speak twice, but he couldn't remember him being so threatening. He opened his mouth to speak.

"Eh. Hi, sir. My name's Tubbo Underscore. We met a few weeks back; I'm Puffy's son. Ranboo is having a panic attack or breakdown - it's bad - in the restroom of the theatre right now and I'd figured I'd call you," Tubbo breathed out, barely stopping to actualy take a breath.

"I'm on my way. What happened?" Tubbo heard rustling on the other end of the phone, suggesting that the man was taking the stuff he needed.

"I think he freaked out because of the explosions. I don't know why or how, but he stormed out afterwards," Tubbo said. Mark Beloved sighed.

"I'll be there in ten. Talk to him about our car or his little brother. Those are the things that slightly calm him down. And save my number on your phone. Ranboo's almost out of minutes." Tubbo said he understood, whereafter the connection died. Tubbo looked at the beautiful boy in front of him - yes, he thought Ranboo was beautiful - and couldn't help but wonder what had ever happened to him. He shifted, sitting next to him.

"You know what I was wondering? WHat type of car you drive. It realy is a beauty," he said, trying not to come over as unsure. He decided to wait before talking any more. The moment he wanted to continue, he noticed that Ranboo's hands lifted. He watched curiously as Ranboo began signing the answer. Wow. His father was right.

'BMW 2002 FL '74,' he signed. Tubbo was so busy watching his hands that he hadn't noticed Ranboo looking at him. 'You're so nice. Everybody says you're a horrible person but I can't imagine that.'

"What do they say about me?" Tubbo asked curiosuly. Ranboo sniffled, wiping away his still falling tears with his shaking hands.

'That you abused your girlfriend and killed your boyfriend.' Tubbo looked at the crying boy incredulously. Was that really what other people thought of him? He couldn't help but feel a sting in his chest.

"It's a long story, but I can assure you that I didn't abuse or kill anybody," Tubbo said, looking straight iinto the boy's eyes. Ranboo visibly seemed to relax beside him. The strands of his hair were soaked by sweat and his eyes looking shockingly green/red against the red caused by crying.

"Why don't you take off your jacket? Maybe it will cool you down?" Tubbo tried, only resulting into Ranboo shaking his head feverishly. "Alright. No harm done. So how do you like school so far?"

'It's school,' Ranboo said, raising an eyebrow. Somehow, Tubbo could only laugh.

"Ok, ok. Fair enough. Why did you move here in the first place?" He could feel Ranboo tense up beside him and he wondered if he had crossed a line. He didn't expect Ranboo to answer, so he was fairly suprised when he did.

'Bullies,' he signed. Tubbo frowned. He hated bullying and he didn't know how someone like Ranboo could be bullied.

"I'm sorry about that," he said. All Ranboo did was pull his knees closer to his chest and shrugged. "Seriously, if that happens at school, please come to me. I might be able to kick some ass."

A slight smile covered Ranboo's lips as he nodded. Tubbo smiled in return, before standing up. He reached out a hand for Ranboo to take, but the boy only blinked.

"Come on. The break is almost starting and this place will be crawling with seniors. And, besides, you dad's almost here," Tubbo explained. Ranboo's eyes widened in realization, and he got up as quickly as he could. As a result, he tumbled over and fell in Tubbo's arms.

"Hi to you too," Tubbo said cheekily. Ranboo mentally cursed as he felt his cheeks burn up. He swore he heard a small gasp, but when he pulled himself away from the boy, he thought he had misheard it. To avoid further embarrassment, he quickly walked out of the restroom.

He was still shaking like a madman and he tried to avoid any human interaction. Tubbo was walking beside him - he recognized the shoes - and he couldn't help but feel safe with the boy walking close to him. They hadn't even reached the front doors when he was indulged in a massive hug. He smelled the familiar leather mixed with deodorant that he knew all too well.

"God, Ranboo. I was so worried. Are you alright?" Ranboo just burried his face in his father's shoulder, letting his familiar touch embrace him. He pulled back when his father started talking again. "Thank you for being there with my son, Toby, was it?"

"It's Tubbo sir, but don't worry. Most people pronounce it worse. And it is no problem, really." Ranboo saw the boy smile gently. The three of them were suprised when the doors of the theatre opened, and once Ranboo saw strands of pink hair, he pushed his father back into the direction of the exit. Tubbo walked with them.

'Don't you have to go back to your friends?' Ranboo signed. Tubbo winked at him.

"Nah. I doubt they'd miss me. And besides, the movie sucked."

What happened newt was something that hadn't happened in years. Tubbo seemed surprised and bewildered, and even his father's grip on him loosened in surprise. Ranboo himself was unfamiliar with the gesture as well, which caused some confusion in his direction.

He had just silently laughed, teeth visble.

Chapter 4: IV

Tubbo slammed the door behind him, flinching once he realized what he had done. It didn't change his mood at all, not even when his fourteen years old, deaf little brother ran up to him. Instead of bickering at him like he had gotten used to, he just sank down on the couch with a goofy smile on his face.

'Who are you and what have you done to my brother??' Tommy signed once he stood in front of the older Underscore brother. Tubbo looked up and grinned even more.

'There's a new guy and he's cute but something happened to him. He's one of mom's clients actually. I helped him out while he was having a panic attack and he smiled at me. Dear God, Toms. It was-'

"Is it Ranboo Beloved?" Tubbo's eyes left the signing boy and focused on his mother's assistant, who seemed to be doing his mother's paperwork. She was smirking, standing on the top of the stairs. Tubbo cursed when he felt his cheeks burn up, which was enough proof for Minx. Damn it. "It is, huh?"

'What are you talking about?' Tubbo barely made out the sign language of his younger brother. Minx did as well, and she came down, kneeling down in front of the excited yet confused looking Tommy.

"He liked Ranboo Beloved," she said, articulating more than usual. Tommy's blue eyes twinkled as he shot Tubbo an excited look.

'His brother is in my class. He knows sign language. He's cool.' Tommy signed, a smirk on the fourteen-year-old boy's face. Tubbo made a mocking face, which made his brother and Minx laugh.

"What's that about Ranboo Beloved I hear?" Tubbo looked up, seeing his mom stand where Minx had just stood moments ago. She looked worn out, absolutely exhausted and Tubbo knew that he wasn't the only one that was concerned. He shared a look with Minx before their eyes synchronized towards their mother.

"Yeah. Actually, I wanted to talk to you about him," Tubbo said, glancing at Minx again. She nodded in approval, and his eyes went back to his mother's. The taller, older woman nodded and gestured him to go upstairs. Tubbo skipped some steps as he ran up the stairs, following his mother. They entered her 'therapy room'.

"So, what's up with him? Is that the reason why you're home early?"

"Well, yeah. He had a massive panic attack, at least that's what it looked like. It didn't make any sense why, until I saw burn marks on his neck. His father drove me home as a thank you. Mom, what has happened to him?" Puffy leaned against the table, scratching her hair with a frown.

"Son, you know about doctor-patient confidentiality," She said. Tubbo whined like a little child.

"But mom. I can't help him if I don't know what happened to him," the child said, pouting slightly at his mother's raised eyebrows.

"I'm sorry, Tubbo. I can't tell you about what happened. He's ashamed of his scars and it's the reason he's moved. If you'd like to know more about him, don't tell him you saw. If you want him to be as happy as he can be, don't tell anyone." Tubbo blinked and nodded.

"Yeah, of course. I'm not that horrible. Hey, and mom?" Puffy looked up curiously, looking at her worried son. "Is it weird that I like him?"

Puffy looked surprised, but a grin made his way on her face. Tubbo blushed and looked down.

"He needs someone understanding and caring, and if that's what you can provide him, I'd say that's not weird," his mother said. Tubbo nodded carefully. She chuckled.

"You really need to take a break from writing, mom. That was too beautiful to speak out loud," he said, crunching up his nose in disgust. Luckily, his mother noticed that it was a teasing remark, and an amused smile played on her mouth.

"My child. I brought catastrophe in the world. My beautiful child, the devil!" She spoke dramatically. Tubbo shook his head as he laughed. Puffy shared her amusement and pat him on the back. "I better get down to socialize with my kids."

It was then that Tubbo re-noticed the bags underneath his mother's eyes, the messy hair that was once styled perfectly. He took notice of the unkept hair and the loss of weight, which was noticeable in her face as well as her posture. Even her eyes didn't seem as excited about being downstairs, too desperate for a good night of sleep. There had been times where Puffy wasn't so sleep deprived and busy. She was a good woman, too well towards others. Tubbo hated how he put others first.

"You're taking good care of yourself, right mom?" He asked. His mother stopped in her tracks and looked around.

"Of course."

Tubbo forced a smile just as his mother did the same. He loved his mother and knew him inside out, which also meant that he knew- Oh, hell even a madman could tell that he was lying. It made him feel helpless and alone in this situation. Somehow, he just wished Ranboo was there to fix it.

Like he was going to try to fix him.

-/\-

"I'm so, so, so sorry for forcing you to go."

Ranboo had his arms folded, looking at the cheap house he was forced to call his home in envy. He felt his father's hand on his shoulder, but instead of the fear, the pure terror he had felt in the theatre, he was starting to get angry again. Why did he have to be so weak? Why did this happen to him - to them!? What did they do to deserve growing up without a mother? The cruelty of the world came crashing inside his head like a brick hitting his head.

"Ranboo, please talk to me," Mark pleaded again. Ranboo tried so hard to stop his shaking hands from lashing out to something. He tried so hard not to scream at his father, despite his condition. Sadly, as he had questioned before, his anger won.

"You want me to talk to you?"

His father looked at him with wide eyes, with fear laced in his dark orbs. The words had come out in a stutter, rough and barely auditable. The last time he had spoken, his voice had been two octaved higher, which was the biggest shock to himself. The scale of pain had reached a level of approximately three-hundred percent, but Ranboo was too angry to think his actions through. Realization hit him too late, as he began coughing violently.

His father's hand was on his shoulder again, only now did he actually guide him to the house. The door opened and Charlie came running out of the door, hugging Ranboo.

"Oh my god, I was so worried. I told him I had a bad feeling about this, but he wouldn't listen. I'm sorry, Ran," The smaller boy mumbled. Ranboo smiled sadly, ruffling his brother's hair to let him know it was ok.

"Alright, boys. Let's get inside before you'll catch a cold," Mark said, leading them both inside. He then turned to Charlie, who knowingly hid behind his brother. "-and you, young man, should be in bed."

"But, dad-"

"Don't pull that crap on me. In bed, now. We will come say goodnight in a minute," their father said sternly, earning a pout from the younger Beloved son and a simple shake of the head from Ranboo. Against his will, he stomped upstairs, grinning when Ranboo winked at him from downstairs.

'I'm sorry for that. I'm just so angry,' Ranboo signed, ranking his hands through his hair. While doing so, he could feel clean air brush against his level four burn marks. Mark took a seat on the couch, motioning for him to do the same.

"Why are you angry?" The older man asked. It was rare that Ranboo was showing vulberability when it came to feelings, which meant that he liked to take this chance. Ranboo sat down.

'I don't know. Everything. We live this sucky life while others have all they could ever dream of. I'm stuck with the reminder that I'll always be alone because these marks. People say they're disgusting, that the world would be better off without me. Maybe they're right after all.'

It was silent for a couple of minutes. Ranboo fumbled with his fingers, not wanting to look his father in the eye. He had gone too far, he knew that, and his father wasn't dumb. Ranboo had been hiding his depression well, but syaing stuff like that was an apparent trigger to his father.

"Please never say that again." Ranboo was surprised when his father's voice cracked. He turned his head in surprise, only to see the man on the edge of crying. "Please don't make me lose you too."

His stomach churned. He hadn't thought of killing himself all that much, and he hadn't in the slightest thought of the consequences said act would cause the environment. No, Ranboo was tired of living his life, but he wasn't going to end it. He couldn't do that to Mark or Charlie.

'I won't.' He grabbed his father's hand in reassurance, who sniffled and pulled him in a hug.

"I love you, son. Never forget that." Ranboo just tigtened the grip onto his father's leather jakcet. That's how they stayed for a couple of minutes, until Ranboo remembered that Charlie was waiting for him.

'I'll go to Charlie,' he signed. His father nodded, although the worried look hand't left his face. Ranboo squeezed his father's shoulder once again, before walking towards the stairs. Charlie was sitting on his bed impatiently.

"Finally!" The boy said dramatically, shooting Ranboo a bitchface. It was disturbing how happy he was, while his family had basically been discussing suicide moments earlier. "I've been waiting for ages.

'Shut up' Ranboo signed, smirking when his little brother flipped him off. He ruffled the boy's hair, making him giggle. Ranboo tucked him in like he or Mark had always done. It was reassuring to the youngest brother ever since word spread that the fire had started in his room. Ranboo didn't hesitate putting the boy to bed. He would love to feel safe, and providing his brother's safety was satisfying enough for him.

"Hey Ranboo?" Charlie asked, his mob of hair covering hald of his face as he spoke. Ranboo hummed, looking up. "Tommy texted me, saying that Tubbo acted weird and that you were involved. Did something happen?"

Ranboo had to think back to their first day of school, where he had heard the name Tommy before. He had remembered Tubbo speaking about his little, deaf brother as well, which cleared things up. Then, realization hit him and he looked at his smirking little brother.

'He acted weird?'

"Toms said that he looked - and I quote - like a concerned, lovesick puppy," said Charlie, the mischievous look in his eye surprising Ranboo. The boy was fourteen, for Christ's sake! Charlie wanted to crawl out of bed again, but Ranboo restraint him to do so. "So, what do you think of Tubbo?"

'You should go to-' Charlie grabbed his wrists and put his hands down, laughing.

"Not until you answer. So, is he cute? Do you like him?" He stretched the I of like, giggling like a school girl. Ranboo ruffled his hair, standing up.

'I'd rather not get attached and get bullied again. Goodnight.' He left a pouting brother behind. After he closed the door, realization hit him. Now that he thought about it, Tubbo certainly wasn't bad looking. Actually-

Nope, nope, nope. He was straight. Definitely straight.

Was he? He had never dated anyone before, let alone kiss someone. He was too cautious and they had been too disgusted. Again, realization dawned on him. There was the slightest of possibilities that he could be attracted to Tubbo Underscore.

Oh god.

He walked downstairs towards the couch, where he noticed his father had moved. A thick, old book on his lap, one that Ranboo had last seen fourteen years ago. He slowly walked down, trailing his hands along the railing as he walked. His father heard him come down ue to a creak in the stairs and he wiped his eyes, which spiked his curiosity and concern. He didn't slam the book back shut as Ranboo expected. Instead, he waved him over.

"Do you remember this?" Mark pointed at the book. Ranboo walked closer and nodded. It was his parent's old photo album. Mark had never looked at it in his son's presence, and Ranboo wondered why he chose to do it now. He took a seat next to him, coking his head to the side in confusion. Dried spots, wrinkly because of the once pulled-apart structure indicated that his father had cried before.

The photo in the middle was a familiar one. It was at Ranboo's first birthday. He had a copy of that picture himself because it was a reminder of his mom. His mom was holding the small bundle of Ranboo in his arms, the most gorgeous smile on her face. A strand of her white hair fell on Ranboo's face, which resulted into a scrunched up face in the picture. Mark was watching the two of them in amusement. Ranboo noticed every time how in love he looked.

"There was a time before you were born when your mom panicked. We had been threatened and I had ended up in the hospital. She blamed herself because she was pregnant. If Phil would have shown up to check up on her seconds later, she would've stabbed herself- you. After that attack, realized what she had done and I persuaded her to go on with the pregnancy. I made a vow that day, to protect you. This picture was taken exactly two years later."

Ranboo leaned closer, looking at the date that was neatly written underneath the picture. He remembered the handwriting; her handwriting. How could he forget the unique letters she had created with such gentle gestures that Ranboo always failed to copy her as a child.

The date said December third, nineteen-eighty in her elegant handwriting. Underneath the date familiar words were written underneath it.

Angels are watching over you.

Ranboo's lips parted. He pointed at the words, looking at his father. Mark smiled sadly.

"I reckon you remember these?" Ranboo nodded. The words had appeared in dreams multiple times, sometimes as gentle as a whisper, sometimes projected as a scream. Sometimes it echoed in his ears as he woke up, sometimes it was the beginning of a horrible nightmare.

'Where do I remember it from?' He signed.

"It's what she always used to say when she put you in bed. After her accident, her believe in angels, in God had grown. Hell, I even knew that it was a miracle that Phil showed up. She wanted you to always remember that."

As if his father's words had triggered his memory, and image flashed before his eyes. He noticed that his was his mother and this time, the words she spoke were loud and clear.

"Always remember, son. Angels are watching over you."

He then thought of a touch he had barely remembered, a touch so soft it had calmed him down instantly. A touch so warm that he forgot about the fire. He couldn't describe the touch other than a touch from an angel.

Only didn't this angel have wings, but striking blue eyes.

Chapter 5: V

Notes:

Sorry for the very late update! I forgot to write last week because of the cricket crew halloween stream! But Hope you enjoy this chapter.

Twitter: B00BEARS

"Ranboo Beloved!"

Ranboo tensed up. Oh God, was that girl FBI or something? He knew Niki well enough- she was an open book, even a fool could predict her actions- to be prepared and step aside before her hand could touch his shoulder. Instead, he looked at her with raised eyebrows.

"Why are you looking at me like that? You run off in the middle of a movie, are nowhere to be found, then you don't reply to any of my calls and on top of that, I'm grounded because of my 'lack of responsibility'. Two weeks without a laptop, Beloved, and you look like you couldn't care less," she rambled. Ranboo, as she said, didn't care that she was grounded. Last time he checked, she and her friends didn't come looking for him.

Ranboo opened his locker, grabbing his needed books and slamming the locker shut. He looked past a raging Niki, where he felt eyes on him. His interest spiked when he noticed it was Tubbo, whose locker was diagonally on his right. The blue-eyes boy smiled and waved. Ranboo made it seem like he was waving back, while he signed two simple words.

'Help me.'

Tubbo cocked his head to the side, whoch was the last thing Ranboo saw him do before he turned back to Niki. The girl looked angry, but her gaze wasn't on him anymore.

"Why is danger coming our way?" She asked cautiously, squinting her eyes on the direction of Tubbo. Ranboo turned back around, only to stand face to face with the boy, whom he now noticed was way shorter than him.

"What are you doing within fice feet of my friend?" Niki said, sounding even more disgusted this time. Ranboo wanted to laugh at Tubbo's surprised raised eyebrows, but that wasn't really in his nature.

"I am making sure that my friend is alright after his panic attack last friday," Tubbo replied. Color seemed to drown from Niki's face as Tubbo spoke and she looked at the two boys opposite of her nervously.

"You had a panic attack?"

Ranboo snorted, making a painful face as he did so. Then, he nodded once, curtly. Niki cursed under her breath, and before he knew it, Ranboo was pulled in an awkward, bone-crushing embrace. He let his arms hanf awkwardly alongside his body as she hugged him, looking at the students that passed impatiently.

"You might want to let him go, Niachu, before you cut off his air supplies," Tubbo spoke behind him. At his sarcastic remark, Ranboo let out a laugh against Niki's shoulder. This made Niki pull away and look at him cautiously.

"Did you just-" Ranboo cocked his head to the side to show her his confusion. Did he just what? "Oh my god." Her words only confused him more. What was wrong with her? "We need to talk."

'Guess I'll see you later?' Ranboo signed, his features hopeful towards Tubbo, who had a weird expression plastered on his face. Niki walked off, probably expecting to follow her. Except he didn't. Tubbo nodded, cracking a smile.

'See you later. Good luck with- that,' Tubbo signed back. Ranboo hadn't thought about the obvious skill the boy possessed, which was why the act caught him by surprise. He watched carefully how his hands made gestures gently and skillfully, intrigued by his movements. He gave him a closed mouth smile like he was used to and had just enough time to wave to the boy until Niki had realized he hadn't come yet and pulled on his arm.

"OK. So, what the hell was that?" Niki whisper-screamed at him. Ranboo could only blink at her weird behavior. "Tubbo Undercore? Despite all the warnings we've given you? Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

Ranboo looked at her dumbly. She was obviously waiting for him to explain and Ranboo wanted to scream at her that he couldn't. Especially after his outburst on friday towards his father, his throat hurt at the slightest sounds. Besides, there was no way he would even think about talking with her current attitude.

After a minute of staring, he decided to grab his notebook to clear things up. As she realized this, she tried to apologize, but Ranboo waved her off. He leaned his notebook on the wall and wrote three words on it, loud and clear.

Save it, Niki.

Niki frowned when he pushed the notebook in her hands, but more of her reaction was spared him as he walked off towards his classroom.

The rest of the day was abnormally quiet. Purpled seemed almost too scared to talk to him. Ranboo, being the slightly rude person he was, held the opinion that his behavior, despite the difference of Niki's, was stupid. Although they did make eye-contact sometimes, he and Tubbo hadn't interacted any more, which left him to be alone. Honestly, Ranboo didn't mind at all.

At lunch, Ranboo saw no reason to go to the cafeteria. Niki was most likely upset or angry for leaving her ass there or making a scene or trying to apologise, which could be even worse. Purpled was looking at him as a child afraid of clowns, which was another thing Ranboo didn't understand. All day, he hadn't crossed paths with Eret or Punz, which he wasn't broken up about either. The only thing that bothered him was the lack of Tubbo, but that was a thought he hoped went unnoticed.

He knew that it wasn't particularly warm outside, but the thought of just being alone in the open air sounded appealing. So, when he stepped outside, he didn't expect the jocks to be playing a game. He found himself sitting under a willow tree that was positioned next to the school. Instead of reading his book, he watched how the boys laughed and didn't seem to think about anything but passing a ball around.

Ranboo soon caught himself staring at their rolled up arms, fascinated by the flawless skin, though covered by small hairs, but that was just a sign of humanity, not a tragedy. He watched how their collars were all below their necks, showing off soft skin, only wrinkling when they turned their heads. A pang of jealousy shot trough him, his stomach feeling hollow by the depressing thoughts that started taking over.

"Well, don't you look like you need a hug?" Ranboo looked up at the familiar male voice that belonged to the curious and so-called dangerous jock in front of him. He looked down again, realizing what the boy had just implied. Ranboo was surprised when Tubbo sat down in front of him, which caused their eyes to meet again.

'Why?' Ranboo signed. Tubbo grinned, but it didn't quite reach his eyes, he noticed.

"Well, if the glossy eyes aren't enough evidence, maybe because of the pout, the frowning and the sighing." As soon as Tubbo mentioned him having teary eyes, he wiped them, before dropping his hands back on his lap. "So, hug?"

'I don't like physical contact,' Ranboo sighed in response. Tubbo's eyes twinkled in amusement.

"I figured. I was curious about that, actually. Did something happen earlier in your life? You don't have to say what exactly, but maybe it will help me help you," Tubbo said, obviously careful with his words. Ranboo was caught off guard by the question, as well as surprised. Everybody always pried what happened to him and wanted to know every detail, but somehow, Tubbo was content with just a yes or no.

'You want to help me?' He asked, simply because the question had been bothering him. Especially after rememering the warnings Niki and Purpled had bombed him with, his behaviour seemed so confusing and unreal. Tubbo chuckled.

"Ofcourse, silly. You are obviously troubled with something big, and especially after those smiles- that definitely needs to happen more often," this time, Ranboo was flustered. Did Tubbo like his smile?

Oh my god.

'I haven't really laughed in ten years,' Ranboo signed, monitoring Tubbo's expression carefully. The boy's eyebrows furrowed slightly. Ranboo could mentally slap himself for saying that because it showed weakness that he tried to avoid at all cost.

"Let's try and make that out goal. Start off small. I'll try and make you smile at least one time a day. If that goes well, we'll work it up to two. Deal?" Tubbo stretched out a hand for Ranboo to shake, and for a moment Ranboo only eyed it carefully. Though, the effort the blue-eyed boy put it into making him happy was sweet, and Ranboo couldn't find himself to decline his offer. So, hesistantly but surely, he wrapped his fingers around the boys palm, shaking his hand lightly.

Tubbo looked both enthusiastic and happy, a teeth-filled smile covering his mouth. Ranboo, on the other hand, was nervous. He wondered if his sleeve wasn't pulled back too much or if Tubbo would think that his hands were too sweaty. Self-consciousness consumed him, and he quickly pulled away. This didn't seem to bother the other boy, whose smile hadn't disappeared.

"I'm proud of you for trying, Boo. See this as a progression, not as a failure," Tubbo spoke. Ranboo was amazed by his cleverness, his mouth agape as Tubbo stood up. At first, his reasons were unknown, until Ranboo heard the familiar ring of the school bell.

'You sound like your dad, you know,' he signed, before taking the inviting - and tempting- hand that was gesturing to pull him up. Tubbo didn't let go of his hand once the boy was back on his feet, but neither did Ranboo. Tubbo's eyebrows were raised, seeming to look at Ranboo's face so intensely that he felt his face heat up.

"Huh. Never noticed the freckled," Tubbo grinned. Ranboo gently pushed away his hand, wwhich slid out of Tubbo's warm one slowly before pushing it back onto his chest. Tubbo watched the movement carefully, his blue eyes full of wonder.

"Son of a bitch."

Ranboo looked at him curiously, not making any movement. What was the reason that Tubbo spoke those words in such an insulting, yet surprising way that he actually felt insulted and surprised of its meaning.

"You're fricking mute and you rendered me speechless," Tubbo breathed out, that slight hint of insult no longer evident in his tone. Ranboo looked at him blankly for a few seconds, before that strange thing happened again where he felt the corners of his mouth quirk up. Even the corners of his eyes stung by their suddent contraction, his teeth not used to the sudden cold air that brushed against every inch of his mouth after colliding with his teeth.

He was smiling once again. Even worse, a hoarse sound escaped his mouth, which Ranboo vaguely defined as a chuckle. An actual chuckle. Because of amusement. A small laugh. It was actually possible.

Tubbo's smile mirrored his, although the boy looked like he saw the rarest and beautiful thing in the world. Actually, the therapist's son didn't seem to hide liking Ranboo, which answered his suspicions. The jock seemed to like him, and although Ranboo kept reminding himself that this would only cause trouble and that Tubbo was probably faking, he couldn't help but feel a small part in him that hoped for a win.

"I think we can already move on to three times a day, huh," Tubbo said, grinning like a madman. Ranboo blushed and looked down, bending his knees slightly so he could reach for his bag that was still on the ground. He swung the left strap of the backpack over his left shoulder, following Tubbo inside and ignoring the wolf whistles from the football team.

-/\-

"So, Ranboo. How are things going at school?"

Puffy was a nice woman. She was kind, gently and understanding. Plus, the fact that she was a writer sometimes resulted in cringe-worthy looks from the Beloved boy, either embarrassed or holding the opinion that he spoke too-book-like. It was amusing too, so Ranboo couldn't really complain. He always reminded himself that she was a therapist and that her target was the same: Get him to talk.

Yet, she managed to do that.

Ranboo twirled his pencil around, looking at the blank notebook in front of him. As he thought, his focus left his fingers and the pencil fell on the notebook, the sudden noise making him flinch. Puffy was still looking at him patiently, so his eyes soon went back to the blank page. He sighed, writing some letters down.

'Confusing.' he wrote, before showing it to Puffy.

"Confusing. What exactly is confusing?" Ranboo didn't miss the subtle notes the therapist was making as she spoke. Ranboo looked up again, feeling like he was caught in a crime when Puffy was watching him again. "I'm doing this to monitor your feelings. Last week, you said school was fine, and now it was confusing. That means something's happened. These notes don't leave this toom, I promise."

Ranboo merely nodded slowly, suspicious about what his therapist claimed to be the truth. Puffy asked him the same question as before, which made the boy think again. He scribbled something down on the sheet, this time longer.

'People can be very different once you get to know them. Not sure who I can trust.' He handed the notebook over to the older woman, who quickly read it.

"That seems more like profound trust issues to me," Puffy said while giving back the object Ranboo used to communicate. Ranboo looked at him, blinking a few times 'okey?' "So, who betrayed that trust?"

'Some classmates.'

Ranboo was surprised when his therapist chuckled lightly, her blue eyes shining in amusement. He cocked his head to the side in a confused manner.

"If you want me to help you, you gotta open up to me, Ranboo. I already know what happened that made you the boy you are today, your old man told me that, but I need to know how you are feeling in order to understand you," Puffy said. Ranboo couldn't laugh along with her humor, just waiting for the woman to contain herself and be professional.

'I don't want help.' Ranboo glared at his therapist.

"But you do. Just not mine." Puffy said, the words flowing out of her mouth like they had been roaming around in her head all evening. Ranboo looked at her blankly. Sometimes he was sure that this woman was mad. Why was he even here if his therapist claimed not to be able to do anything?

Again, Ranboo twirled the pencil around in his fingers. This time there were a hundred things he wanted to write down. WHy was he here? 'That doesn't make any sense', 'how dare you', 'so can I go?'. Puffy's weirdly calm gaze was still on him, which caused him to be even more anxious. Eventually, he chose the last option and gave Puffy the notebook.

"Yes, Ranboo. If you wish to go, I am not stopping you," she said calmly, smiling like she had said nothing wrong. Ranboo stood up cautiously, not taking his eyes off his therapist as he did so. The woman even encouraged him to walk towards the door, waving her arm as a gesture. Hesitantly, he made his way to the dour until his hand was resting on the door handle.

'Do you expect me to come back?' Ranboo signed, turning around. Puffy smiled again.

"If you wish to come back. I will always have the seat prepared. It's all up to you."

Ranboo nodded once, as a gesture that he understood. He pulled the handle down and walked out, turning around once again to make sure that his therapist was ok with him walking off like that. Would Puffy call his father? Would he have to go to another therapist? Much to his surprise, Puffy's expression hadn't changed.

With that image, he closed the door behind him.

Chapter 6: VI

Notes:

Ah sorry! It's been a while since I've updated! But here's a new chapter :D

"Done already?"

Ranboo looked up to see his father standing on the edge of the stairs. He stopped in his tracks in surprise, his eyes traveling from his father's jacket, to the clean, polished shoes, not forgetting the hole-free jeans he was wearing and his gelled hair. If his appearance hadn't been slightly curious, the fact that he was here in the first place, was.

Ranboo knew that his father only dressed up like this for two occasions. He was either going on a date or he was getting ready for a doctor's appointment. Judging by his presence, Ranboo concluded that it was the latter.

Great.

He nodded, signing that he was free to go to work on his non-existing history essay. His father seemed the slightest suspicious, but didn't question any further. Thank god. He raised his eyebrows at his father once, before looking down at his style of clothing again and shaking his head.

"Oh, come on, Ranboo. You don't even know why I'm here." Mark said, clearly frustrated by his son's lack of understanding. Ranboo scoffed quietly.

'You're leading me to another disappointment. No offence, but spare me the pain and just stop,' he signed back, not even angrily. He just didn't want it to hurt emotionally like it always did. His father sighed and put his arm around him.

"I'm trying to do hat's best for you. Your condition is rare, but it must be treatable. This man is an expert when it comes to throat issues and an amazing surgeon. Please keep an open mind." Ranboo didn't feel like attempting to reply so he just walked off. When he was just a few feet away from the front door, ignoring his father's complaints, the door opened from the outside.

"Hey, Ranboo! You didn't tell me-" Tubbo, who was the owner of the voice that spoke out, quickened his pace and stopped right in front of the disturbed boy. He gently touched the rough material that touched Ranboo's arms. He couldn't give himself to push hil off. "Hey, what's wrong."

Ranboo shook his head a few times, before looking at the apparently concerned boy who was still holding his arms. And he didn't mind. He gently pulled his arms off so he could communicate.

'Doctor appointment. I really don't want to go.' Tubbo frowned.

"Why not?"

"Because his condition is rare and nobody has ever been able to treat him. Call it a loss of hope." Ranboo closed his eyes for a second when he realized that his father had seen and heard all of that. When he opened them, Tubbo's eyes met his for a second before they diverted towards Mark, whose steps were obvious behind him. "Forgive me for forgetting your name. Do you go to Ms.Puffy as well?"

"It's Tubbo Underscore, sir. Don't sweat it. And no, I live here. Puffy's my mom." Ranboo watched in awe as his father and his- something shook hands for the second time in less than a week. Could he even call Tubbo his friend? He did manage to make him laugh, but was that enough to trust him? Maybe he was just the boy who was able to make him laugh. That sounded good. Distant but friendly.

"Oh really? Must be a nice place to live in," Mark said, impressed. Deep down, Ranboo knew that the comment was the result of jealousy, since they could barely afford the place they lived in.

"Eh, it's alright. You're kind of mandatory to keep everything spotless and with a bunch of teenagers, that's kind of impossible," Tubbo replied, chuckling as if he remembered something.

"I'm sure it is. Now, Ranboo and I need to go, but I doubt that I'll never see you again," his father said, surprisingly having a smile on his face. Ranboo watched him suspiciously as Tubbo nodded slowly.

"That would be unfortunate, yes. Well, good luck, Ranboo. Remember our deal. It really looks good on you," Tubbo said, winking at him before walking off inside the house. Ranboo watched him leave with sligthly tinted cheeks, not noticing how his father was now looking at him with a knowing smirk on his face and his arms crossed.

"I can't believe it," the man said, ,catching Ranboo's attention. Again, the boy was slightly worried about his father's appearance, smiling an awkward, closed mouthed smile before hurrying off towards the car. His father easily caught up on him but Ranboo avoided his gaze. That was, until they were seated in the carr and his father didn't start the car.

"You totally like the kid."

Ranboo look at his father even more weirded out than before, only to be met with a mischievous glint in his father's eyes. He shook his head quickly, which didn't seem to help the slightest.

"Yes, you do. He touched you, kiddo. You normally freak out if someone touches you. And that blush- yes, I saw that- was a good clue," Mark said. Ranboo had never seen his father like this, at least not this bad. The man seemed so excited over something he wanted to avoid.

'He's a boy, dad. And people say he's dangerous. I don't like him,' he signed feverishly. His father, even though the mischief was gone, hadn't lost his excitement.

"Ranboo, your happiness means everyhting to me. If that mmeans you dating a boy, I'd wed you myself. And about that other thing; What do you think? Do you think he's dangerous?" His father caught him off guard with the question and the sudden acceptance of something that would probably not even be true. Although the sudden gay subject was new and unexpected, he knew what to answer.

He shook his head.

"Then do what you think is right." Ranboo raised his eyebrow. Was he just doing this to be nice and distract him from the disappointment that was about to come or was he sincere? In occasions like these, it was an advantage that he couldn't speak because it didn't give him the duty to force a reply. His father chuckled beside him and started the car.

It was twenty minutes later that they entered the parking garage next to the hospital. Ranboo hated how there was a shrine of hope still present as he walked beside Mark. Despite the lack of chance that this could actually be a breakthrough, he hoped that it would. Thus, he began to feel nervous, biting his lips in an attempt to calm himself down. His father checked him in and they had to wait in a stereotypical waiting room.

There were three other supposedly patients in the room. Ranboo felt his eyes drawn to an elderly lady who coughed occasionally. He frowned, anxiety shooting trough him as he wondered if he'd ever make it so far. Living his life for fourteen years after the accident had been almost unbearable, let alone fifty years.

"Hey, you're going to be ok, Ranboo. I'll be right there with you," Mark said, placing his hand on his son's thigh to stop his leg from shaking. Ranboo forced a smile and started to fiddle with his fingers. That didn't last long, because a man dressed in the usual white robe appeared and called his name.

"Mister Beloved?"

Ranboo stood up, actually grateful for his father's supportive hand on his back. He let out a long breath before stepping closer to the young doctor that had called his name. His eyes looked kind, a lighter shade of green than Ranboo had gotten used to. The bags under his eyes suggested that he was tired, which wasn't something unexpected in a job like this. His brown hair was swept to the left, slightly messy. The doctor held out his hand for Ranboo to shake, but he never accepted the gesture.

"I'm sorry. I'm Ranboo's father, Mark Beloved. He doesn't like other people touching him, hence the lack of response," his father said. Ranboo heard te trace of embarrassment in his voice, his head lowering with shame. Although his dad was a nice man, he had the tendency to want to be liked by others and that often included hurting his son subconsciously.

"It doesn't matter, Mr. Beloved. His file came together with the recommendation, so I'm up to date on his condition," the doctor smiled politely. His father seemed unable to reply and- well, Ranboo couldn't, but that didn't seem to phase the doctor. "I'm doctor Foolish. Let's give you some heads up."

Ranboo decided that he liked this doctor. He didn't seem disgusted or hopeless, but he was sober and-nice. Ranboo followed him, his father walking behind him. They arrived in a small appointment room, with just a desk and a computer, three chairs, and a bed in it. Ranboo sat down opposite of doctor Foolish, shaking his leg nervously. The man started to speak with all to familiar terms.

"As you've most likely heard before, you have a bad condition of chronical Laryngitus, which was caused by the toxic carried around in the smole all those years ago. It had gotten worse when you kept talking, screaming even. Because you were still young and your vocal chords weren't developed yet, your trachea and bronical tubes were injured as well. There was never really a cure, because your chords didn't heal like they should have." Ranboo lowered his head. He had heard the story dozens of the time, and they were still painful.

"-but after lots of resarch, we came up up with a possible treatment," the doctor replied. Ranboo's head shot up so fast that it hurts his head, but that went unnoticed because the words doctor Foolish spoke were way too interesting. The doctor began explaining what would happen in the surgery, and although Ranboo didn't understand much, it concluded that he could eventually speak again. Probably.

Unfortunately, there was one question that kept poppin gup, and as his father was asking questions, just as excited as he was himself. He reached for his backpack and grabbed his usual pen and paper, writing down three important words.

'What's the price?'

The doctor smiled sympathetically at him, which already confirmed his suspicion, but his father didn't seem to agree with his quesiton.

"Ranboo, don't you worry about the money! Your health is a priority," Mark said, almost pleasingly. Ranboo just shook his head and signed that their wellbeing was more important. Then , he underlined the words he had just written, giving the doctor a demanding look.

"It's expensive. You're not insured for this kind of injuries and because it's an extraordinary surgery, the price is extended to approximately two, three thousand dollars," doctor Foolish said, smiling sadly. Ranboo shook his head immediately, wishing that he could use his voice to make his statement count.

"Can you give us some time to think about it?" Mark asked the doctor, who replied positively to the question. Ranboo didn't really comprehend a thing after that, barely noticing when they entered the car and only hearing his father's voice in the distance.

It had been another disappointment.

He closed his eyes, a lone tear falling down his right cheek. Trees and houses seemed to look different now, more depressing, as if color was drained from them. There wasn't relief when their neighbourhood came into focus, because if it were up to his father, that neighbourhood wouldn't be theirs for much longer.

He tried thinking about what Tubbo had said, about him smiling, but it didn't work. Neither did the fact that the possibility did exist that he actually liked the boy. He couldn't. There was no way that that would end up well. The therapist's son would find out about his burns and laugh at him, tell the school. Ranboo couldn't be put up with that again.

His emotional state worsened knowing that he had lost all his supposedly friends, aquintances. He was all alone, only having Tubbo behind his back, but the boy was a jock, had a reputation. He still couldn't speak, his father had economical problems.

The weight on his shoulders was becoming a burden that he was tired of lifting.

As soon as the car stopped, Ranboo rushed inside, ignoring Charlie's greetings when he ran up the stairs. Only when he had slammed the door behind him and was sure that he had turned the board on his bedroom door on 'Do not disturb', he let himself cry.

So much for getting better.

So much for smiling.

So much for absolutely nothing.

Chapter 7: VII

Notes:

Finally a new update ya'll! So sorry I had it written almost done and then my pc kinda went black and everything was gone, but hey here's a new chap buckle up because it's a wild ride in this one.

Ranboo's eyes moved rapidly underneath his closed lids as small, barely audible sounds escaped his mouth. It was in his state of unconsciousness that he didn't realize the pain it brought, but that wouldn't take long. It was the same nightmare, the same memory of all those years ago that caused all the discomfort in the first place.

There was fire, not like the ones you'd see in movies. It was a black mass of smoke, overpowering the yellow-orange flames that crept up the carpet and curtains. There was heat, so unbearable that the sweat that was formed on his forehead and mixed with the continuous tears, evaporated before they could leave his face.

He remembered his mother's screams, him trying to run back into those awful flames to save her. The firefighters pulling him out, the pain. The fiery pain by talking, the burns on his right side that he felt like scratching off. But they would never leave.

"Ranboo."

Charlie, being only six months old, crying because of the unpleasant heat. The chaos and the lack of comfort that his mother could give him. He remembered singing to his baby brother as their father talked to the authorities, his vocabulary as good as any other four-years old kid. The innocence was taken away from those innocent, promising eyes.

"Ranbpp, we gotta go to school. Don't make me use force!"

Consciousness hit Ranboo like a brick. In his state of waking up, he started to feel the infuriating pain in his throat. As a result, he shot up from his lying position, his eyes wide as he began coughing vividly. He didn't notice that it was actually Charlie who had woken him and stood beside his bed. His little brother stared at him fearfully as unnatural sounds escaped Ranboo's mouth together with gasps of breaths.

"Dad?!" The younger Beloved son screamed out in a panic while running towards the hunched over figure of his brother. He attempted to touch him in order to calm him down- that always worked- but he was surprised when Ranboo moved away quickly. While waving him off, the back of his hand came in contact with Charlie's cheek. The boy fell off the bed and on the ground, holding his cheek in surprise.

Mark ran into the room, giving himself a second to comprehend the scene that had unfolded before he had gotten there. Charlie was sitting on the ground, looking scared and worried. He was holding his cheek as if he had been hit. His older son seemed to have trouble breathing. Mark ran over to him and forcefully grabbed the boy's arms, succeeding in holding him down when he started to struggle. Ranboo started to scream, which sounded more like a wounded animal than it did human.

"Ranboo, listen to me. You're with me and Charlie. There is no fire. You are 18, we're living with the three of us, you go to school. I'm right here with you. There is no fire, calm down."

That's how the man slowly calmed down his son, who stopped thrashing around. The screaming had stopped, but the amount of vocal activity had caused a lot of coughing and pain. The fact that he was crying didn't ease the situation. It took twenty minutes to calm him down completely, Charlie watching them sadly with a throbbing cheek.

"Are you ok, Boo?" he asked slowly. Their father motioned him to come closer to them. Charlie wasn't angry. He was in pain, yes, but his older brother was in a condition way worse than his, which lessened the pain significantly. Ranboo had heard his brother and looked up, his red-rimmed eyes widening. He shifted his position and touched the reed patch on Charlie's cheek gently.

"It's ok, Ranboo. Don't feel bad. I knew what was going on but I didn't think about the consequences," he reassured. Ranboo shook his head quickly, pulling himself out of Mark's grasp and walking out of the room before any of them could stop him.

"Are you alright, Charlie?" Mark asked, taking a look at the injuries of his younger son as well. The boy rolled his eyes and nodded. He sat down on Ranboo's bed, leaning his head on his father's shoulder.

"I'm fine dad, it's not that bad. It's just- I haven't seen him this bad in years," he said sadly. His father sighed deeply and shook his head in agreement.

"Me too. You know, there is a treatment for his vocal condition, but it's expensive. I'm willing to pay but he won't allow it. Sadly, he's 18 and has to make his own decisions. I think that this situation has spiked his anxiety again," the man explained, earning an innocent pout from his younger son.

There was no time for Charlie to reply, because Ranboo rushed back into his room, holding a wet cloth and an ice pack. He wrapped the cloth around the ice pack and pressed it against Charlie's sligthly swollen cheel ever so ligthly. The boy flinched, which made the guilt Ranboo felt get worse.

"I'm going to call you both in sick today," Mark stated, watching his sons sadly. He couldn't help but chuckle when Charlie desperately shook his head. Ranboo wore an unreadable expression, which pained his father. "Alright, Charlie. I'll call and say that you'll be there next period. Are you boys sure you're up for that?"

"I'm fine, dad!" Charlie said, looking at his father in annoyance. Mark ruffled tha boy's hair, chuckling in amusement when Charlie tried to escape from his grasp. When their father suddenly let ho, he followed his gaze towards Ranboo, which wiped the momentary smile off his face as well.

The boy was tracing the burns on his arm ever so slowly, in a manner that almost screamed for them to disappear. Ranboo didn't notice their shifted attention until Mark grabbed his hands gently. It woke Ranboo up from his trance, but didn't stop the dark hole that had started to form around his heart. Even touching the burns didn't hurt. He felt numb. He used his energy to lift his head and look at his father, who seemed more panicked than he had been in years.

"Are you ok to go to school?" Mark asked. Even though his obvious concerns, he didn't sound all that hesitant asking the question. To the contrary, he asked it sternly, as if the slightest hesitation would change his mind. His reply didn't come as quickly, but after a minute, he nodded.

Thus, half and hour later, the Beloved brothers left for school. Ranboo could feel the tension, although there wasn't a possibility that he could talk about what had happened this morning. Besides, there wasn't a bone in his body that wanted to. He would feel the concerned glances his way as he drove, but he didn't look back, not while he knew that there was a bruise forming on Charlie's cheek and it was his fault.

Then again, their whole situation was his fault.

They managed to find an open spot to park the car. Around the school, it was abnormally quiet. There were no students sitting around the walls, no jocs playing whatever sport they wished to play, no smorkers. Just a school guard. Ranboo carried his heavy feet over the threshold of the school, the change of temperature hitting him harder than expected. As a result, he pulled the sleeves of his significant jacket down even more, being cautious that the collar wouldn't reveal the burns on his neck.

As soon as he had waved his brother goodbye, he dropped his previous facade and started at his covered arms. First period hadn't ended yet, but walking in and drawing attention felt like a worse idea than to skip the last ten minutes and wait for Geography to start. It gave him just enough time to mentally prepare himself for the day, which meant that he tried to avoid crying, anxiety and panic attacks that were making their way up again.

Still, the bell ran way too soon.

Classroom doors opened sunchronically as the hall flooded with students. Ranboo watched as his Geography classroom emptied, not recognizing any of the younger students that walked out. Eret and Punz were in this class as well, and by being there early, Ranboo hoped to avoid them. He waited a few minutes until the crowd in the hall had lessened before stepping forward.

He stopped in his tracks when he felt a hand wrap around his burned wrist, shifting his feet to the right, as well as his arm that carried a closed fist. Said fist collided with someone's face, which caused the hold on his wrist to drop. Ranboo focused on the intruder of his personal space, the guilt he had felt by slapping Charlie worsening when he realized it was Tubbo who was holding his jaw painfully.

"Right. Sorry. Walked right into that one," the boy said, rubbing the area Ranboo had just hit him gently. Ranboo watched him wide-eyed, his breathing subconciously quickening. Oh god. He just scared the only possibility of a friend away. He was waiting for the boy to scream at him and walk away, but that didn't happen.

"Ranboo. Keep on breathing buddy. I'm not blaming you and I'm not going to hurt you."

Tubbo's blue eyes wandered off, not quite reaching Ranboo's eyes as he spoke, but Ranboo was too busy trying to prevent a full panic attack to notice that. It took him a minute to calm down, which was the fastest that had ever happened. On top of that, the boy wasn't mad at him. Instead he looked determined and patient.

"I take it that your doctor's appointment didn't go too well?" Tubbo asked, walking beside him as they entered the classroom. Ranboo shook his head twice. Tubbo seemed to be in this class as well, but certaintly not somewhere close to him. Tubbo sighed, looking disappointed. "Damn, I'm sory about that. What happened?"

'There's a surgery but it's way too expensive." Ranboo signed quickly. Tubbo didn't stop looking at him, which caused him to feel slightly uncomfortable. The jock didn't talk to him for a minute, just staring. Ranboo was relieved when he saw his mouth open.

"Damn," Tubbo replied, bringing his handd to his mouth to rub the skin around it. Ranboo then noticed that the boy hadn't shaved, as he passed a light stubble. Ranboo nodded simply, looking back at his empty desk. He grabbed some mandatory books and a notebook, questioning why Tubbo wasn't sitting down. When he looked up, Tubbo's gaze met his once more.

'What?' he signed. Ranboo smiled genuinly and grabbed the pencil that was resting on top of the closed Geography book. He then opened the notebook and wrote down a number, which Ranboo could only suggest as his phone number.

"Next time things get rough, you can always wall or text me," Tubbo said. Ranboo nodded slowly, looking at the numbers that were written on his notebook. Normally, he hated it when letters weren't written on the purposed line, but he didn't bother him. Instead, the corners of his mouth were aching to twist upwards. He looked up, only to see Tubbo looking at him again. His jaw was starting to colour a vague red, which wiped the urge to smile away.

'I'm sorry for hitting you. Don't you have to see a nurse? I take full-'

Ranboo blinked when warmth spread trough his hands, an energy that he didn't recognize. He looked at Tubbo's hands that had wrapped themselves around his own. The touch had been enought to completely catch him off guard, not even panicking. He looked at the boy with wide eyes, searching for answers. All he found was slight caution and determination.

"I'm fine, Ranboo. Don't worry about me, but let me worry about you instead," he said. Ranboo couldn't move, even after Tubbo let go. Why did he react that way? Was he paralyzed? The boy didn't leave his side, until his teacher spoke up.

"Mister Underscore. What in god's name are you doing in this class? I thought we talked about this." Tubbo's eyes widened, and he laughed sheepishly.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. I'll be going now." With one last wink in the still frozen direction of Ranboo, he was gone. Ranboo traced the messy handwriting with the lid of his pencil, trying to understand what the hall had just happened. He bit his lip before listening to his teacher, unaware of the weird stared he got from Eret and Punz.

In the meantime, Tubbo wasn't going to his own class. The wheels in his head were spinning continuously, an idea slowly forming in his mind. It was risky, and the chance of it actually working was small, but it was worth a try. That's how he scrolled through the history of his phone to see Mark Beloved's number in it from the movie accident and called the number.

At lunch, he was the first to leave. His friends knew about the plan and most of them were enthusiastic or simply agreed and thought it was sweet. They let him go without catching a glimpse of him as he walked over to the locker that practically sreamed lesbian. Said lesbian girl was there, alone. He walked towards the row and leaned his hands against one of the lockers beside her. To say that the movement frightened the girl was the least that could be said, because she hit her head against the locker before slamming it shut.

"What are you doing within a teen feet radius of me, Underscore?" Tubbo raised his eyebrows at the not so original remark, looking around.

"The wished distance keeps getting bigger, huh? Listen, Niki. I know you don't like me, but for one second just-"

"Your one second is over. Now go," Niki said harshly, crossing her arms to look threatening. Tubbo snorted. Wow, this girl was a pain in the ass. A smirk played on his lips as he monitored her stubbornness.

"Huh. Then I guess I'll have to help Ranboo by myself." he said. Niki's nose crinkled, but she still didn't move. To add some drama, he turned around and started to walk off into the mass of students, knowing what would come.

"Underscore, wait. I'm listening."

Chapter 8: VIII

Notes:

Let's ignore that it has been almost 2 months since i've updated this story. I apologise! I didn't really know how to write further, but I hope you enjoy this chap!

Ranboo's day just got worse and worse. The slightest bad thoughts, made his breath quicken, as well as his heartbeat. With every whisper he heard, he tensed up, worried about the chance that the rumours were about him. His hands were constantly shaking and he couldn't find himseld to communicate with people. At lunch, he sat down under the same tree he had found himseld a day before, drawn to the shadow filled nature. He looked around expectantly, somehow hoping to see a familiar face around, but he was disappointed by the lack of presence.

His head rested against the timber, letting out a deep sigh as he closed his eyes. Immediately, flames burned behind his eyes and a scream filled his head, maing him open his eyes quickly. He was caught off guard when he saw Tubbo stand in front of him. A breath escaped his lips, sounding more strangled than he had expected it to be. The bruise on Tubbo's chin had developed a dark blue colour, which caused his attention to shift quickly.

"Are you ok?" Tubbo asked, kneeling down and placing his lower half against the grass. Ranboo leant back again, shrugging. He felt Tubbo's eyes burn into the side of his face, and when he finally looked up after a minute, they shone with worry. Again, he felt the amount of oxygen decrease and his hands shake. His eyes were itching, glossing over slightly.

"Hey, Ranboo. Look at me," he heard Tubbo's voice. It brought back memories of when he had gotten a panic attack in the movie theatre. His voice was just as soft, just as careful. "What happened isn't your fault, ok? I knew you don't like getting touched, and I forgot about that."

Ranboo looked at the sky above him, clouds mixing with the blue sky above him due ro the tears blocking his view. He quickly wiped away a tear that fell. 'I hit my brother this morning,' he signed, not knowing - and secretly hoping - that the boy next to him hadn't caught the words.

"I saw him walk around with a bruised cheek and a split lip, yeah. What happened?" Tubbo said. Instead of an explanation, Ranboo scrambled up and packed his bag. Tubbo followed quickly. "Wait, Ranboo. What's going on?"

Ranboo moved his hands around rapidly as he walked, and this time it was hard to understand what he was talking about. He explained how he'd had a nightmare and how Charlie had woken him up, resulting a bruised cheek, and a bruised cheek only. Tubbo's eyes widened.

"So, somebody else hurt him?" Ranboo didn't reply, but just continued walking. Tubbo caught up on him again. "Ranboo, doesn't Charlie have class right now? You can't just run in and pull him out of class. You'd draw too much attention."

Ranboo waved him off but continued walking. Tubbo sighed in annoyance. Ths boy loved his brother so much it was gonna be the death of him sometime. He stopped walking, hoping it would draw the furious boy's attention, but it didn't, so he started walking behind him.

"If this was someone else that did this to your brother, do you really wanna give them possible leverage to hurt him again?"

This time, Ranboo did turn around, not expecting Tubbo to run into him. He felt his hands on his sides in order to keep himself up, which caused the trembling of his own hands that were placed on the boy's chest to get worse. His eyes were wide in panic as he felt the burns on his side itch underneath Tubbo's grip. That was, until he looked up and realized how close they actually were. Tubbo didn't make any movement to push himself away, his head cocked to the right - Ranboo's left - slightly. It seemed as if he was curious.

Gently, Ranboo pushed against Tubbo's chest to gesture him to pull away, which the boy did, snapping out of his daze. As soon as the pressure on his sides were gone, he instinctively reached for it. It didn't help and maybe even worsened things, but it felt like the fabrics he wore were burned all the way to his skin.

"Sorry 'bout that, Ranboo. What do you say we go to your borther's current classroom? I remember him being in Tommy's year, which would mean that he has lunch break next period," Tubbo offered, not questioning Ranboo's off behaviour. Ranboo looked at him in admiration. How did he even remember that?

'We?' He signed. He didn't think about the incredulous way it looked, as it was pure curiosity and lsight stress that founded the question.

"Yes, we. You didn't think I'd let you go through this alone, did you?" Tubbo asked. Ranboo should have felt at least slightly weirded out by his natural reply, but he was actually grateful that the boy was there by his side. He shrugged, trying not to show that the corners of his mouth quirked up.

Tubbo, who had seen the somewhat flustered reaction, didn't take his eyes off the boy, loving how his effort hadn't been for nothing. Heck, the boy had let him touch him again. As far as he knew, that wasn't common to happen. He burried his hands in his pockets and followed Ranboo, who was still acting more - reserved than other times.

They soon reached said classroom. Ranboo's eyes were fixed on the doors as if he wanted to burn trough the wooden material, not moving except for the occasional deep breath. Tubbo leaned against the wall beside him, way more calm. He could, however, understand where Ranboo's concern came from. He himself would be livid if one of his brothers got hurt.

Ranboo's posture changed lightly when the bell rand, but not for the better. He looked like a predator looking for his prey, eyes wide and jaw clenched. As soon as Charlie stepped out of the room, Ranboo's eyes travelled down his brother's face. There indeed was a small but apparent gash on his under lip, slightly swollen around the edges. As soon as he saw Ranboo, he lowered his head and tried to walk off, but Ranboo caught his wrist gently and pulled him from the crowd.

'Who did that to you?' Ranboo signed, making sure that his brother caught his handmovements, before lifting the smaller boy's head slightly with his thumb. The boy who had walked next to Charlie, Ranboo supposed it was Tommy, was standing next to Tubbo, looking down as well.

'Tom, do you know more?' Tubbo signed. Both boys didn't move. While Tubbo sighed in annoyance, Ranboo knew that patience was the key and merely touched the bruised skin with his thumb. 'They hit you because I'm your freak brother, right?' Just by the short amount of eye contact the two brothers shared, Ranboo knew he was right. When Charlie's lip began to quiver, he pulled his brother in a tight hug.

"They can't see how strong you are. It's not fair," Charlie mumbled against his chest, yet Ranboo heard him. To be honest, the compliment didn't cheer him up. He felt like crying until there was nothing to cry for. He felt like hitting the wall on his left. He felt like screaming until his throat would burst. But he had to be strong for now.

For Charlie.

'Life ain't fair, Charlie. I thought I told you that,' he signed once they pulled away. Charlie wiped his falling tears away furiously while shaking his head.

"And I told you that's bullshit."

Ranboo felt something nudge his jacket, and he spun around as quickly as possible to see Tommy touching the fabric shyly. He cocked his head to gesture his confusion, but that confusion soon left when Tommy pointed at the empty spot where Tubbo had once stood.

'Where did he go?' Tommy scratched his neck awkwardly as a result to the question. Ranboo looked at him sternly, wrapping an arm around his brother's shoulder in a comforting manner.

'I may have told him who did it. He's pissed.' Tommy explained. His hands moved so fast that Ranboo had the slightest trouble reading the language. When he did understand, he tensed up. Tommy didn't have to ask where he went, because shouts were heard around the corner. The two sophomores hesitantly followed Ranboo, who was surprised by the scene in front of him.

Tubbo was holding a short, chubby boy by his collar, holding him close in a threatening way. The boy looked scared shitless, which wasn't that hard since Tubbo was stronger than he looked, and boy did he look mad.

"If I were you, I'd apologize to Charlie and Ranboo before I drag you to the principal's office with the proof and witness that you hit the poor boy." Tubbo pointed at Charlie, who hid behind Ranboo carefully. Ranboo stared at Tubbo as one hand was still pulling the boy up, a surprising bicep showing. He shook his head when the bully shyly made his way over to the brothers and crossed his arms.

"I'm sorry for hitting you," the boy said. Ranboo noticed the sarcasm and raised his eyebrows. He shared a quick glance with Charlie, who instinctively stepped back. He took one step closer, wishing that he could reply with a roasting comeback. Instead, he used a body part that was actually quite useful; his hand.

His fist collided with the boy's cheel hard, sending the boy face down to the floor. He crouched down before the dumbfounded boy and glared at him threateningly. He snorted sarcastically when the boy actually looked frightened, bringing up his fist. It resulted into the boy running off and Ranboo brushing off his right knee. He turned around to see Charlie staring at him gratefully and the Underscore brothers looking schocked.

"Remind me not to hurt your brother," Tubbo said, a horrified expression on his face. Ranboo shrugged awkardly. He hugged his brother, signing that if this happened again, he wanted to know. Then, the four of them were separated, because Tubbo and Ranboo had class.

As they parted and Ranboo had managed not to get detention for being late, he let his mind wander. Charlie literally got hit because of him, adding another bruise to form. How was he going to tell their father that people were using Charlie as a punching bag because of him.

His breathing began to pick up and he felt a tear toll down his cheek. He pulled his hair in an attempt to stop the forming panic attack, but it was no use. As soon as the bell run, he stumbled out of the room and into the closest bathroom he could find. He felt his back collide with the wall, his legs giving out under him soon. He didn't even notice he wasn't alone.

"Hey, 's Ranboo right?" Ranboo looked up, his eyes wide at the sudden presence. He recognized the boy as a fellow football player, one Tubbo spent lots of time with. He managed to nod, before burying his head between his knees.

"The name's Techno. Tubs has told me a lot about you. You want me to call him?" Ranboo shook his head quickly. No, he didn't want Tubbo to get involved in this. "'S alright. This might sound a li'l rude, but you'll pass out if ya don't breath, kid. I ain't gonna kiss you, so you've gotta do it yourself."

Ranboo made a weird face towards the boy, not realizing that it was a technique to distract him. Because he failed to breathe for a couple of seconds, he started to cough, taking deep breaths in between. The jock in front of him guided him through the attack effortlessly. It was not even ten minutes later that Ranboo laid his head against the cold tiles and wiped some sweat off his forehead. He looked at Techno curiously, who thankfully caught up on the gesture.

"My brother had, panic attack. Dunno, it always worked so I thought I ould try it," Techno said. Ranboo shot him a gratefull look, before looking forward again. "You wanna go back to class?" Ranboo shook his head. Today had bbeen exhausting for him, and he decided that to avoid being a danger to others and himself, he'd go home.

"Well, I'm sorry for sounding rude again, but I can't miss English. Sorry kid. I'll see you around." Ranboo watched in awe as the boy left, not leaving himself for another few minutes. He pulled out his phone, where newly added number looked foreign in his contacts, which now consisted of four people. He decided to send both Charlie, Tubbo and his dad a message.

To: Charlie

From: Ranboo

[ Heya Charlie. I'm not feeling well so I decided to go home. Don't worry about admin, I'm sure dad will make sure of it. Oh, and if someone bothers you today, I'll be back in a heartbeat. ]

To: Tubbo Underscore

From: Ranboo

[ Hey, Tubbo. It's me, Ranboo. Beloved. I went home, but you don't have to worry. I'll be back tomorrow. Could you please look after my little brother today? See you, Ranboo. ]

To: Dad

From: Ranboo

[ I'm coming home, took the car. Could you pick up Charlie after school? Otherwise I will. See you in ten. ]

From: Tubbo Underscore

[ What happened? Where are you? What happened in physics? And of course, but where are you? ]

From: Dad

[ Who's ass do I need to kick? Drive safe, son. ]

To: Dad

[ Mine. And I will. ]

To: Tubbo Underscore

[ Go to class, Tubbo. Today's just been too much. I'll see you tomorrow.

From: Tubbo Underscore

[ If you're sure. Stay safe, Ranboo. I'll see you tomorrow. ]

And for the first time that day, even if it was just slightly, Ranboo smiled.

Chapter 9: IX

Notes:

Just a reminder to always check up on tags with every new chapter! Because usually I update them every time.

Ranboo was pretty sure that Tubbo dealed drugs.

It were the little details that stood out, since Ranboo didn't really have friends. On multiple occasions, he had seen Tubbo receive money in the halls and put it in his pocket. After that, a handshake was the end of said suspicious act.

Then there was the fact that he caught Niki and Tubbo talk to each other, not once, but twice in the last three days. It was no secret that the two of them were somewhat rivals, which indicated that there was something weird going on.

Yet, the attention Tubbo gave him hadn't faltered in the slightest. Every day at lunch period, they would sit under the willow tree and the jock would try to make him smile. Some days worked more than others, but it began to feel less foreign to smile. That didn't mean it was regular for him, as he only smiled around Tubbo.

Yeah, Tubbo subconciously made him the happiest he had been since he was four.

But Ranboo still didn't like the fact said boy might be dealing drugs.

"Well hello there. How's my favorite mute friend doing?" The devil himself said, throwing an arm around Ranboo's shoulders. The boy rolled his eyes but didn't push him away. Instead, he started walking towards the entrance of the building, putting his up to sign his answer.

'Mute.'

"Fair enough. Anyways, we gotta run this awful amount of laps in p.e. today. With this heat, I think half of the students will die," Tubbo rambled. Ranboo chuckled to himself, unaware of the fond smile that was sent in his way because of it.

'You're on the football team and you have one hell of an endurance. I'm not even gonna worry about you.' Tubbo gasped and pulled his arm away from Ranboo's shoulders, who rolled his shoulders subconsciously. Instead, Tubbo's hand went up to his left chest as he gasped.

"You don't have a hear, Beloved, I swear." Ranboo let out a quiet laugh again, shaking his head before looking at Tubbo in amusement. His smile faded when he noticed that the jock wasn't smiling back.

'Is there something wrong?' Tubbo's eyes trailed towards his hands as he signed the words, only to move back up when he had finished. Although Tubbo shook his head desperately, Ranboo felt an all too familiar ache in his chest.

"No, there's nothing wrong. Don't worry. I'm just so proud of you. I mean, just a few months back you didn't let anyone near you and you never smiled, and look at you now. That smile is so special, and I just have to take a moment to let it get stuck in my brain. Hell, I just put my arm around you and you didn't flinch. That's progress, Ranboo."

Ranboo had stopped walking, and merely watched how Tubbo kept walking for a few seconds, before realization hit him and he turned around in confusion. The mute boy didn't care that he was standing in the middle of the halls and that people were sending him weird looks. Tubbo had just made him feel so weird inside, like he was going to burst.

"Hey, are you ok?" Tubbo asked worriedly, hesitating to touch him for a second before placing one hand on his arm. Ranboo, probably on contrary to what the jock was expecting, let out a hoarse laugh, followed by a small cough.

'Thank you,' he signed, trying to look as sincere as possible. The message got across well, because Tubbo smiled and put his arm on Ranboo's shoulders and pulled him along into the stream of students.

"You deserve to know the truth," the boy said, squeezing Ranboo's shoulder lightly as he spoke. The boy bit his lower lip and looked down, trying to stop the blush that was creeping up on his neck. "So, I was wondering if you wanted to come over after school. You know, to hang out?" Ranboo's blush darkened, but he did look up with surprise covering his features.

'You want to hang out?' He signed, stopping his hands due to not knowing how to reply. 'With me?'

"Of course! Boo, I consider you my friend and now that you're not gonna be there for therapy, I'm gonna need to make up some time throughout the week, outside of this hell hole," Tubbo said, sending him a cheeky smile. Ranboo chuckled, merely moving his shoulders and letting the corners of his lips quirk up.

"So, what do you say?"

Ranboo smirked. 'I am not saying anything.'

"Smartass. What is your non-verbal answer?"

'Of course.'

--

Seven long hours later, Ranboo stepped across the threshold of the luxury mansion owned by Cara Puffy. It was weird, being here and not fearing having a nervous breakdown or having to deal with feelings - well, aside from his possibly strong feelings towards Tubbo, but he didn't necessarily needed to talk about that. Like, at all. Ever.

"Hey, Ranboo. I didn't know you had an appointment today. Did you call beforehand?" Ranboo looked up to see Minx stand at the bottom of the stairs. He blushed underneath her intense stare and shook his head.

"He's here as my friend, Minx. Oh, everyone in this house can sign and read sign language, so don't feel restrained to communicate," Tubbo explained the latter sentence to Ranboo who nodded.

'Tubbo asked me to come over,' he signed, making sure that his movements were slightly bigger because she was standing further away from the entrance. He didn't miss the suspicious yet excited look that crossed her face and the warning one Tubbo shot back in return.

"Well, the house is behind that door under the stairs. Welcome to out humble abode," Minx said, smiling sweetly. Ranboo received her a tight smile, before following Tubbo to the door. Minx waved, but he just let his head down and continued walking while looking at the floor.

The Underscore home was not at all what he expected. It wasn't white, clean and uncomfortable, but instead it looked cosy and not too luxury. Sure, there were a few artifacts that Ranboo noticed from art class in his old school that looked like they were classics and expensive as hell, but the lounge and kitchen looked average American and like home.

"It's not what you'd expect, huh?" Tubbo said, dumping his bag on the comfortable looking couch to their left. Ranboo glanced around the living room and shook his head, admiring a painting on the wall straight ahead of them. It was a small figure, hunched over and despite not seeing its face, Ranboo felt sad just looking at the kid. The huge, black wings, however, that hovered over him dangerously, screamed of power. The background was dark, which Ranboo thought was extraordinary and out of place, yet perfect.

"No matter how much of an angel you are, everyone feels out of place in the world sometimes. My dad drew that, not long before he decided to wave us goodbye and decided to love drugs more than life. It was that message that he once explained to me. I was too young then to understand that it was a cry for help," Tubbo explained. Ranboo frowned, not liking the sad smile that played on the jock's lips.

'What was his name?'

"My dad's? Schlatt Underscore," Tubbo answered Ranboo's question. It was obvious that talking about the subject brought back memories to him, but Ranboo couldn't help but wonder one thing.

'Why did you keep you father's surname?' He signed, monitoring how that small smile returned.

"Mom was broken up about it when he left. She had changed is name back to his own last name, but she didn't want the Underscore name to disappear. We discussed it at home, and decided to take both their names. Mom's rich so that wasn't the problem." Ranboo nodded, signing that he understood. He asked no further questions due to the fact that he didn't want to pry and cause more sadness.

'I bet your room is the typical jock example,' he signed with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, without presenting him any other facial expression that could indicate a joke. Tubbo laughed softly, mouthing a 'thank you', before copying his playful game.

"I'm sorry for the confusion, but what's a jock again?" The boy looked around in mock confusion, before putting his lips into a pout and rubbing the dark stubble on his chin. Ranboo scoffed.

'Let's see. They often play football, they often are popular, bully people, are rich, snobs, thing they're funny and go on,' Ranboo signed back. Tubbo chuckled.

"Well, that sorts it out then. I'm no bully, nor am I a snob. I do think I'm funny though - you've confirmed that -, so how about we settle this and make me a- junny person?" The boy made a weird face as he thought of a combination, but he wasn't disappointed by the result. Ranboo showed him that rare but dashing smile that made Tubbo feel awfully proud.

'Is that the best you could come up with?' Ranboo signed, raising his eyebrows. He himself would have used the word 'perfect' for the boy in front of him but of course he kept his mouth shut. Tubbo's cheeks turned red as he shrugged.

"I suppose. Anyways, do you wanna see my room or not?"

And how could Ranboo deny the curiosity of what Tubbo's room would look like. They walked through the living room and moved to another stairway. The structure was familiar to the one in the therapy part of the house, but, like the house itself, it looked more like home. Ranboo followed Tubbo on his tail, wondering if there would be posters there, and if so, what they were of. He wondered if the room would be dark or light, if the room would be near or messy.

And of course, if there were drugs involved.

The reveal was both a surprise and a confirmation. Ranboo was drawn to the posters on hiw wall immediately, the corned of his mouth quirking up as he realised that Tubbo liked LoveJoy. Much to his surprise, the room was neat, with a double bed and light blue sheets. His walls were painted white and light grey, which gave the room a calm look.

"God, did you expect to find a murder or something?" Tubbo asked, looking amused but sligthly indignant. Ranboo shrugged, although the sentence did bring back memories of certain warnings he had received from Niki and her group. Apparently, Tubbo had noticed his look and sighed. "I knew you wouldn't let it go."

'Well, killing someone isn't really an easing thought,' Ranboo signed, pursing his lips together awkwardly. Tubbo ranked a hand through his unruly, dark brown hair and nodded.

"I guess you're right." With those words he sat down, with a defeated posture, Ranboo noticed. He sat down beside him hesitantly, frowning when the boy next to him didn't even flinch. "Nobody knows the real story, but hey, it's high school. Of course everybody goes and makes up stories to make them look like crazy psychopaths. Damn rumours ruin your fucking like, you know."

Ranboo watched the wall in front of him silently - there wasn't really anything else he could do - before looking down and noticing that Tubbo's legs were shaking. "You wanna know the real story?" Tubbo whispered, his blue eyes shining with sadness, yet they supressed relief.

'I want to know the story from your point of view. Not from anyone else's,' Ranboo signed, not breaking eyecontact. Tubbo, who was forced to look down in order to understand his way of communicating, looked right back up when he was done.

"Alright if you're sure," he said uneasily. Ranboo nodded encouragingly, which seemed to make Tubbo convinced enough to talk.

"I was just fourteen when I met him. He was sixteen at the time, but boy was he handsome. Coming from a religious family, I was scared of those thoughts. After all, church had taught me that homosexuality was wrong. Still, we had gotten closer and closer, and eventually he asked me out. I was sixteen when things started to change. I had come out to my mom long before that, but he hadn't, and he refused to." Tubbo laughed sarcastically, leaving Ranboo torn by the pain the boy was in. He squeezed Tubbo's thigh reassuringly.

"It turned into a fight one day, in which he thought it was necesarry to claim that he wasn't gay. After more than a year. Of course I was mad, why wouldn't I be? I had called him names I would never wish on anyone, ever, but he broke my trust and my heart that day. Two-" the boy shut his eyes to tightly that Ranboo could see multiple wrinkles he hadn't seen before. The lone tear that dragged across the side of his face seconds later was an addition of things Ranboo saw, and hoped never to see again.

"Two days later the school got the message that he was killed in a car crash." He whispered. Ranboo, despite already knowing what was coming, let out a small gasp as his heart tightened. "The fight had taken place in the halls, so of course people would draw fucking conclusions. Nothing changed, but I I've always known that they were tlaking about me behind my back. Even the football team. All except her."

"She was so nice to me and I was in such a state of heartbreak, that the attention became something I depended on. Yes, I was gay and I cannot imagine that she didn't - and doesn't know that. As time passed, I started to notice bruises that she was trying to cover up. They were massive and ugly, and there was no way that those were accidents, so I cornered her about them. Turned our that her father was abusive drunk and she loved him too much. Hence, she told her best friend that I was the one that had punched her in the eye."

'What a bitch,' Ranboo signe, happy that Tubbo caught the sudden movement. The smallest smile appeared on the boy's lips, but it wasn't a happy one like Ranboo was used to see.

"I know, right?"

Then, he started crying. Ranboo had never been in such a situation before, so he didn't know what to do when tear after tear started to fall from Tubbo's cheeks and his shoulders started shaking. It was beyond awkward as they sat there for a minute, before Ranboo remembered what his father always did to him when he cried, and pulled Tubbo closer to him.

For a second, Tubbo stilled, and Ranboo feared that he had overstepped the line, but then Tubbo's arms found their way around his back as he burried his head on Ranboo's shoulder. Ranboo sat there with tears in his own eyes, hearing Tubbo sob and feeling him shake like he had never wanted to witness. He couldn't comfort him with words, so he moved his arm over the boy's shoulder blades. Tubbo pulled him even closer after that, clenching his fists around the flannel on his back. A minute later, he pulled away.

"I'm sorry about that," he said quietly, wiping away some tears. Ranboo shrugged.

'Don't apologize. It's only been a year ago or maybe even less. I would be surprised if you would not be sad,' Ranboo signed. Tubbo chuckled sadly.

"Feelings suck, huh," he said. Ranboo didn't laugh but just nodded. Feelings really did suck. He knew that all too well. "So, what about you?"

'What about me?'

"What's your story?"

Ranboo pursed his lips. Was it the right moment to talk about his past? Was it the right person to talk to? Would he judge him if he would refuse? Would this be the moment he was going to be exposed and had to move again? Tubbo looked at him curiously, but didn't look disappointed when he didn't make any effort to converse.

"Too soon?" he asked, earning a weak smile from the mute boy. Ranboo mouthed an 'I'm sorry' which Tubbo thankfully understood. "Nah, I don't blame you. You did not see my dad for no reason. I won't force you to talk."

THe atmosphere in the room changed drastically after that. They traded favourite songs and albums, made fun of teachers and after an hour, Ranboo's cheeks and stomach hurt from laughing. He had never really experienced that feeling before and he wasn't quite sure if he liked it or not, but they had more fun than he had ever had.

The temperature in the room was fairly low, lower than Ranboo was used to, which had caused him to shiver and let Tubbo borrow him a hoodie, which he had put on in the bathroom just in case. When he burried his hands in the pocket of the hodue, however, he felt that it was already filled. Confused, he pulled out whatecer was in there, his heart dropping when he noticed it was a pack of cigarettes, a lighter tucked in the package. The thought of the drugs reappeared in his head and he was overcome with a sudden wave of anger.

Tubbo was quite surprised when Ranboo let the pack of cigarettes fall on the ground right in front of his eyes. He had only seen Ranboo this mad when Charlie was punched because of him.

'Do you smoke?' Ranboo signed astily, almost too fast for Tubbo to follow. Tubbo bit his lip.

"Sometimes," he admitted. Ranboo nodded in confirmation, mouther the words after him.

'Have you ever smoked something other than thirs?' Ranboo continued. Tubbo made a weird face.

"No, I've never done drugs, Ranboo. What is this about?"

Ranboo walked past him and grabbed his bag. In a wave of panic, Tubbo grabbed his arm, only to be slapped by the other one as his fingers wrapped around Ranboo's wrist. Ranbo's murderous look was something he had never thought he would see towards him and it scared the living shit out of him.

'How am I supposed to believe a word you said when you're a fucking liar?' Tubbo made a face to let him know he had no clue what he was talking about. 'The drug-dealing, Tubbo. I've seen it around the halls and I'm not stupid, so don't lie to me.'

And Tubbo didn't know what to say to refrain Ranboo from leaving his room, so he let him go.

Shit.

Chapter 10: X

Notes:

Disclaimer!! If you haven't seen it in the tags yet. THIS IS ABOUT THEIR CHARACTERS!!! not the content creators!! I would never ship irl people.

"Ranboo. Just listen to me. How long do you think you can avoid me? I did not lie to you. Damn it, don't walk away."

Ranboo wanted to scream at Tubbo to shut his mouth, but obviously his voice didn't cooperate. It was the next day of school, and every moment he got, Tubbo tried to talk to him and apologize. He was walking from his fifth to sixth period now, and again the boy was high on his trail. Truth is, the thought of hearing him out fully was incredibly tempting. But he wasn't sure if he could trust the jock, so he kept his facade up.

"What's going on?"

Ranboo hadn't heard Niki's voice this close ever since the movie theatre drama, so he was surprised to hear it practically behind him. He turned around abruptly, looking at Tubbo and Niki with annoyance lacing his features. The two looked at each other, which was another confusing thing to Ranboo. Since when did they even talk? Or be within ten feet of one another in the first place? Tubbo spoke up.

"He thinks I'm dealing drugs," was his simple reply. Niki blinked a few times and chuckled.

"Yeah, it must kind of look that way from his perspective. Look, Ranboo. I know you talked about trust issues before and I understand that, but just hear him out. I promise you, if you don't believe him after he tells the truth, you can slap the two of us," Niki said, holding up her pinky. Ranboo rolled his eyes and refused the offer.

'Right. I gotta go,' he signed, before walking away from them. He heard Niki let out a slight groan in frustration.

"Meet me in the upstairs bathroom after school. Please, Ranboo," Tubbo said behind him. Ranboo just kept on walking, holding his burned arm with his opposite hand and hunched over in an insecure way. At least he was freed from the constant feeling of someone following him. For now.

He was almost mandatory to meet Tubbo there. He knew the boy well enough to know that he was stubborn and wouldn't give up, even when things didn't go his way. Especially when things didn't go his way. The thought was unsettling, as Ranboo was known for pushing people away when they broke his trust. Every bone in his body wanted to run out of school and hide, but sadly his heart told him otherwise and took the upper hand.

Thus, he found himself standing in front of the door of the bathroom Tubbo had inclined him to go after his last class had finished. It was comparable to the girl's bathroom in Harry Potter, since it was never used. Hesitation crept up in him when his fingers were wrapped around the doorhandle of the bathroom and he felt himself pull his hand back. He just didn't want to get hurt. He couldn't.

When he turned around to leave, he jumped in surprise.

"I was afraid you'd do that." Tubbo was leaning against the wall opposite of the one where the toilet was located, his arms and legs crossed. A small smile was played on his lips, which matched the soft way he had spoken. Ranboo merely hugged his torso with his arms uncomfortably, looking down awkwardly. "So, can I explain now?"

A few students emerged from a corned. Ranboo stepped back so the kids could pass, looking at the ground again to avoid attention. He could feel Tubbo's eyes burn into his head, but he didn't look up until the talking students were out of sight. Ranboo looked up only to see Tubbo push himself off the wall and come his way.

"Come on, let's go inside," he said, pulling on the sleeve of Ranboo's jacket. The boy stepped aside but followed Tubbo inside the bathroom. There, Tubbo turned around to face him. "Ok. So, despite what you think, I'm not doing drugs. There's a whole different reason for what you saw me doing in the hallway."

Ranboo blinked and raised his eyebrows. 'And what exactly might that be?'

"You just have to trust me on this one, Boo," Tubbo said, a pleading look on his face. It only resulted into a scoff from Ranboo.

'Right. Trust you,' he signed back. 'Good job on that one.'

"For god's sake Ranboo why are you so goddamn stubborn!" Tubbo's outburst surprised Ranboo, but apparently the other boy as well. "I started raising money, yes, and I got the schol to help me, but not for drugs. For you."

The second Ranboo heard that, he froze. The previous anger and distrust disappeared completely and guilt and fear replaced the previous emotions. Never had someone done something for him, so pushing people away had become something regular for the boy, but apparently he was so wrong this time. He felt his eyes gloss over when the thought occured to him that he might lose his only friend because his own stupidity.

"It was supposed to be a surprise, but I did all of it for you. I've been getting people to help me save money for your surgery. I know you can't afford it and I spoke to your dad about it and I think he actually cried over the phone. We covered over 400 dollars already so we can hear that beautiful voice of yours," Tubbo said with a soft smile on his face. Ranboo, however, didn't laugh.

'Why do it for me? I'm not worth all that effort. And they don't even know me, so why bother?' Ranboo signed, oblivious to the fact that his hands were shaking like crazy. Tubbo chuckled lightly.

"Isn't it obvious?" Ranboo shook his head slowly. "I did it because I like you."

Ranboo blinked, looking at Tubbo in confusion.

'What?'

"You're mute, Boo. Not deaf. You heard me. I like you," Tubbo said. Despite seeming to be calm, Ranboo noticed his hands were shaking lightly. "I care for you, and this is the least I can do to make you happy. You're so selfless and so caring. Your personality is so pure and you're so strong. Plus, have you seen yourself in a mirror? Those dual coloured eyes of yours are way too beautiful and unique to ignore. It's not a very manly way of complimenting but you're beautiful, inside and outside. What is there not to love?"

As the boy spoke, he came closer, step by step. Tears threatened to spill from Ranboo's eyes as he kept stepping backwards. The longer Tubbo talked, the more emotional Ranboo got. First, he kept repeating in his head how wrong the boy was about him, but soon his eyes started to fill with tears, blurring his vision. Seconds later tears were running down his face. He shook his head quickly, wiping the substance off his cheeks as he turned himself away from Tubbo.

"Hey. What's wrong?" Ranboo felt his hands shaking as he wiped another tear off his cheek angrily, turning back around. He hated how Tubbo looked so worried. He shouldn't like him.

'You can't like me. I can't like you. It will ruin everything. I can't let you-'

Tubbo got a hold of Ranboo's wrists and looked at him sadly. Then he reached his right hand out to the collar of Ranboo's jacket and pulled it down slightly as his left was holding the boy's shaking wrist. His eyes didn't leave the frightened dual coloured ones, trying to remain as calm as possible. His pointing finger and middle finger traced the wobbly skin on the boy's neck, aware that he had never touched the skin before. He leaned in slightly, still not looking away.

"I know about the scars, Boo. You don't have to be scared or ashamed," he whispered. Ranboo however, didn't look relieved, he just tried to escape from the grip on his wrists. Tubbo looked at him sadly, letting go. Instantly, the boy walked a few feet away from him and began signing.

'Do you honestly think I belive that you're gonna keep this to yourself? And when you don't, are you gonna stay by my side, because I already know the answer.'

"Yes," Tubbo said, tearing his eyes away from Ranboo's hands. "Ranboo I've known about your scars ever since I helped you at the movies. That's been a couple of months now and I've told nobody. If the school would find out, I'd never, ever abandon you. Hell, I even fixed your collar last week because your neck was showing. I'm not disgusted. I couldn't be."

Ranboo just stared at him, no more tears falling down his cheeks but still trying to keep his distance. However, the jock wasn't done talking.

"The answer to the question why I kept it to myself is simple. You tried so hard to hide it. I always guessed that you were ashamed of your body, which is unnecesarry but beyond understandable. Despite knowing that the majority of the school wouldn't mind, I kept it to myself, because if I were standing in your shoes, I'd most likely do the same thing,"

'You don't understand. You're gonna be disgusted, you just don't know it yet,' Ranboo signed wiping tears from his eyes angrily. Tubbo shook his head stubbornly.

"I could never."

After that, Ranboo broke completely, clasping his hands over his mouth to avoid making noise, while he cried like he hadn't done in a long time. Tubbo reached out to his hands and pulled them away from Ranboo's face. Instead, he pulled them down and wrapped his arms over his shoulders. They had only hugged once before but it was enough to drive Tubbo crazy. Ranboo laid his head on Tubbo's shoulder and curled his hands into fists, gripping small bits of the fabric of Tubbo's shirt as he did so.

"I am not abandoning you," Tubbo whispered, acknowledging that his words had landed when Ranboo buried his head deeper into his shoulder. They stood there for a few minutes in that unused bathroom, while Ranboo was comforted by Tubbo. It was after Ranboo unfisted his hands that Tubbo loosened his grip. They stepped away from each other slowly, Ranboo wiping away one more tear.

Ranboo looked at Tubbo the moment he lowered his hand, creating suspension by the torturing slow pace he used. First, Tubbo guessed that he would sign something, but he hadn't expected him to reach for the collar of his jacket that seemed to be too much part of him to be removed. His hands shook visibly as he pulled the jacket down towards his shoulders, where a black t-shirt was covering up most of his skin.

However, his neck was exposed. Stretched out, white and pink lines ran halfway up the left side of his thorat and neck from Tubbo's perspective, creeping down under the even, colorless fabric. This, Tubbo had already seen a few times, just not this long and profound. Ranboo bit his lip anxiously, obviously struggling with the next part.

"I'm not pressuring you to go further, remember that," he said, his voice wavering ever so lightly from emotion. Ranboo nodded and took a deep breath.

He didn't stop. He pulled down his flannel as well, resulting him to remain in only t-shirt and jeans. Inch by inch, he revealed his arms, bare as god himself originally had gifted and created humanity. Only, did Ranboo's right arm not look like the original arm, only bonewise. It was just like the peek Tubbo had gotten from his neck, only so much bigger and leaving almost no trace of actual untouched skin. The marks peeked from under his shirt and stopped at the edge of his arm, explaining why he had never noticed anything unusual at his hands.

What was unusual, was the tear that ran down Tubbo's left cheek and fell onto the ground. Despite the earlier promise he had made that no matter what, he wouldn't pity the boy in front of him, his heart clenched painfully at the sight and just the imagination what he must have gone through.

When he looked back up, Ranboo looked so ashamed and scared that he felt like screaming. The clothes were now laying on the ground as he tried to wrap his arms around himself subconsciously. Tubbo was at a loss for words, his eyes glossing over, despite the effort he put in stopping that. The moments he spent in sorrow, apparently looked like betrayel to the mute boy, as he grabbed his flannel and jacket from the ground and started to walk off. Tubbo knew that if he let him leave, their friendship and possible relationship even, would be ruined. Thus, he got a hold on Ranboo's wrist when he walked by.

"I'm so sorry that you have to deal with that," he said, his voice cracking as he spoke. Trough his tears, he looked up at the startled boy. "But they don't change who you are. You're beautiful, Ranboo. Scars or not, that's what I think."

Tubbo released Ranboo's wrist so he could sign something. He secretly hoped that he wouldn't use this opportunity to walk off. Thank god he didn't.

'No one's ever said that before' Ranboo signed slowly, his hands shaking even more. Tubbo smiled a little bit.

"But it's the truth. Speaking about that, I haven't said a single thing to you that was a lie," he said. Ranboo's beautiful, tear-filled green and red eye didn't leave his.

'You really like me?' He signed. Tubbo let out a sudden laugh.

"Out of all the things I said, that's what you thought of? But yes, Ranboo. I really, really like you." Ranboo's cheeks coloured a clear shade of red as Tubbo spoke, and it lit up the jock's world when Ranboo smiled shyly with his teeth. Tubbo tilted the boy's head with his thumb, kind of regretting to be so close. He took a shaky breath and said:

"If I were to kiss you right now, would you mind?"

Ranboo bit his lip and shook his head. The mute boy was filled with anxiousness. What if he fucked it up, what if they head-bumped? What if they-

A pressure was placed on his lips, and that's when he figured out that Tubbo's hands were on the base of his neck, his thumbs right before his ears. He was so startled, that he didn't even think about kissing back. Tubbo noticed this and laughed against his mouth.

"It's ok to kiss back," he whispered playfully. Ranboo blushed deeply, looking in Tubbo's amused, blue eyes. His anxiety must have been obvious which was probably enough to make Tubbo realize that this was his first kiss. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry. If i'd known, I wouldn't have-"

Ranboo pressed his lips agains't Tubbo's again, now somewhat knowing what it felt like. Tubbo was the one to be hesitant now, but once he did kiss back, Ranboo realized what he had missed out on. After a few seconds, Tubbo pulled away and smiled lightly.

"As much as I'd like to go further, I've always fucked up your emotions enough lately," Tubbo whispered. Ranboo chuckled, touching his lips. "And I don't want to spoil everything I've got in store." Ranboo's eyes widened. He jumped in surprise when Tubbo started laughing.

"Come on, let's go home."

Ranboo slipped on his flannel and jacket, secretly loving the comfort the texture offered once again. He blushed and smiled when Tubbo held out his hand for him to grab. He did so and bit his lower lip. He had not expected that such a simple gesture would feel so good. Although he was tired of all the emotions that he had felt in merely ten minutes, and that both their eyes were red from crying, in that moment, all seemed too good to be true.

Little did they know that there was someone hiding in that restroom, who had no right to know about the conversation and was in possession of a phone.

Chapter 11: XI

Notes:

I present to you some fluff! but- first a tiny bit angst :D

It was the same dream again. Ranboo was back at their old house, smelling burned wood and breathing in smoke. He was wandering around the house cluelessly, desperately trying to find his mother. He reached the stairs, coughing because of the amount of smoke he had consumed. The same stair caused him to collapse.

It burned

Everything burned.

Although he knew that it would be a firefighter that would rescue him and safe his life, in his dream state he didn’t have the control to tell himself that. Or at least, it didn’t help.

However, something was different this time. There was no hand like there always had been, no scream that had become so familiar that the silence was deafening.

“Mom?” He called out. He had always heard his voice from when he was younger in his dreams. This time, however, since he had managed to speak out loud, it was like his consciousness reminded him that his voice had dropped at least what felt like an octave. The low sound startled him.

He climbed back up the stairs, tears streaming down his face and amazingly, he reached the top. That had never happened before. Breathing and coughing repeatedly, he ran towards the door where the firefighters had once said the fire had begun. When he entered, the door behind him closed. The third weird thing, was that there were three figures standing in the fire, unphased by the flames that surrounded them. His mom didn’t surprise him all that much, but Charlie and Tubbo, he hadn’t expected at all.

“Mom? Tubs? Charlie?” He asked, confusion clear in his voice as well as his face. “What’s going on?”

“My beautiful boy, you’ve grown so much,” his mother spoke. It was just as he remembered, soft and so full of love. He blinked, shaking his head.

“You were never there to see it, you were never there to see any of it. It hurts so much, mom, that you’re not here,” he said, his voice uneven he spoke. Ally smiled sadly.

“Oh, Ranboo, I have seen it. You just didn’t know I was there,” she smiled.

“Why are you even here?” Ranboo asked, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. It was a bad idea, since his hands were covered in ashes, but he ignored the increased stinging in his eyes. “Why are all of you here? I don’t need to be reminded of the failure I am.”

“You’ve got it all wrong, Boo. We’re not here because you’re a failure, we’re here because you need us. You love us,” Charlie said. Ranboo froze. What?

“Even though you might not want to believe it, deep down you know it’s true,” Tubbo said. Ranboo shook his head quickly. He backed off slowly as the words echoed through the room. He looked at his feet carefully before looking back up and noticing that his mother was now in flames. He tried to scream, but his voice seemed to have given up. He watched as she burned, Charlie and Tubbo watched sadly. That’s when the house collapsed and everything went black.

Ranboo gasped for air, coughing violently. At first, he didn’t know where he was, which freaked him out even more, but then he noticed the red numbers that portrayed the time. It said 03:24. That’s when he remembered that he was in his room. He cried soundlessly into his pillow, the choking not exactly improving his situation.

He couldn’t got to his dad or Charlie, he just couldn’t. He didn’t want to bother them. He was freaking out more than ever and he needed to just here someone. There was only one other person that he could think of to call, which is what he did. Of course, he couldn’t exactly call, and it was in the middle of the night, so the chances were small, but he tried nonetheless.

The phone rang four times before he hung up. If he had heard his phone go off, he would’ve noticed it by now. He shifted his position so he was leaning his head between his legs as they were pulled up, waiting anxiously for a message.

And thank god it came.

From: Tubbo | Ranboo? Are you alright? You called?

Ranboo sighed in relief, wiping the tears from his cheeks before answering.

To: Tubbo | Yes. I’m so so sorry for calling you this late. Could you call me back? You don’t have to of course, it’s the middle of the night. I would just really like to hear your voice right now. I’ll reply through message.

There was no reply for a minute, and Ranboo feared the worst, until his screen changed into a requested call. He quickly accepted it and pressed the speaker button.

“Ranboo, what happened? Are you ok?” He instantly heard Tubbo say. Not only was his voice raspier than ever, he sounded so concerned that Ranboo regretted calling him instantly. He switched his screen back to messenger and replied.

‘I had a nightmare. It was so bad, Tubs, it hurts so bad.’

“Shit. Do you want to tell me what it was about? And what hurts? Do you want me to come over?” Tubbo said. Ranboo could hear him moving, probably getting dressed.

‘It was the night my mom died, just worse. My burns are itchy, my throat is killing me and I just miss her so much.’

Ranboo’s uneven breathing must have been so loud that Tubbo could hear it over the phone, because his next reply sounded even more worried.

“Fuck, Ranboo. You’re crying. Seriously, I’m coming over. It’s not up for debate. Text me your address.”

As flattered as Ranboo was, he was scared out of his mind that someone other than his father or little brother would see him in this state. However, he knew that Tubbo wasn’t one to give up easily, so he couldn’t do more than comply and give his address.

Fifteen minutes later, he was a car stop on their driveway, parking behind his fathers car. He wiped the still falling tears and made his way down the stairs carefully, not wanting to wake his family. With shaking hands, he opened the door. Before he had even opened the door completely, he was already pulled into a hug. It reminded him of the dream again, which made him cry harder into Tubbo’s chest. “I’m here. You don’t have to be scared anymore, you’re safe. Easy there,” Tubbo kept whispering things like that in his ear. Ranboo felt himself calm down quicker than he had imagined, feeling safe in the boy’s arms. The moment he hesitantly pulled away from the boy, he realized how good Tubbo looked with bed hair. He leaned into Tubbo’s touch when his hands cupped his cheeks and his thumbs brushed away some falling tears. The jock then placed a tender kiss on his forehead.

Ranboo gave him the smallest of smiles, his cheeks now matching the redness around his eyes. He mouthed a grateful ‘thank you’. Tubbo just looked at him with his blue eyes filled with concern. Ranboo knew that he wanted to say something, but it was too risky downstairs. He grabbed Tubbo’s hand and led him upstairs towards his room, signaling to be quiet. Once they had reached said room and he had closed the door, he signed:

‘You can talk’

“You scared the hell out of me, Boo. Last time someone called me this upset, they nearly took their own lives. I thought you were going to harm yourself. I was so fucking scared.” Tubbo whispered. This time it was him that was close to tears and Ranboo to wrap his arms around him.

‘I won’t hurt myself physically, I promise,’ Ranboo signed once he had pulled away. He looked at Tubbo sternly so he knew that he was talking the truth. Tubbo sighed visibly, a small smile covering his features.

“Do I have permission to kiss you?” He asked quietly. Ranboo blushed, but nodded. Even though they had kissed before, Tubbo moved his head hesitantly. Whether it was nerves or hesitation, Ranboo couldn’t figure out. All he knew was that for a moment, all of his worries disappeared when Tubbo’s lops were pressed against his.

Ranboo had seen enough movies to know what he had to do once Tubbo started to move his lips against his. To be honest, it was a weird feeling, but he couldn’t really complain. He instinctively moved his right hand towards Tubbo’s neck, while the other was holding the boy’s sweater. He was the one to pull away, burying his red face in the crook of Tubbo’s neck to hide his blush. Tubbo chuckled and made him look at him.

“Don’t hide from me. You’re doing great and you look cute when you’re embarrassed,” Tubbo teased, pecking his lips one more time. Ranboo sat down on his bed, yawning slightly. Tubbo smiled fondly. “You need to get some sleep, Boo. How about I go home and we talk about the dream tomorrow,” Tubbo mumbled. Ranboo’s eyes widened and he fiddled with his fingers.

‘Could you maybe-‘ he lowered his hands for a second hesitantly. ‘Could you maybe stay. I don’t want to sleep alone.’ Tubbo let out a small sigh in relief, nodding without hesitation. Ranboo blushed once again and stood up, walking towards his closet. He grabbed one of his favorite short sleeved shirts and some joggers and gestured for Tubbo to take it. The boy did so gratefully.

Tubbo, apparently, wasn’t shy about his body. He pulled his sweater off, revealing defined abs. Ranboo caught himself taking a peak now and then, before shyly looking at the floor. When he looked back up, Tubbo had his arms through the sleeves abdomen still visible. Ranboo blushed when he was caught, quickly seeing Tubbo’s smirk before he decided to turn around. He could hear the unbuckling of a belt and bit his lip awkwardly.

“All done,” Tubbo said quietly. It hadn’t gone unnoticed by Ranboo that Tubbo was still careful with the volume that he spoke with. He respected the effort. Ranboo turned around, quietly deciding that he liked seeing Tubbo in his clothes. They fit him way better than they did fit him.

‘Do you want me to stay on the floor? I really don’t mind,’ Tubbo signed. Ranboo raised his eyebrow at the different way of communicating but let it slide.

‘I can’t let you stay on the floor,’ Ranboo replied, gesturing Tubbo to lie down. The boy did so and Ranboo followed. Tubbo held his distance and laid his head down.

“Is this ok?” He whispered. Ranboo blushed and nodded. It was only then that he realized that this whole time his burns had been visible. He subconsciously touched the burns on his neck. Tubbo noticed this and slowly pulled his hand away from the scarred tissue.

“Remember earlier today? It doesn’t matter to me. Your scars make you you,” Tubbo said, holding his hand. Ranboo didn’t agree with that but kept his mouth shut. Not that he could actually talk about it, but no. “Hey, I know it’s hard for you to see that, but you’re amazing just the way you are.”

Tears built up in the corners of Ranboo’s eyes again. He shrugged, wanting to roll over but Tubbo interfered.

“Please don’t cry, it was meant as a compliment,” Tubbo explained desperately, watching as a lone tear fell down Ranboo’s cheek. The smallest of smiles made it’s way up his face at Tubbo’s exclamation, before it disappeared.

‘It’s just hard to believe. I have always hated myself and my scars. Hearing you say that they are amazing is just hard,’ Ranboo signed. Tubbo nodded. He got a hold on his hand again and simply held it. “I will try my best to change that. It’s what you deserve,” Tubbo said. “Now, you really need to go to sleep. You’ eyes are about to close.”

He was right. Ranboo was fighting to stay awake. His eyes drooped shut again, and this time he didn’t have the strength to open them again. The blankets ruffled and he could feel a light pressure on his forehead. He slipped into unconsciousness just after he heard the boy wish him good night. Well, as far as you could call two hours of sleep a good night.

He was too tired to even think about the fact that his brother woke him every morning, and that he would not be prepared for the sight that would be revealed in two hours time.

Chapter 12: XII

Notes:

It's been a while again ah like over a month i think? Idk i'm so so soryy! I actualy wrote this chapter during my internship lmao. But I hope you all enjoy it!

Charlie awoke just a minute before his alarm went off. Instead of most teenagers, hehappily threw his legs over the edge of his bed and walked to the bathroom. In order to do so, he had to pass Ranboo's room. Of course, his door was still closed. He rolled his eyes and kept on walking, continuing his morning routine.

The moment he was done, he decided that it was time that Ranboo woke up. He'd have to, because his big brother was his ride to school. He opened the door slowly, not at all expecting the sight in front of him.

Ranboo was there, yes, but so was another boy. Charlie vaguely recognized him as Tommy's brother, Tubbo. They were both fast asleep, and Charlie could see that they were both wearing clothes - thank god. They holding hands, which was kind of cute. It didn't stop him from freaking out, though. He slowly walked backwards and closed the door.

"Dad!" He screamed, running down the stairs. His father had reached him within second, a kitchen knife in hands. Charlie eyed the knife shortly before explaining that there was someone else in Ranboo's room. Mark didn't need to hear more and ran back to where Charlie came from. He slammed the door open, looking mildly surprised as he noticed what Charlie meant. He cleared his throat.

"Ranboo Beloved and Tubbo Underscore," he spoke loudly. Both boys seemed to wake from their slumber and looked at the adult with wide eyes. They quickly pulled their arms to themselves and sat up. Mark noticed the pile of clothes in the corner of the room.

"Tubbo, get dressed, boy. And you young man-" he pointed at his eldest son. "You're coming with me."

Ranboo followed his father slowly, mouthing an 'I'm sorry' to Tubbo before the door was closed behind him. Mark grabbed his arm and led him a few feet away from the door.

'What is he doing here?' Mark signed. Ranboo shrugged and looked down. He could, however, still see his father's hands. 'Ranboo. I'm not mad, I just want to k now what's going on.' Ranboo sighed, shaking his head lightly. Earlier that night he had not wanted to tell his father about his nightmare to prevent further concerns, but it seemed like he didn't really have a choice.

'I had a nightmare. It was bad, dad. Worse than ever. I didn't want to wake you so I called Tubbo. He was determined to come over and I begged him to stay. I'm sorry.' Ranboo quickly signed. He prepared himself for a speech about the fact that he couldn't just bring someone home in the middle of the night, not expecting his father to hug him. He let out a soundless huff, slowly hugging back.

"Did it help? When you called him?" The elder man asked his son while his arms were wrapped around the boy's back. Ranboo nodded slowly, leaning into his father's embrace. "Good. Then let's go get him."

Mark pulled away and lead his son towards his room. Ranboo knocked on the door once before opening the door. Luckily, Tubbo was all done changing and sitting on the bed. He looked up when the door opened and immediately stood up.

"Sir, I'm so sorry. I sort of invited myself in and it was late. It was never my intention to get Ranboo into tr-" he cut off his sentence when Mark hugged him.

"Thank you for looking after my son," the man said. Tubbo let his arms hang next to his sides awkwardly, replying that it was no problem. Ranboo just looked at the unraveled sight in front of him in surprise, glad that his father wasn't mad. He smiled a bit at Tubbo's awkwardness, which Mark caught up as well.

"Don't get used to this, boy. Anyways, you need breakfast. Why don't you come with me and let Ranboo change." Ranboo shrugged innocently when Tubbo pouted in his direction before he followed Ranboo's father downstairs. The man ordered him to sit down and offered him some coffee, which he politely inclined.

"That would be great, thank you. And about earlier, again I'm sorry. I know it looked a little weird but I would never do something Ranboo wasn't comfortable with," he told Mark, who was making him the coffee. A lean figure sat down beside him, startling him.

"Did you guys kiss already?" Charlie asked, leaning over the table slightly. Tubbo noticed two pairs of eyes on him and blushed. He did not need to answer, because the boy already had his answer. "Oh my god, you totally did!"

"Like I said, I wouldn't do anything Ranboo's not comfortable with," he said awkwardly. Charlie was grinning, probably of ways to tease Ranboo - at least, thats what Tommy always did, he figured that all small brothers were that way. Mark looked a bit more protective than his son.

"Would you like sugar or milk?" Mark asked him. He shook his head.

"No, thank you, sir," he said. The brought the cup of coffee and leaned over the table so he was leaning next to him while setting it down.

"You make my boy really happy, Tubbo. Don't you dare break his heart ot I swear to god I will break you," the man said quietly. Tubbo nodded confidently. Although the man's tone was threatening, he wasn't scared at all. He didn't plan on breaking Ranboo's heart any more than mark warned him to.

"He maked me really happy too, sir. I think I would break myself before you would, to be honest," he said. "Thanks for the coffee."

"Good. Now, I' gonna make the three of you breakfast. You make sure that Ranboo actually eats it. He tends to skip breakfast," Mark said. Tubbo just nodded at him before he left the table again. Charlie looked at him apologetically, but he just chuckled.

"Sometimes I work for my mom. Trust me, I'm used to a lot more threatening behaviour," he said. "Besides, I really like your brother."

He heard something creak behind him and looked over his shoulder. Ranboo was walking down the stairs, fully dressed. Which included his oversized jacket. Tubbo stood up and walked towards him. He pulled him into a small hug, which the boy returned.

"You know you don't have to hide them from us, right?" He whispered, kissing Ranboo's cheek. Ranboo nodded, blushing at the kiss.

'I know. I'm not hiding them from you. I'm hiding them from myself." Tubbo eyes him sadly. Ranboo squeezed his hand in a reassuring matter, only did it not work very well.

"Ok, so this is cute and all, but we need to go to school. So, either just kiss already or go to the car," Charlie said from behind them. Although Tubbo was still concerned about Ranboo's earlier words, he masked that and smirked. Ranboo shook his head shyly, which Tubbo totally understood.

"Let's go," he whispered. Ranboo nodded, his cheeks still reddened from the attention.

"Oh, by the way. Tubbo, you're welcome to stay for dinner tonight, i you'd like," Mark said from behind the counter. Ranboo only now realized that his dad was watching them as well and feared the most when Tubo said he'd love to, but that he needed to inform his parents first. He quickly grabbed the boy's hand and dragged him away towards the door. Charlie grabbed his bag and jacket quickly and followed them.

"Boo, wait. I think you want me to ride with you, which is awesome, but I do need my bag. It's in the trunk of my car. Besides, unless you're gonna trash my car, I think I need to go move it," Tubbo winked at him when Ranboo realized that he was right. He quickly retrieved the bag and drove the car to the side of the road, so the car wasn't blocked anymore.

He walked back to the car, taking a close look at the beautiful state of the car. There was not a scratch to be found. Ranboo had talked about the car before, but now he understood, for the age of the car, how well it was cared for. He looked inside and saw that Charlie was sitting in the back. He signed where he was supposed to sit, and Ranboo pointed at the passenger seat. He smiled fondly and walked around the car.

The inside of the car was just as clean as the outside. The leather seats were so spotless that he almost felt offended sitting down. Ranboo grinned at him before shifting the car in reverse. Lemon Demon was playing quietly in the background as they left.

Ten minutes later, they arrived at the school. Ranboo looked at Charlie through the rearview mirror with raised eyebrows, moving his head just slightly to signal that he wanted to be alone with Tubbo for a bit. The younger Beloved brother rolled his eyes but walked out of the car as was requested. As soon as the boy was a few feet away, Ranboo turned towards Tubbo to apologize for the chaotic morning. He didn't get the chance to sign something, though, because Tubbo leaned over, lifted Ranboo's chin with his index finger and placed a light kiss on his lips.

"Don't you dare apologize It turned out to be ok," Tubbo said strnly, moving his hand from under the boy's chin to just above is jacket, his thumb hooking right before his ear Ranboo sighed but nodded.

'Ok'

This time, it was Ranboo to initiate another kiss, stretching his neck to reach the other boy's lips. Their lips moved together for a few minutes, before Tubbo pulled away grinning.

"You really are a fast learner. Now, let's go to class before we'll get in even more trouble," Ranboo smiled lightly and nodded. Tubbo placed a quick kiss on his lips before opening the door on his side. Ranboo pulled the key out of the ignition and followed his lead.

He couldn't help but grin and touch his lips gently as cold air breezed against them. The moment he noticed that Tubbo was watching him, he started walking towards him, a blush on his cheeks. The jock rested an arm around his waist while walking, which made the heat that came rushing to his face even worse. His own hands were buried in the pockets of his jacket, which was how he normally walked to prevent stretching the fabric too much.

"Do you want to keep this a secret for now? You can be totally honest with me, I understand if you do," Tubbo mumbled quietly into Ranboo's right ear. Ranboo shivered and smiled apologetically. This was all Tubbo needed to know. Of course he was a little bit disappointed that he couldn't hold his - still friend's hand proudly, but with everything Ranboo had gone through, he was in no position to disagree.

Thus, he let go. They entered the building together and immediately went to class. There, Tubbo took his regular seat by the window and Ranboo his seat next to Purpled. The boy waved at him awkwardly, and was rewarded with a single wave in return.

Six hours later, Ranboo found himself walking next to Tubbo again, looking around for his brother. The school grounds were filled with students wanting to go home.

"Hey, my mom said that it's ok by the way, eating dinner at your place," Tubbo said. Ranboo grinned, which still was an awkward phenomenon for him. They reached the car, where they expected Charlie to be. Unfortunately, he wasn't there. Ranboo shot Tubbo a worried look.

'If he's not here within ten minutes, I'm gonna go look for him,' he signed. Tubbo nodded.

"I will help you." Ranboo smiled gratefully at him, looking around carefully before grabbing his hand. He was obviously nervous, and his anxiety only worsened when the ten minutes passed and Charlie wasn't there.

"Do you want to split up?" Tubbo asked, but Ranboo quickly shook his head. "Ok then, let's go."

They entered the awfully abandoned building again, Ranboo listening closely for any sounds excluding their breathing and footsteps. Tubbo was quiet too, looking around frantically. They jumped when they heard a thump coming from across the corner. Ranboo quietly walked over there, signing for Tubbo to wait.

"You're sick, Dream." Ranboo instantly recognized his brother's voice. His facial expression hardened. He felt Tubbo's presence close to him now, probably because he had heard too.

"Well, I might be, but that only makes things easier. You see, your useless, ugly fag of a brother isn't here to save you now. That makes it way easier for me to do this-"

In the meantime, Ranboo had inched closer, noticing that there were three people crowding around Charlie, who was pressed against the lockers. Stupidly, they were all faced with their backs towards Ranboo. He had sneaked closer to them, picking up his pace when he noticed that the boy- Dream, was going to hit his little brother. Before his fist could collide with Charlie's face, Ranboo grabbed his wrist.

In that moment, Dream was too dumbfounded to defend himself when Ranboo punched him in the center of his face. He smirked when one of the allies backed away and the other was caught and held by Tubbo.

"You're one stupid son of a bitch, you know that?" Tubbo said. "There's really only just one thing you can do to piss Ranboo off, and you've managed to do just that. Oh, and I know for certain that if you happen to try this again, he won't hold back."

Ranboo pushed Dream away, who was holding his now bleeding nose. Tubbo also let the other kid go, who quickly ran past them towards the others. He glared at him until they had left his sight, before finally turning to face his brother. Said boy pushed himself into his arms. From the shaking figure, Ranboo knew that he was crying. He watched Tubbo sadly, who reflected his expression.

"Are you alright Charlie?" He asked. Ranboo gently pushed him away and held his cheeks. His eyes were scanning his face for injuries, but thankfully there was nothing there but tear streaks.

'Did he hurt you?' Ranboo signed afterwards.

"I'm ok, Tubbo. Just terrified. I'm sorry for crying. And no, I'm not hurt, Boo. They just slammed me into the lockers, that's all. How could you go trough that every day and stay so strong?" He said. Ranboo faked a smile, not knowing what to say. He just pulled him back into a hug.

Tubbo watched them sadly as he noticed that a lone tear rolled down Ranboo's cheek. He made a mental note to question him about that because that either meant he was crying for his brother or crying because of past events.

"Oh, and Boo?" Ranboo hummed quietly, his eyes squeezing together in pain. Charlie pulled away this time, slapping his shoulder. "Don't do that, you idiot. It hurts you. No, but please don't tell dad about this. We both know that we can't afford moving again and I know you don't want to. We'll figure it out."

Ranboo nodded, before a one sides smirk made his way up his face.

'Alright, child.'

Charlie chuckled. "Asshole."

The three of them walked back to the car, Ranboo interwining his left hand ith Tubbo's right, while Charlie walked on his other side. Charlie sat down in the back again and Ranboo wanted to sit don as well, but he was pushed against the side of the car by Tubbo, one of the jock's legs in between his own. It created some uncomfortable friction, which caused Ranboo to blush brightly. Tubbo brought his face close to Ranboo's.

"I already checked, there's nobody here but us. I just wanted to say that I beg to differ. You're handsome and definitely not useless," Tubbo whispered, staring intensely into his eyes. Ranboo looked down, the redness in his face only growing. It didn't last long though, because Tubbo lifted his face with his index and middle finger. "I mean it."

Ranboo lifted his arm and rested it against Tubbo's chest as he leaned in slightly. Tubbo did the same as they pressed their lips together softly. It only lasted a few seconds, because they both knew that Charlie was still in the car. Tubbo pecked his lips one more time before stepping way. The moment Ranboo opened the door, he immediately felt awkward under Charlie's stare.

"I saw that," the smaller boy said smugly. Ranboo looked at him confusedly. How did he even see them? "I used my camera dumbass. I didn't record, don't worry. I'm glad that you're happy, Boo. I really am."

Ranboo blushed as Tubbo entered the car. He quickly started the engine, feeling way too awkward.

--

"So, are the two of you together now?" Mark asked, before taking a bite of his food. Tubbo and Ranboo both blushed.

"Not officially," Tubbo replied, looking at Ranboo who thought that the contents of his plate were very intresting. Charlie smirked.

"Do you want to see them kiss? I recorded it." Ranboo looked up, a betrayed look crossing his face. Charlie grinned at him. "Sorry not sorry, I lied. It was cute and I knew that you'd delete it if I'd told you."

Ranboo made a mean face and stuck his middle finger towards him. Tubbo, who was sitting next to him, leaned closer.

"I'm kinda curious now," he whispered cheekily. Ranboo pouted, which caused the table to laugh. Charlie pulled his phone from under the table and pressed his password. He then opened his gallery and clicked on the latest video. The moment it started, Ranboo burried his head in Tubbo's shoulder embarrassedly.

"So, get this-" Ranboo could see them pressed against each other, which subconsciously made him shift in his seat. "If they don't kiss within one minute, I'm gonna come out and make it happen myself." Ranboo looked at Tubbo, who was watching intensely with rosy cheeks before looking at the phone. "Ah, there we go. Go get some, big bro! Oh snap, they're coming back. He's not gonna like this."

Then the recording stopped. Ranboo had to admit, it did look cute. He never expected to see himself kissing somebody anytime soon. The thought alone made him smile slightly. His father was watching him with tears in his eyes. Ranboo smiled a bit, returning to his food. The table was quiet after that.

About five minutes later, Ranboo fiddled with his fingers nervously. He had been thinking about something for the entire day now, but he was nervous. What if Tubbo would leave, or pity him? Would he keep it to himself? Apparently, Tubbo noticed his change in behaviour.

"What's up, Boo?"

Ranboo lifted his hands slowly, before backing them down again. He took a deep breath before taking another chance.

'Dad, can you tell him about the night?' He signed. Mark almost dropped his fork as he watched his hands. Charlie too looked worried.

"are you sure kid?" Ranboo closed his eyes for a second, before nodding. Tubbo looked at him worriedly, knowing that he was probably talking about the night everything changed for them. He grabbed his hand reassuringly, noticing that the boy was shaking.

"Alright then. It all happened when Ranboo was four and Charlie was merely sixx months old. My wife Ally, was looking after Ranboo, while I put Charlie to bed-"

Chapter 13: XIII

Notes:

New chapter woo! Writing this around midnight lmao!

[November 28th, 2005]

"But mom, I want dragon fruit"

Ali Beloved laughed as she lifted her four year old son. Bright green and red eyes started at her pleadingly, which filled her heart with love.

"You've already had a piece, honey. Besides, don't you want to say goodbye to Charlie before you go to bed?" She smiled when her son's expression changed to one of excitement. "You can have one tomorrow, ok?"

Ali kissed Ranboo's forehead and put him down. Immediately, he ran down the hall and up the stairs, up to his brother's nursery room. She put away Ranboo's plate and made her way up the stairs, where she could hear the screaming of her eldest son. She quickenend her pace, only to stop when she saw that her husband was carrying Ranboo upside down. The boy was screeching in joy and had the biggest smile on his face. She watched them, laughing softly when Mark winked at her.

"I caught this little enderman sneaking downstairs," Mark explained, carefully turning Ranboo around so he was facing them again. The boy giggled when his father pretended to be mad.

"I wasn't," Ranboo said, screaming again when Mark threw him over his shoulder.

"Oh, I'm sure you're right. Now, what do you think honey? No bedtime story?" Mark tried, rubbing his scruff with the hand that wasn't holding Ranboo up. Ali smiled.

"Or, we could bring him straight to bed without saying goodnight to Charlie." The gasp from Ranboo's mouth was enought evidence that their teasing had worked once again. It was truly adorable how much he cared about his little brother.

"I wanna see Charlie," the child said, pouting slightly. Ali smiled and nodded. The boy's eyes lit up at the confirmation. The three of them walked over to Charlie's nursery, where the baby was squirming in his crib. Mark held him up while he said goodnight and let him go afterwards so he could go to bed himself.

Fifteen minutes later, the boy was laying in his bed, grinning when Ali came in. He hid under his blankets, laughing silently when his mother made a confused sound.

"I can't believe it, I swear he was just there!" She said with a gasp. Ranboo giggled underneath the blankets, screaming when his ankles were grabbed. "Gotcha."

Three attempts to put him to sleep and two stories later, Ranboo's eyes were finally drooping. Ali smiled at her eldest child, kissing his forehead.

"Sleep tight, my beautiful boy. And remember, gods are watching over you," she whispered. Ranboo smacked his lips twice before closing his eyes comepletely. Ali watched how his breathing evened and went to turn off the lights. She closed the door behind her, letting out a breath that she had been holding for too long. After that she went downstairs, where she could hear the tv.

"Well, that took ages. Did you have to suffocate him or something? Or worse, did he try to suffocate you?" Mark said, leaning his head over the couch. He hummed contently when his wife kissed him gently.

"You've been watching too much tv, honey. Let him be happy and careless while he can," Ali replied as she sat down beside him. Her head rested on Mark's shoulder as she smiled.

"Ranboo's so proud to have Charlie as his baby brother. I've never seen him so happy," Ali said, sighing contentedly when Mark's arm wrapped around her waist.

"I know. It suits him," the man agreed. Ali soon started to doze off in her husband's arms, not noticing the first time when Charlie started crying through the baby monitor. Mark, however, did. He untangled himself from his wife and slowly made his way to Charlie's room. He immediately figured that something was wrong, due to the smoke that was coming from under the door.

"Ali!" He screamed. Without hesitation, Mark grasped the door handle in an attempt to open the door. Unfortunately, at that moment he totally forgot all the safety precautions that he had once learned regarding emergency services, and grasped the flaming hot metal with his bare hand. He pulled his hand back, hissing slightly, before pulling his sleeve over his hand and trying it again. This time, the heat wasn't as bad. He rushed inside, shielding his eyes from bright flames that has spread through the room.

Without the slightest hesitation, he reached for his baby son, who was crying uncontrollably. The second he held Charlie in his arms, he rushed outside. He screamed Ali's name again while he ran towards Ranboo's room. The boy had already awoken and practically ran into his arms. With the two boys in his arms, he ran downstairs. Once they had reached the door, he gently laid Charlie in Ranboo's arms.

"Take your brother outside! Now, Ranboo. Go!" With those words, the frightened boy did as he was told. Mark rushed back in, looking for his wife. While flames had already taken a spot in every inch of the house, there was nothing else but flames there.

"ALI!" He screamed, before too much smoke entered his lungs and he started to cough. He felt that he was being grabbed, hearing sirens far away, but he tried to resist anyway. In the meantime, he swore he heard a scream from upstairs.

"No, my wife is still in there!" He said, his eyes wide, searching through the threatening fire.

"I'm sorry, sir. We'll look for her once we get you to safety," he heard someone say, seemingly breathing through a mask. He let himself be carried outside the house, as tears already dampened before they could fall down his cheeks. He kept screaming his wife's name heartbrokenly, even when he was too far away from the house.

"Charlie and Ranboo. Have you seen my boys? Where are my children!?" He said frantically, looking around. He was still pulled from the fire and was carried in one of the ambulances. A woman wearing a firefighter suit came up to him and the, apparently, two men who held him.

"Sir, the kid just ran back into the house." Mark looked up, fear building up inside him. No.

Meanwhile, Ranboo saw his father being dragged out of the house, with no sign of his mother in sight. The firefighters had taken Charlie from him and he was standing there all alone, watching the massive flames build higher and higher. The moment he heard a female scream he just wanted to save his mommy. He avoided the firefighters and ran back into the heat, not thinking about the consequences it would bring. He ran towards the stairs, running up them halfway before he suddenly got trouble breathing. He stumbled over the stairs, hitting his head against the boiling wood.

Just moments later, he found himself laying on the stairs on his right side. He looked up to the stairs where he saw a hand stick out from the hallway. However, before he could continue, he started coughing again and heard voices. He took a few steps before he felt his knees go weak. He did, however, not fall down because a fire fighter scooped him in his arms. The cool air that hit him seconds later hurt his voice a little bit, but he could only feel the tears that were falling. The firefighter put him on the back of a fire truck.

"Hey, kid. I got you a blanket. Are you ok?" Ranboo felt something fall over his shaking, small shoulders before an uncomfortable warmth spread trough his body. The sensation sent him into a state of panic, as he shrugged the blanket off as quickly as possible. Everything on his right side hurt. He looked at the young firefighter, who had now erased his helmet and crouched down in front of him.

"Charlie. Where are my mommy and daddy? And Charlie," Ranboo croaked out, before coughing weakly. He wanted to stand up, but his legs gave out as soon as he tried. The firefighter caught him again and set him back on the back of the fire truck. The employee put the blanket over the boy's shoulders once again.

"Take it easy. See, there's your brother. They are checking on him first, and then it's your turn. Look, there's your dad," the firefighter said, first pointing at the ambulance, where he could, indeed, make out the bundle he had carried his brother in. The four years old felt arms wrap around him, panic filling his insides again. He calmed down when he heard that this was his father.

"Ranboo. I'm so glad you're ok! What were yout hinking running inside like that! You could've gotten yourself killed!" Ranboo felt his father's dirty hands on his cheeks, but he didn't look at him. He looked at the house which started to make weird noises.

"Where's mommy?" He asked, sounding even worse than before. He was engulfed in his father's embrace once again. However, this time Mark returned in his eyesight sooner than he had wanted.

"You're burning up. I need a paramedic here, now!" Ranboo blinked, looking at his father, who looked worried. The man peeled the piece of the blanket that was covering his neck off him, gasping as he did so. Ranboo felt his father's thumb on his neck, letting out a loud cry.

"It hurts, daddy. It hurts everywhere," he whimpered. His dad lifted him up, which was the last thing he heard before he lost consciousness.

When he returned to the land of the living, the first thing he saw was his dad, sitting on a chair beside him. He noticed an incredible pain on his right side, making him want to squirm and itch the pain away. His father noticed that he had woken up, standing up quickly and pressing a button.

"Welcome back, kiddo," He said quietly. Ranboo immediately noticed that he looked sad. His face was wet and his eyes were red. He didn't like his father to be sad. His father was only sad when he fought with mommy.

"Whe-" he stopped his attempt when he noticed that there wasn't a noise that came paired with his obvious question.

"Easy there. The doctors said that you could experience temorary loss of your voice. Uncle Phil is watching over Charlie right now. He's perfectly fine. You did a good job keeping him safe," Mark said. Ranboo noticed his watery eyes and reached a bandaged arm towards his father's face.

"Mommy?" He whispered soundlessly. Mark let some tears fall, which frightened the small boy.

"She's watching over us now, like the gods," his father said. More and more tears seemed to fall down Mark's face. Ranboo crawled up, ignoring the agonizing burn on his right side and reached out to his father. Understanding his intentions, the grown up man scooped his elder son in his arms and held him for dear life. Ranboo heard him cry, which brought tears in his eyes as well. What did his daddy mean by that? He had never met a god? Did that mean that his mommy was never going to return?

In that moment, that sad, painful moment, he swore never to lose his father. Of course, at that moment he didn't understand all that much about death. He learned that his mother had died a year later in kindergarten and had cried his eyes out as he realized what that meant.

He had never forgotten the smell.

That awful smell of melt wood, burnt curtains, flames.

He had never forgotten the last time he had seen his mother. He never smiled again.

Chapter 14: XIV

Notes:

Warning: Short making out, but all there is, is kissing. The clothes stay on you little perverts.

Ahah ya'll are not ready for the end of this chapter >:)

[Present]

Later that night, Ranboo was laying in Tubbo's arms, playing with the boy's tanned fingers. The jock was watching his moves with a small smile on his face.

"I'm proud of you, you know that?" He mumbled against the dual coloured hair of his- fuck it, from now on he would call him his boyfriend. Ranboo untangled their hands to reply, which made his hands feel cold.

'So you've told me. Why this time?' Tubbo hummed contently when the hands returned.

"For trusting me with your story. We've been through one hell of a rollercoaster the last couple of days and yet you let me in. And that's one hell of a brave thing to do," Tubbo said. Ranboo turned around to face him, rolling over hundred-eighty degrees so he was practically laying on top of him. He mouther a 'thank you' to the boy, who just smiled and kissed him briefly.

"I can't wait to hear you talk," he mumbled against his lips. Ranboo's cheeks burned up and he tried to move away, but Tubbo pulled him back. His hands moved down towards Ranboo's knees, guiding him towards a much more comfortable position where his kneew were now positioned on either side of his legs.

"There you go, prevents me from suffocating," he said playfully. If possible, Ranboo's face grew even more red. He grinned, lifting his arms again and lifting Ranboo's head up. Their heads were now at the same level as they stared at each other intensely.

"Do you think I can try something new?" Ranboo bit his lip and nodded cautiously. Tubbo raised his head slightly to press their lips together. They kissed for a few minutes before Tubbo licked Ranboo's lower lip. Ranboo pulled back, a weird look crossing his face. Tubbo had to suppress a laugh that was forming in his throat.

"That was a sign for you to open your mouth a little," he grinned. Ranboo, who now understood what was going on, looked down at Tubbo's chest anxiously. "You don't have to be embarrassed, Boo. I just thought I could teach you, but if you're not-"

Ranboo surprised him by pressing his lips against Tubbo's again, earning a low moan from the jock. The sound, together with the friction from ther position, caused the air in the room to thicken. Tubbo repeated his earlier action, this time getting the wanted reaction. Despite the hesitation that was obviously there, he couldn't help but gasp desperately. It was as if Ranboo had the same experience Tubbo had, and he would be lying if he would say he didn't love them kissing like that.

His fingers tugged at the little hairs on Ranboo's neck as he rested his hands on Tubbo's chest. Tubbo turned them around swiflty, so he was lying between his legs. In that moment thay gasped for air, before reattaching their lips together quickly. Subconssciously, Tubbo rubbed against Ranboo, earning the most beautiful sound ever created by the gods. He didn't have long to enjoy said sound though, because the boy started caoughing violently.

"Boo, are you ok?" He asked, sitting up and helping him sit up too. Ranboo's head was red from the lack of oxygen and pressure he used to cough and tears were rolling down his cheeks. He didn't reply, but just leant foreward. Tubbo reached for the water bottle in his backpack, knowing that he hadn't used it all day. He quickly removed the lid and guided Ranboo up. He held the bottle against Ranboo's lips, who took a few sips before his throat started to act up again. However, it wasn't as bad as before.

"Take some deep breaths, Boo. Easy there. Alright. Now, try to drink some more water," he ordered, and luckily, the boy followed his orders. Ranboo's bedroom door opened and Mark entered worriedly. Within a second, he crouched down beside his son, repeating vaguely the same actions as Tubbo had.

It took the boy ten minutes to calm down. He leaned against Tubbo's chest, his chest heaving visibly.

"What happened?" Mark asked. Tubbo looked down at the boy for a second, noticing that the fucked was smiling mischievously. The jock blushed and tried to explain.

"He accidentally made a sound, which strained his vocal chords, I guess. I never knew that sounds hurt him so much," Tubbo said. Mark raised his eyebrows, and Tubbo noticed the dam mischief in his eyes. They were so related.

"Oh, what sound did he make then?" Ranboo laughed quietly in his lap, which Tubbo felt due to the shaking of the bed. Mark was amused as well, annoying the crap out of Tubbo.

"You guys are horrible. Although I don't know why you're laughing, babe, because I recall that it was your moan," he said, winking at Mark. The older man laughed, watching fondly how his son burried his face deeper in Tubbo's chest, who stroked his hair lightly.

"Alright kiddos. Tubbo, even though I appreciate you being there for my son, I think it's time for you to go home," Mark said. There was no suspicion or anger in his voice, whch reassured Tubbo that the man liked him enough to be with his son romantically.

"Yeah, my family's probably wondering when I'm gonna come home," he agreed. Ranboo gave him a closed mouthed smile when the jock looked at him, searching for confirmation. An eyebrow was raised towards him, making him shrug.

It may have been a little pathetic, selfish even, but he didn't want the boy to go. He didn't want the source of his short-lived happiness to go. He knew that he shouldn't complain because of what he had gained over the past few days, but the sudden loss resulted into that depressed, sad state he had not missed at all.

A hand on his shoulder pulled him out of his thoughts. He looked up to see Tubbo's worried blue eyes.

"Are you ok, Ranboo? And don't you dare lying?" Tubbo asked. Ranboo sighed and shrugged.

'I will be fine,' he signed. Before Tubbo could interrupt him, he held a hand over his mouth. 'That wasn't a lie. I really will be.'

Tubbo grabbed his bag from the corner of the room and slung it over his shoulder. He looked at Ranboo again, who looked like a lost puppy. He chuckled lightly. He reached out his hand to pull the boy on his feet, which he accepted quickly. Ranboo turned out to be closer than either of them had anticipated, which caused the both of them to blush. Ranboo tilted his head slightly, signaling confusion.

"Why I pulled you up? Well, you're going to walk me to the door of course, being the good boyfriend that you are," Tubbo said. He noticed Ranboo's face heat up even more, not knowing why exactly.

'Boyfriend?'

Tubbo's mouth shaped into an 'o', as he felt his own cheeks heat up as well. He glanced at Mark, who was watching them in amusement. The man stood up and left the room without saying a word, leaving the blushing boys by themselves in Ranboo's room.

"I-eh. I'm sorry," he mumbled. "I know I'm your first boyfriend and I shouldn't have jumped into that kind of conclusions without making sure you're fully comfortable with that."

Ranboo looked at him with an unreadable expression on his face and to be honest, Tubbo thought he had fucked up. That was until a small smirk made its way up Ranboo's face.

'You could've just asked, you know," he signed. Tubbo let out a sigh of relief. He initiated a hug, burying his face in the crook of Ranboo's neck. A pang of sadness shot through him as he felt the wobbly skin connect with his cheek, but he tried to ignore it. Ranboo did the same thing while hooking his arms under Tubbo's. Tubbo lifted his head slighlty, so his mouth was close to Ranboo's ear.

"Will you be my boyfriend?" he whispered. Ranboo felt chills all over his body due to the close proximity of Tubbo's words. He leant back, not completely removing himself from the jock's grasp, and he nodded, not removing his gaze from the blue eyes that were etched in his mind. He hadn't noticed that Tubbo kissed him until he felt a pressure on his lips. He returned the favor happily.

"I really gotta go," Tubbo mumbled in between kisses. Ranboo nodded but kissed him nevertheless. Tubbo chuckled and pulled away. Ranboo pouted but he had no other choice to agree. Together they walked down the stairs.

"Thank you for having me here today, sir," he thanked Mark, who smiled.

"Thank you for looking after my son," he replied. Ranboo hit Tubbo on his shoulder and gave his father a look that could be translated into a stretched 'dad'. He quickly pulled Tubbo towards the door and pushed him outside. Tubbo laughed as they made their way to his car, hands intertwined.

'Thank you for listening today,' Ranboo signed, giving him one of those uncertain smiled that Tubbo loved and hated at the same time.

"Again, thank you for trusting me to listen. I know it's dam hard for you to open up, but you did and I'm proud of you," Tubbo said, knowing that he had already said that not an hour ago.

'You're repeating yourself,' Ranboo signed, who had apparently caught up on the same thing. Tubbo chuckled.

"I'm repeating the truth, babe. There's a difference." Ranboo shrugged, but he was obviously amused. He kissed his boyfriend- gods, did that sound good to say- gently, feeling Tubbo smile against his lips.

"Gods, you are so beautiful," Tubbo mumbled, moving a stray hair that was stuck on Ranboo's forehead. The boy blushed, looking down at his feet. Tubbo lifted said head with his pointing finger. "One day you'll believe me, babe."

'We'll see," Ranboo signed. Tubbo kissed him once more before opening the door of his car.

"I'll see you tomorrow" he said leaning on the door. Ranboo nodded, which was just enough confirmation for Tubbo to step in his car. He waved at the boy, who waved back shyly, before starting the car. He drove backwards before making a turn and driving off. He could see the figure of his boyfriend get smaller and smaller until he was out of sight.

Then, he began smiling. Ranboo Beloved was his actual boyfriend.

He was ten minutes out when his phone vibrated, suggesting that someone left a message. He grabbed the phone, figuring that it was probably Ranboo and he couldn't help but want to read his text. However, he was caught of guard with what he received.

He read the text again, his body filling with fear within seconds. His throat began to close up and his heartbeat fastened in an alarming rate as he scrolled down. Due to his sudden panic, he hadn't noticed that his speed had been increasing. He also missed a stop sign and a truck coming from the left.

He only noticed this when the truck honked, but it was too late. The truck hit the left side of the car with such force that the car flipped over. Tubbo made contact with the driver for a second, the same amount of fear in his eyes before he made three more flips and landed upside down.

Tubbo couldn't move. His leg was stuck, his arm was bent in an uneasy angle and gods, did his head hurt. He was hanging upside down, feeling himself lose consciousness as he swore he heard someone say the word 'mate'. He glanced at his, now cracked phone one last time as the message echoed through his head, before the world went black.

'Hi there, Tubbo. See those pictures? You better distance yourself from Ranboo Beloved, or these photos will be all over social media. You would not want to be the one to out these disgusting scars now, would you. You have two days.

Chapter 15: XV

Notes:

I'm back! whoo. I have not posted a new chapter in a while I apologise for that!! But I hope you enjoy this one.

Ranboo was making homework, algebra to be exact, when his father rushed into his room, a worried look present on his face. Ranboo immediately shot up from his chair.

'What happened? Is Charlie ok?'

"Grab your jacket and get in the car," Mark cut him off, not even looking at his hands. Ranboo looked at him dumbly for a second, which caused an incredulous look to cover his father's face. "Now, Ranboo."

That caused memories to flood back to him, panic rising up quicker than he would have liked. The last time his father had used that line, his mother had died. He grabbed his jacket and a scarf, taking a quick look in the mirror to check if everything was covered before running downstairs.

Much to his relief, he noticed a mob of brown hair flash before his eyes.

Charlie.

"Charlie, I told you I want you to stay home. I don't want you waiting in the car all by yourself or wait in there because that's not your call to make." Mark said angrily towards the boy that was lacing his shoelaces.

"But dad, I'll be alone if I'm at home too. And I can wait in one of those smelly rooms! You won't even know I'm there," the boy replied. He sighed when his father's expression remained the same.

"You will lock the door behind us and do whatever you want to do. Make homework, watch a movie. Hell, take some snacks. You can call me if somethings wrong. And no more whining, because I'm not gonna change my mind," Mark said, noticing Ranboo coming down the stairs. "Let's go, boy."

Ranboo ruffled his brother's hair playfully, smirking when he heard an annoyed sound come from the boy's throat. However, the boy seemed sad, which didn't exactly ease Ranboo's thoughts. Who or what could possibly be this-

Oh no.

Tubbo had never replied to his messages.

The thought crossed him when he sat down next to his father. He looked at the man with wide eyes, hoping that it was enough to beg for an explanation. Luckily, that was the case.

"Phil just called me, saying some kid wasn't paying attention to the road and drove past a stop sign. He was driving his truck when it happened and couldn't slow down in time. He had pulled the boy out of the car before it caught on fire andn oticed that you were the last person to send a message to his phone. He's already at the hospital."

Ranboo was surprised to hear about Phil. It had been quite some time since he had seen the man. The moody old man had taught Ranboo a lot about repairing cars. He knew about his scars, he just didn't care. It had at least been a year since he had seen him. He just hadn't felt like it after all the bullying that happened in that town.

His heart seemed to stop for a second when he heard baout the crash. He gave his father that same look that screamed 'tell me more'. Mark glanced at him for a second.

"I called Miss Puffy as soon as I got off the phone with Phil. He was already there. So far he's broken his arm in two places, suffers from a major concussion and has a bruised leg. He's in surgery right now, but miss Puffy suggested you to come."

Ranboo's eyes started to water as he imagined the scene that his father had described. Why wasn't he concentrated on driving? What happened? Was this his fault? Oh, god. What if he had stayed. What if he hadn't stayed for dinner?

"Ranboo, boy. Listen to me. I know it's scary, but don't start to overthink this. I need you to be strong, ok. Tubbo needs you to be strong. He will wake up and it's not your fault, alright?" A tear fell down Ranboo's cheek as he tried to breathe as slowly as possible. He looked outside, trying to stop his panic, but the best thing he could do right now is let it wash over.

"Alright?" Mark repeated persistently. Ranboo wiped the tear away and nodded absently. Mark sighed and watched his son for a second before paying attention to the road again.

It took them ten agonizing slow minutes to reach the hospital. Never had Ranboo wanted to leave the car as much as he did at that moment. He didn't care waiting for his father and made his way from the parking lot to the front doors, which was a hundred feet away from each other.

"Ranboo, wait up."

Ranboo ignored him once again and kept walking.

"Ranboo Beloved. I swear to god, if you don't stop now, I'm gonna drag you back to the car myself and retain you form seeing Tubbo."

The boy felt chills run down his body, as he finally turned around. The older man caught up with him and placed a hand on his shoulder slowly.

"Come here," Mark said, leading the both of them to a bench close by. He sat down next to his son, who looked at him curiously through his sadness. The older man opened his mouth once to speak, only to close it again. After a minute, he tried again.

"At the time of the fire, they had found your mom shortly after you went upstairs to get her. They had rushed her into an ambulance, which meant that she was actually alive. I don't know if you remember, because you were injured yourself, but I decided to drive with you because at that moment, no matter how much I loved her, I needed to take care of you," Mark strted, smiling at the ground.

"-When we arrived at the hospital, you were prepped for surgery and all I could do was hold your brother and wait for news on your mom and you. And eventually, that came. Not only did they tell me that your skin and vocal chords were still severely injured, they also reported that your mom had gained consciousness in the ambulance and that she had called for me."

"-She was getting worse, and the doctors let me see her, to say goodbye. There was hardly no skin left on her arms, legs and face. Everything was bandaged. Her eyes were closed and her heart rate was beating incredibly slow. I remember speaking to her, telling her that it was ok. That the two of you were ok. That I loved her and that I would miss her, but that I wouldn't wish her all this pain. And then her heartbeat just- stopped."

Tears streamed down Ranboo's face as he listened to his father's story. The man himself was crying as well. Ranboo tapped the man's leg to gain attention, before signing. 'Why did you never tell us?' Mark gave him a weak smile.

"At first, I wanted you to remember her as beautiful and kind as she had been. The way she looked, it was absolutely horrible. I just couldn't do that to the two of you. After that, I didn't want to cause you anymore pain, so I kept it to myself," Mark explained, wiping some tears away roughly.

"The moment I heard about the accident, I called miss Puffy and briefly explained the situation. She gave me the room number, so we can go up straight away. I'm sure that he's going to be fine, but I understand that you're worried more than anyone else."

Ranboo pulled his father close to him, hugging him like he had never done before. He could feel his father's surprise, due to the stiffness of his posture. However, after a second or two, he hugged him back. His father smelled like leather and coffee, which was nothing new, but it created a safety that he desperatly needed. He breathed in the scent one more time before pulling away.

'I'm sorry you had to go through that alone,' he signed. His father grabbed his hand and squeezed it reassuringly.

"Not anymore," he replied softly. Ranboo hated how sad Mark was, even though he tried so hard to hide it. He had no time to address this, because the man stood up. "Let's go see your boy," he suggested. Ranboo forced a smile and followed him towards the hospital. They could walk straight through because they already knew what room to be in. Ranboo felt his heartbeat in his throat and his wrists covered in sweat. He breathed in slowly when his father stopped walking and pointed to room E271.

He noticed Puffy, Tommy and even Minx sitting there. His eyes went from the talking family members to the unconscious boy on the bed. His arm was covered in a cast and there were countless of cuts and bruises on his face and uncovered arm. Ranboo felt himself tear up again and he wanted to walk off, but Mark stopped him. The movement made the Beloved family look up. There was no excuse for Ranboo to leave now.

"Hey, Ranboo. Come on on. Mark, you're welcome as well," Puffy whispered. Mark replied that it was unnecessary and that he would get them some coffee, but Ranboo stepped in slowly.

'I'm sorry, Puffy. If he wouldn't have come-'

"He wouldn't have you. I don't want you to feel guilty about what happened because what happened is on him and him only. But he's gonna be ok. Now, it's a matter of time before he wakes up," Puffy explained quietly. She lifted his head and looked at him questioningly, before slowly laying her hand on Ranboo's shoulder.

'Thank your for inviting me here,' he signed.

'No problem,' Puffy signed back. The woman gestured him to sit down where he had only a minute ago, which was closest to Tubbo. He sat down hesitantly, extremely aware of the sudden attention he got. He grabbed Tubbo's free hand with left, his stomach churning when he noticed how cold his hand was. If it wasn't for the constant beeping of his heart, Ranboo would've feared that he was dead.

Come back to me, Tubs. Please.

His thoughts would always remain hidden from the world. No matter how he wanted to speak those words out loud to comfort him, he just couldn't. He was lost in his thoughts, not noicing that two figures were now standing in the doorway.

"I would've hoped to see him again through different circumstances," and older man said, his eyes clouded by and old, worn fisher hat. He was smaller than Mark, who stood beside him, a blond beard covering the lower half of his face. Mark nodded.

"He's shut himself out after what happened at his last school. His anxiety has gotten worse. He just didn't want to communicate with anyone. That was until he met Tubbo," Mark replied quietly, looking at his son sadly.

"That boy is an idiot, alright. He drove straight through a stop sign. I couldn't even see him coming. Anyways, when I pulled him out, I noticed his phone was still unlocked. The message on the screen was quite disturbing, and I think you, especially the kid, should know what it said," Phil said. Puffy, who had been listening, montioned for them to come in. This peaked Ranboo's attention.

His eyes widened and he let go of Tubbo's hand. He stood up slowly, before running up to the older man and hugging him. Puffy raised her eyebrow at the sudden affection, but when she saw Mark's face, she reckoned that this 'uncle' of his was more important to him than she had thought.

"Missed you too, boy. Now, you better not grow anymore taller," the man spoke, earning a small smile from the boy.

'Thank you,' he signed. Phil, who didn't know sign language all that well, smiled, knwoing what he was thanking him for.

"I'm not gonna leave someone burning in a car, smart-ass. It was the least I could do," he replied. Ranboo nodded, taking his distance once more. Puffy cleared her throat.

"I'm sincerely sorry for breaking his reunion, but do you still have the phone?" She whispered towards the older man. Phil nodded, grabbing the broken phone from his back pocket.

'What phone?' Ranboo signed. Nobody answered him though. He inwardly cursed his disability before concentrating on what was happning.

"It's locked now, though," Phil said, clicking on the home button. Tommy, who had been watching observantly, stood up and grabbed the broken phone from Phil's grasp. He tapped the phone a few times before his expression changed. He looked like he was about to cry and silently handed the phone over to Puffy. Minx reached out to the younger child and hugged the sad boy while Puffy and Mark both read the message.

Ranboo had been standing there completely unaware of what the message said. He was curious as hell, but again, his disability prevented him from intervening. The parents looked at each other hesitantly, before Puffy was the one to hand the phone to Ranboo.

Ranboo felt sick as he scrolled through the pictures attached. Some of them were about him undressing in the bathroom at school, others of him and Tubbo kissing with his neck exposed and there was one from that same evening, where his arm was exposed. He started shaking, a sick feeling climbing its way up his stomach. He would've dropped the phone, if his father would not have been there to take it from him.

It had been his fault.

He rushed out of the room as quickly as he could, tears streaming down his face. His throat hurt like hell, but he didn't mind the pain. It had been his fault. Tubbo had seen the message and got hit. He could've died because of him.

He could have died.

Ranboo couldn't think straight. He gasped for air, not knowing where to go. The world spun around him, glossy through the tears covering his eyes. His heart was beating like crazy, his chest hurting.

They know.

It's my fault.

He doesn't deserve me.

With that in mind, he grabbed the first pencil he could find and grabbed a folder close by. And he started writing. The words were messy and the paper was blotched due to the tears that dripped onto said paper. He could vaguely hear someone call his name, but he didn't loop up. He needed to finish this.

Just when he was working on his last word, a hand touched his shoulder. He jumped up and lashed out with the pen, looking up to see his father standing there with Puffy. Tears never stopped coming as he gave the brochure to Puffy and signed.

'I wanna go home.'

"Are you sure?" Mark asked. No, of course not. Ranboo nodded, wiping his tears away angrily.

'Give this to Tubbo, please.' he signed towards Puffy, who nodded slowly, reading over the words quickly. Even she looked sad.

"I will. I hope to see you again soon, Ranboo. And we'll be in touch," the last part was directed to Mark, who nodded curtly before wrappung an arm around his son who seemed to be lost in thoughts once more.

It's all my fault.

Puffy watched them leave and walked back to the room quickly. She hadn't expected Tubbo to wake up this soon, which made the surprise even bigger when her son was sitting up straight, talking to Minx.

"-Was damn scary. I really thought that-hi, mom," he mumbled, once noticing his mother. Puffy ran towards her son and hugged him awkwardly.

"How are you feeling, son?" she asked. Tubbo shrugged.

"Everything hurts, but I'm still alive, so that's a plus. Anyways, did you call Ranboo? He must be worried sick about me," he started to ramble. Upon seeing his mother's nervous look, he stopped. "What happened?"

"He read the text. We all did," Minx spoke softly. All of the remaining color drained from Tubbo's face, as he remembered reading the text and panicking.

"Oh no. Where is he?" he asked frantically. Puffy handed him the brochure quietly, not knowing what to say. TUbbo quickly grasped it with his right arm, his eyes scanning the paper quickly.

[ Dear Bee,

I read the text. The threat. I caused that threat. If I wouldn't be so damn fucked, this wouldn't have happened. You could have died because of me.

I'm sorry for putting you through all of this. You don't deserve me. Be happy, please. Be happy without a fuck up like me. And don't try to make me change my mind.

I care too much about you to let you get hurt.

Too much.

So, it's better to keep out distance from now on. When the word does come out about me and you know, maybe it will be different, but I trust you. I know that it's not you.

Thank you for everything.

R. B. ]

Tubbo read the letter, a tear slowly making its way down his cheek. He couldn't imagine how Ranboo would feel right now. Hell, he could practically hear his own heart breaking. He was starting to fall in love with the boy that had just put an end to their short relationship, and he knew that this was the best option they had. He looked at his mother with tears in his eyes, sighing in relief when the woman hugged him.

Only then, he allowed himself to cry.

Chapter 16: XVI

Notes:

Hello! I know i put that this was going to be discontinued. But to be honest, my hyperfixation on ranboo streams/content is back!! and i've started rewatching the whole dsmp aswell so, here i am haha.

It had been two weeks since the car accident. Everyday, Ranboo had feared that Tubbo would come back to school and that they would face each other again. That they'd have to talk. It had caused his anxiety to peak significantly, at school as well as at home.

Phil, who turned out to be visiting them for a short while, had been the one to keep him from breaking. They had repaired Phil's truck and Tubbo's car together, which, in his mind, was the least he could do. It also reduced his guilt towards Tubbo and his family.

Puffy and Mark had been in contact ever since they had visited the hospital. Ranboo was aware of this, but didn't want to be involved. All he knew was that the Underscore children had sworn not to tell a soul abbout his scars, which they had briefly seen in the text. That didn't stop the sad looks that Tommy gave him everytime they passed each other at school or when he came over.

The two weeks after the accident were filled with nightmares, worse than they had ever been before. They hadn't changed, except for the fact that Tubbo was now burning beside his mother, telling him it was his fault. His self-hatred only increased, as did his fear of seeing the boy again.

Then, after two weeks, his fear came true. Ranboo felt like the world stopped as the door opened and Tubbo walked trough. Ranboo bit his lip when he noticed the injuries like that cast around his broken arm and the obvious limp. Football players crowded around him, but he looked like he wanted them all to 'fuck off', as he would say it. Ranboo's heart broke slightly when analyzing the injuries. They reminded him of the fact that it was his fault, but he couldn't get himself to look away.

Niki, who stood beside him, put an arm around his shoulder.

"C'mon. Let's go to class," she said quietly, pushing him the other way. Just before he turned around, he noticed Tubbo looking at him with so much sadness that it snapped his heart in two all over again. Niki guided him away as he felt his hands tremble again.

"Hey, Ran. Remember that you've got at least one of us in every class. We will try to distract you as much as possible. Don't think about it too much and try not to look at him. Trust me, that will only make it worse," she said. Ranboo nodded curtly, strapping his backpack tighter onto his back.

He had gotten in touch with Niki again, two days after the accident. The girl noticed him sitting alone and 'sadder than usual' and after some convincing he spilled everything. Well, except for his scars. The girl had a habit of spilling secrets and he couldn't let her know. Not now.

What she did know, was that he and Tubbo had kissed a few times and that he had been in a car crash because of a text. He also told her that someone threatened to share their darkest secrets if they wouldn't break up.

Niki had been furious. Although the girl was still sceptical about Tubbo and Ranboo's relationship, she had told him that she wasn't mad about that, but that her anger was directed to the 'sick fuck' who sent that text.

"Seriously, if I could just get access to Tubbo's phone, I could trace the IP adress and find out who sent that text," Niki said. Ranboo shrugged, flipping his pen around once more before starting to write again.

'I don't know if the phone still works. Besides, how do you plan on getting the phone if I' no longer in contact with him?'

Ranboo showed her the letter, to which she smirked.

"You seem to forger that we actually worked together on you charity case. I could just go talk to him about that and offer to help."

Ranboo had just shrugged again, before they moved on. Right now, his nerves were intolerable and he felt like throwing up just thinking about the boy in the hospital again. He waved Niki goodbye, who shot one last concerned look before walking off to her own class. He kept his head down as he walked in, sitting down next to Purpled, as usual. Sadly, in order to look at the Purple boy, he could see Tubbo sit down in the corner of his eyes.

"Are you okey, Ranboo? You look a little bit pale," Puprled asked him. Ranboo breathed in slowly, nodding once. He tried to ignore the blue eyes that were staring into his direction as he breathed out just as slowly. When he was certain that Purpled wouldn't start talking to him again, he lowered his head and focused on his breathing once again.

"Mister Underscore. It's good to have you back, but that does mean that you have to pay attention to your classes," Miss Milton said, startling Ranboo. He looked Tubbo's way, briefly noticing the boy's stare before the jock focused on their teacher.

"I'm sorry miss. It's the concussion that's taking it's toll on my concentration. I'm trying my best," the boy spoke. Although Ranboo knew that the concussion was really there, he had seen through the lie.

This was going to be harder than he thought.

"Of course. Take your time," miss Milton said, nodding at the distracted boy before continuing her lesson. Ranboo noticed Tubbo looking at him again, and to avoid this happened all day, he looked back and shook his head lightly. When he returned to his exercise, he still noticed the boy's eyes on him for a while, before he was him shifting his position out of the corner of his eye and he finally allowed himself to breathe.

It's your fault. He doesn't deserve you.

He squeezed his eyes shut at the painful thought, hoping that the class would soon end. After what seemed like hours, it finally did. Ranboo had raced out of the room to avoid Tubbo at all costs.

When their lunch break arrived, Ranboo sat down with Niki, Eret, Punz and Purpled, as he had been doing ever since he got back in touch with Niki. Thankfully, none of them had complained and they were happy that he was back. At least, that's what Ranboo could notice.

Ranboo saw Tubbo enter the cafeteria and immediately tried to focus on the current conversation, which was something nerdy that he had no knowledge of. Niki made a gesture that probably meant that she was going to talk to Tubbo before walking off.

The girl made her way through the crowded cafeteria, dodging a kid that was too busy looking at their phone. Tubbo, who saw her coming, swung his bag onto his bag and met up with her. They walked out of the cafeteria silently and went somewhere quiet. Then, Niki began her rant.

"You idiot!" she said, punching his shoulder. "You could've gotten yourself killed! Do you know how much Ranboo blames himself for what happened?! He's fucking miserable. He told me about your little romance by the way, and it's cute, but God damn it boy, you can't pull shit like that. He didn't tell me about the - you know - but I'm not crazy. And I put two and two together with that happened at the theater so I know, but dude-"

"Niki, what's your point?" Tubbo cut her off. Truth be told, he was still exhausted and his head was throbbing like crazy and his leg hurt as he was standing, but he wanted to ask her to trace the offender's phone number if that was possible, because he himself was feeling quite miserable as well. Just seeing Ranboo sit there, obviously struggling with panic and anxiety attacks, hurt him like crazy. Not to mention the bags under his eyes and the sunken shoulders.

There wasn't a bone in his body that didn't want to calm the boy down, but he couldn't. He knew damn well why he couldn't, that didn't mean that it hurt less. God, did he want to whisper reassuring words in the boy's ear and kiss his forehead gently. But he couldn't.

"My point is that neither of you deserve this and I'm going to help you find out who did this," The pinkhaired replied. Tubbo raised his eyebrows and smirked.

"Now, that's more like it. Please, elaborate."

That's how they found themselves skipping lunch break in a broom closet, Niki typing away rapidly on her laptop.

"And what exactly are you doing?" Tubbo said, squinting slightly. The girl kept on typing for a few seconds.

"Well, first of all, I searched the phone number in Google. You never know what kids put on social media these days. Sadly, that didn't work. So, now I went to their provider and hacked into the system to get the needed name," she explained. This only raised concern.

"You're hacking something?! Isn't that considered a data breach?" Niki grinned.

"Look at you knowing your terms. And technically, it is, but they're never gonna find out because their firewall sucks," Niki explained. "-and besides, I'm just gonna search for a name. It's not like I'm gonna steal other people's numbers."

"Whatever you say. When you get arrested, though, I wasn't here with you," Tubbo warned her. She just flipped him off and continued typing rapidly.

"Alright, I'm in. Could you read the number for me?" Tubbo did as he was asked, reading the number two digits at a time. Once she had successfully transferred the number, she pressed enter. Once she had done that, her eyes widened.

"Oh my god," she muttered. Tubbo moved so he could read the name. He, in contrary to Niki, didn't know the name that was portrayed on the screen. So, he asked her who Punz was.

"Punz lives at my friend Eret's place. His past is complicated, she he goes by Punz to others. Only he, Eret and their mother know about his real name. He's the smartest kid I've ever seen, wants to go to MIT. He once made a remark about Ranboo being mute, but I didn't think that he would actually blackmail the poor dude!" Niki said desperately. She didn't miss the shaking of Tubbo's hands.

"I'm gonna fucking kill him," the boy swore, standing up. "-and I don't care if I'm gonna live up to the rumors. No matter how smart that prick thinks he is, he was wrong to separate me and Ranboo," he josses, pointing his finger to Niki. The girl put her hands up in defense.

"I know, Tubs, but we need to do more research. First, I'm gonna check the number because I have his number saved in my phone. Then, we subtly approach him about the pictures. If he confesses, you have my blessing to kill him. If he doesn't, you can punch someone else. Sound good?" Niki raised her eyebrows. Tubbo sighed and slid down the wall defeatedly.

"Fine," he mumbled. Niki eyes him while searching for Punz in her contact list. She smiled softly.

"You love him, don't you?" she said softly. Tubbo chuckled heartlessly.

"It doesn't matter anymore. Ranboo doesn't want me to get hurt, which means that he will try his best to shut me out, and I promised him not to try. It's too late," he said, sniffling his nose once. Niki didn't seem to think the same thing.

"Are you listening to yourself right now? You sound like you've given up hope, while we're this close to figuring out who is threatening you. We've got proof, Underscore. So don't sit here and whine about your loss, but get out there and let me help you get him back. Ok?"

Tubbo nodded once, before staring at the stuffed, grey wall in front of him. He leant against his head against the wall, sighing deeply.

"Right now, Punz is sitting at my tavle, which means that Ranboo's there too. How about I'm gonna get him? Then we can interrogate him."

Tubbo nodded again, mumbling an 'I'm game' before they both packed their stuff and exited the broom closet. They got a weird look from a kid walking by - pervert - and Tubbo stood behind while Niki made her way back to the cafetaria.

She locked eyes with Ranboo, who had a questionable look on his face. She shook her head quietly, motioning with her hands to stay calm. Punz looked up as well. At that moment she took back what she had told Tubbo before because she wanted to punch him so badly.

"Hey man, could I borrow you for a moment? There's some tech stuff that I need your help with," she asked him. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Ranboo's eyes widen in realisation. Punz packed his lunch and stood up. Niki deliberately walked behind him so he couldn't walk off if he wanted to. Niki could see him tense up upon seeing Tubbo pissed face.

"Look, whatever you think I did, just let me expl-" he yelped when he was slammed against the wall. Tubbo had used his good arm to grab him by his shirt and corner him, while looking down at him threateningly.

"Explain, my ass. All I need to know is wether you took those pictures and sent the text. Was it just you or were there others?" Tubbo asked. Punz tried to escape once, but even with one arm, Tubbo was stronger. He kept his mouth shut first, until Tubbo kneed him in his balls. He doubled over in pain and groaned, but Tubbo pulled him up.

"Answer the fucking question, you sick fuck," he threatened. Punz swallowed.

"I did take the pictures," he confessed. They heard Niki gasp behind them. Tubbo let go of him and balled his fist. "-but it wasn't my intention to involve Ranboo. I just wanted proof for the rumors because no offence, but I think you're a dick, so I filmed the scene in the bathroom. I never expected them to corner me."

"Who is them, Punz?" Niki asked harshly. Punz sighed in defeat. Tubbo pushed him against the wall once more.

"Answer the question, dick head."

"It was Dream and his team. They took my phone and saw the video. It was all the leverage they needed. They made screenshots and paid me a good amount of money to send the text," Punz explained. Tubbo glared at him.

"That's all we needed, thank you." He turned around to walk away and head Punz sigh in relief. He contemplated punching the guy for a second, before turning around and punching him on his nose. He could hear his nose crack but he didn't care.

"Fuck, man! What's that for?" the boy exclaimed, holding his now bleeding nose.

"That, was for calling me a dick," Tubbo said, before landing another punch on his stomach. "-and that's for what you did to Ranboo-" Another punch landed at the same spot. "-and for causing the accident-" Then he kicked him in his balls again "-and that's for sending the text."

Punz doubled over in pain, but this time, Tubbo let him fall on the ground. He walked off, smirking slightly when he heard another thump and a cry of pain followed with the words: 'Good luck getting into MIT'.

He limped away from the scene with an added throbbing wrist and a murderous look on his face. Niki caught up with him and laced her arm with his, which reduced the weight on his leg somewhat.

Dream messed with the wrong person, he just didn't know it yet.

Chapter 17: XVII

Notes:

Sorry for the long wait ya'll!! School has started again and I've been distracted but hey, new chapter!!

!! This is almost a year guys! on 29sept this story has existed for a year :D !!

Ranboo had watched Niki and Punz leave with a wary look on his face. His mind began to work, placing several puzzle pieces together. Punz his weird behaviour the last couple of weeks, Niki's horrible attempt to hide her anger. It all added up. However, could Punz be capable of doing something like that?

"What was up with Niki? Wasn't she with Underscore earlier? Since when does she even talk to Underscore?" Purpled asked. Ranboo looked down, avoiding eye contact with Eret and Purpled, so he wouldn't have to respond.

"I don't know, Purps, but I'm sure she has a good reason. She always does. And besides, aren't you and Underscore friends, Ranboo?"

Ranboo looked up, nodding curtly. When Eret asked him if Niki and Tubbo could have met through him, he merely shrugged. He wondered if they had even heard about his 'Charity case', or that Niki had kept them away from the matter deliberately.

He glanced towards the entrance where the two teens had walked through minutes ago, blocking out the chatter of Eret and Purpled and every other student. He waited for minutes, tapping his hand against the table nervously. His lunch was yet untouched, but he wasn't hungry, just worried.

Then, seven minutes later, Niki and Tubbo came back. The first thing Ranboo noticed was the absence of Punz. What had happened to him? Then he noticed Tubbo's worsened limp and grimace. Except for their presence, all was fine, until he reckoned that the duo was coming his way.

Their arms were hooked together, and Niki was obviously helping Tubbo walk with more ease. Now, Ranboo would've been jealous if Niki wasn't a lesbian. He shook his head in their direction warningly. When that didn't help, he quickly bowed his head and fiddled with his untouched sandwich.

"Ranboo, look up, please."

Just the sound of his voice made him want to cry. He sounded like he was in pain. Whether that was emotional or physical pain, he didn't know. Ranboo merely shook his head. He could see Tubbo's knuckles start to bruise, making him feel sick.

'You'll get hurt,' he signed, looking at his hands as he communicated. Tubbo snorted.

"You're the one hurting me at this moment by distancing yourself," Tubbo replied. Ranboo felt his heart clench and balled his fists for a second.

"Dude, I didn't know you knew sign language," Niki exclaimed. Ranboo rolled his eyes, not moving his head up.

'You don't deserve me, Tubbo. Please go.' He dropped his hands as soon as they had lifted, wiping the tear away that escaped his eye before dropping them on his lap.

"I beat up a kid for you, Boo. For us. And yes, I do not deserve you because you deserve the best. I know I can't grant you that, but I'm trying my best," Tubbo said. Ranboo could hear the underlying anger, yet he couldn't figure out whether it was directed to him or Tubbo himself. He looked up at Tubbo's arms to see his non-casted hand starting to swell, blood on his knuckles. He wished he could kiss said knuckles to reduce the pain, but he couldn't. Eret and Purpled were abnormally quiet, looking at the three students strangely.

Ranboo noticed Tubbo's hand move and point his finger towards him. Then his position changed and he used both his casted and bruised hand to sign the next word, which, for bystanders, would look like a rowing motion. Then he pointed towards himself.

'Do you trust me?'

Ranboo was quiet. Of course he was. But his question made him think. Did he trust the boy? Despite their current situation, there was no thing he wished but to be with him, but was he able to trust him? Would he be able to follow him blindly and trust for him to know the way?

He realized that the answer already obvious before the question was asked. Therefore, he nodded.

"Good. I'm going to do something that will change everything. I regret having to do this and you can hate me after this. You have every right to. I just hope that his works. Niki, mind helping me get up here?"

The girl held his arm and whispered a harsh 'what do you think you're doing?' in his ear. "Getting my boyfriend back," Tubbo replied, smiling sadly in her direction. Niki sighed but helped him step up the table, which was finally enough to get Ranboo's attention.

Oh no.

"Could I have everyon's attention, please?" he said loudly. Slowly, the talking in the cafeteria subsided as all eyes were directed to Ranboo's table. Niki sat down next to him and held out an inviting hand for him to squeeze. After a few seconds, Ranboo accepted her offer and anxiously held her hand.

"Two weeks ago, I obtained these injuries in a car crash. Though this will probably be familiar to most of you, the fact that it was caused by a threat will not be. Why? Because some sick fucks decided to threaten me and my boyfriend to break up. Somehow they were able to blackmail us with something that may spread soon. If that would happen, and anyone would even look at me or him wrong, I'll break them. Personally," Tubbo said loudly, his low voice sounding powerful through the room.

"Who are the assholes that blackmailed you, kid?" ranboo recognized the voice as Techno's, the boy that had helped him through his panic attack. Tubbo scowled.

"He's sitting right beside you, Blade." He watched as the football table looked around, as one of the dirty blonde haired members glared at Tubbo.

"That's right. Dream is the one that initiated the threat. Why am I telling you all of this? Because you deserve to know that this homophobic prick deserves the worst for what he has attempted to share with the world." The moment he had finished his sentence, people started screaming and talking and the football team split into two clear groups, one of which was dream's group and the other was on Tubbo's side. Tubbo smirked. Finally.

"Must you succees-" He spoke loudly, this time unable to reach above the loud chattering. Luckily, it slowly died down reasonably. "Must you suceed into sharing that personal information, Dream, I will not hesitate to make your life a living hell. As or the rest of you: I repeat what I said earlier. One single wrong look and you're done. That's all. Thank you for your time.

Niki let go of Ranboo's hand and helped Tubbo down. Ranboo now dared to look him in the eye again with tears in his own. He stood up himself, standing in front of the beaten up jock, who looked worried. He contemplated his next move quickly, having four options. He could either do nothing, go back to ignoring him, hug him or kiss him.

He wanted to go for option two. He wanted to go back to ignoring him from a distance. Keep him safe. However, he couldn't. Not after all he had risked.

So instead, he grabbed Tubbo by the collar of his hoodie and slammed his lips against Tubbo's, earning whistle calls and a roaring applause from the whole cafeteria. Tubbo laid his non-casted hand on his cheek and kissed him back, before pulling away and pulling him in a hug. Ranboo hugged him back gladly, careful not to press too hard.

"I know it's soon for the school to know about us, I know you weren't ready. We can take it slow if you want, but that stunt Dream pulled was unacceptable and I won't let him use your scars as leverage. I lo-like you way too much for that," Tubbo whispered, holding onto Ranboo's jacket. Ranboo buried his head in the crook of Tubbo's neck for a second before pulling away.

At that moment, the bell rung, catching everyone's attention. People started packing their stuff and slowly left. Techno Blade walked their way, together with two other jocks.

"We'll make sure that Dream gets the punishment he deserves. And congrats, by the way," Techno said, hugging Tubbo shortly and slapping his back twice. Then he moved to Ranboo and gently ruffled his two toned hair. "Tubbo here will protect you. He's one hell of a guardian angel and he likes you enough to do this. You're a very lucky kid."

Ranboo mouthed a grateful thank you, wiping his eyes. The pinkette nodded curtly and walked off. Ranboo turned to Tubbo again, but not before noticing Dream's icy stare towards him. He quickly shook it off and took a step closer towards his now-public boyfriend.

'Nobody has ever stood up for me like that,' he signed. Tubbo smiled and kissed his forehead.

"It's about damn time somebody did," he replied. Ranboo blushed and nodded. He noticed a small amount of eyes on him, including Eret's, Purpled's and Niki's, and felt his cheeks heat up even more. They packed their bags as well, Ranboo hooking his arm around Tubbo's supportingly. Niki gestured for Purpled and Eret to come with her, and they too disappeared in the crowd.

'How are you feeling anyways?' ranboo sighed after they were almost alone. He had mostly figured out how Tubbo worked, and the boy looked absolutely exausted. On top of that, the current stress couldn't make things easier.

"Fine isn't an option, is it?" Tubbo said, smirking halfheartedly. Ranboo shook his head, a small smile on his face. He noticed that the jock actually felt like signing, but hence to his casted arm, he couldn't. "My head is throbbing, I feel dizzy, my arm's killing me and I feel like my leg is about to fall off." His reply saddened ranboo, which was visible on his face.

'Then why did you come back?' he signed. Tubbo shot him a tired grin.

"To win you back, of course," he mumbled quietly. Ranboo felt his face heat up as he looked at the ground embarrassedly. "Did it work?"

'I believe it did,' he signed. Tubbo grabbed Ranboo's hand with his own and intertwined their fingers.

"Good."

They kissed once again, before slowly making their way towards their classes. Ranboo supported Tubbo, noticing the pain he was in. And even if that wouldn't have been the case, he couldn't help but want to touch the boy. They walked to Geography first, since that was Ranboo's class. There, Tubbo kissed Ranboo's forehead.

"Be careful, ok? I just got you back, don't make me lose you again,"he whispered. Ranboo smiled for the first time in two weeks, loving how Tubbo's eyes lit up upon seeing this happen.

'I missed you,' he signed, earning another chuckle.

"I missed you too, Babe. Too damn much. Let's hope that my little talk helped. We'l get through this. Together," Tubbo replied, earning a proud smile.

'Together,' Ranboo signed in return. Tubbo provided him with another quick peck on his lips before detaching their hands. He pushed Ranboo in the right direction, waving once more at the mute boy before turning arounf to walk to class. He couldn't help but grin widely when thinking that his plan had worked.

His plan had actually worked.

"Mister Underscore. Just the one I was looking for. Could you come with me for a second?"

Tubbo turned around, making eye contact with the principle, mister Manifold. He had totally missed the man's presence, which was partly because of his happy thoughts - he had a feeling that they were not going to be as happy as they were before - but also becayse the headmaster had a history being a spy. At least, that's what spread through the halls.

"Yeah, of course, sir," Tubbo replied, following him nervously. This wasn't good. This was definitely not good. He followed the older man quietly, biting his lip as he did so. The moment blonde hair appeared in sight, Tubbo knew for certain that he was screwed.

"Sit down, Tubbo," Manifold ordered. Tubbo slowly did as he said, but not before glaring at the scrawny boy. Said boy didn't dare to look at him.

"I just ran into Punz here, who seemed to have taken some punches. He told me that you beat him up. Now, I just need you to answer me truthfully. Did you do this?" the man asked. Tubbo knew that there was no point in lying. He also know that Niki would be next to be interrogated if he didn't save her ass.

"I did, sir. I'm not going to deny that. I will accept whatever punishment you have for me, I just wish to ask you if you know that he's the reason I ended up in the hospital?" he said, glaring at the nervous boy beside him again. The principal raised his eyebrow.

"Punz? Is this true?" he asked. The boy played with his fingers.

"Technically, all I did was send a-"

"That text caused me to have a panic attack which caused the crash, you dumb piece of shit! You tried to expose Ranboo's worst insecurity with the entire school. I don't fucking care that sending a text was all you did! You don't go around threatening people with private fucking information!" Tubbo had stood up from his chair and started screaming at the boy, who just looked down.

"Mister Underscore, sit down. I happen to know about mister Beloved's condition, don't worry. Punz, did you blackmail these two boys?"

Punz nodded quietly.

"Dream and his team paid him to deliver the footage, sir," Tubbo explained briefly, earning a small nod from his principle.

"Could you provide me with that footage?" the man asked. The moment Tubbo grabbed his phone, he got a notification. Punz's phone also made a notification sound. Tubbo stared at the text in disgust, feeling tears burn in his eyes.

"I think everyone's provided, sir," he croaked out, turning the phone around. The principle read the text with a frown.

Since Underscore thought that embarrassing me was a good idea, here's the footage of his boyfriend being as ugly and scarred as he is. Don't mess with me.

"Mister Underscore, would you please retrieve mister Beloved from his class? I will notify both of your brother's to come here as well. I'll have to suspend you for the rest of this week for using violence in my school. Tell mister Beloved that his presence is not mandatory for the rest of the week as well."

Tubbo blinked at him, just sitting there dumbly, before Manifold told him to get out of his office. He stood up again and limped towards the hallway. He could hear chattering in almost every room, making his heart clench.

He didn't know the extend of the damage. He didn't know the condition that Ranboo was in and he definitely didn't know what was going to happen. However, he was going to figure it out. They would.

Together.

Chapter 18: XVIII

Summary:

This chapter focuses mostly on anxiety as a consequence of the actions from the previous chapter! Just a disclaimer that the symptoms and coping mechanisms differ from person to person.

Notes:

This chapter was supposed to come out last wednesday woops! Sorry, I got sidetracked with school and other stuff! but here it is! enjoy!

The significant black car passed several houses and trees, four teens present inside. Tubbo and Ranboo were seated in the back seat, Ranboo leaning his head on Tubbo's shoulder. He stared at the road lifelessly, fresh tear streaks on his cheeks. His mind wandered off to not even half an hour earlier when he was possibly the happiest he had ever been. That seemed like ages ago.

- 20 minutes earlier -

Ranboo sat down in his usual chair, next to a girl named Hannah. He took out his textbook and bit his lip, trying to suppress the smile that threatened to make its way on his face. He quickly covered his mouth to prevent his happiness from showing, but unfortunately, it didn't go unnoticed.

"You don't need to hide that smile, you know." Ranboo looked at the girl beside him nervously. They had shared a few words when working on assignments together, but hearing her speak so randomly was a true surprise. He squeezed his eyebrows together, cocking his head in confusion.

"Tubbo doesn't just do what he just did. He must really like you in order to risk being suspended or even expelled. Besides, in all these months of sitting next to you in geometry, I've never seen you this happy," Hannah said, providing him with a kind smile. Ranboo however, only minded one thing. He opened his notebook to a random page and wrote down one word.

'Expelled?!'

Hannah smiled sadly in his direction. "If he really beat someone up, and that's what I've heard, they won't just wave it off." She shrugged as if it was nothing, unaware of the dark thoughts she had just unleashed in Ranboo's mind. He looked down as doom scenarios flashed behind his eyes. Would he be alone? Would Tubbo think it was his fault? Would they break uo? What would Dream do? He surely was doomed.

"Hey, are you ok?" Hannah asked, managing to achieve Ranboo's attention. Ranboo looked around, only to see that the class had already started. He looked at her, only to see her already looking at him. He faked a small smile her way before looking at his textbook.

That's when multiple phones made a sound signalling a notification.

Ranboo couldn't help but tense at the sounds. Although it was forbidden to se ones phone in class, he noticed everyone look, and then he started hearing gasps and a few disgusted sounds. He looked to his right, where he could see what he feared the most, had happened.

Hannah looked at his neck, before her eyes flickered towards his face and landed back on his jacket. He noticed how she scooted to her right just a little bit, not daring to look him in the eye. He could feel multiple pairs of eyes on him and could already hear the whispers and snickers behind his back.

"oh my god."

"That looks painful."

"Well, apparently this happens when you're too hot. You burn."

"Is that what that jack was talking about?"

"I'm pretty sure it is."

"That's disgusting."

That's when the door slammed open and Tubbo ran in. The room went silent as the boy's chest heaved slightly. He glared around the room, telling the teacher something that Ranboo couldn't remember due to the panic coursing through him.

- back in the car -

Just thinking about the moment made him squeeze Tubbo's jacket tighter. The boy was playing with his hair comfortably, whispering soothing things in his ear from time to time.

Charlie was driving, Tommy giving him instructions on where to go. The boy hadn't been too happy about the suggestion that he would have to drive, but he didn't really have a choice. He sighed and concentrated on the road. No matter how much he had practiced with Ranboo, he was still terrified that he would either crash the car or get caught. Especially the latter.

- 15 minutes earlier -

"Ranboo!"

Said boy was too exhausted to look up, but he knew that it was his broter that called him. Within seconds, the smaller boy was crouching down beside him and was wiping some falling tears away. "I heard what happened at lunch. How could this happen? How could he do this? I take it you're not going back to class?" Ranboo didn't move and even if he could have spoken, he didn't feel like it. So, Tubbo decided to speak.

"I decided to track down whoever did this and publically confronted them. Let's just say that he doesn't give a fuck and still shared the pictures. I'm suspended for the rest of the week and Ranboo isn't obliged to show either," he said. Charlie furrowed his eyebrows.

"Shouldn't we go to the police? Let them be prosecuted?" The smaller Winchester brother suggested.

"If that's possible, then yes. For now, I just want to make sure that ranboo is ok," Tubbo replied, looking at the quiet boy in concern. Charlie sighed but nodded.

"And dad?"

Ranboo shook his head, playing with his fingers nervously. It didn't mean anything but a distraction. Charlie looked at him and scratched the back of his neck.

"He will find out when he gets called, you know. If Manifold hasn't already. It's better to tell him sooner than later," Charlie said, not breaking eye contact with his brother.

'Are you happy here?' Ranboo signed. Charlie pressed his lips together and eyes Tommy, who was standing behind them obliviously. He then nodded. 'Then we wait. I can't lose Tubo.' Charlie sighed but agreed. Tubbo couldn't help but smile a little bit at the last sentence.

"Are you coming with us?" he asked the two younger children. Tommy concentrated to the movement his lips, before shrugging. Charlie agreed. Ranboo sat up, taking a deep breath before grabbing the car keys from his pocket. He handed the keys to his brother, who took them hesitantly.

"Are you sure, Ran? I don't have my license yet." Ranboo rolled his eyes and pointed at Tubbo's cast, followed by pointing to his red eyes. They were both in no condition to drive, Tubbo physically and Ranboo mentally, and the brothers had practised driving more than enough times. He knew that Charlie could do it, even if he was just the slightest protective over his car.

Ranboo stood up and felt his own legs shaking, but he tried not to make that show. He was sweating and trying to control his breathing, but it wasn't working. It made him extremely tired. He hoisted Tubbo up as well, who leaned an arm around his waist again. Charlie eyes them sadly, putting his phone away before the older boys could notice.

- back in the car -

"Trying to suppress a panic attack is only gonna make it worse, you know," Tubbo whispered in his ear. Ranboo faked a smile in between deep breaths, his shoulders moving as he did so. He felt lightheaded and only wished that he could cry, but he couldn't.

'Not in front of Charlie,' he signed. Tubbo raised his eyebrow, earning a small shrug in return. He kissed Ranboo's head afterward.

"Fine. But you do need to breathe through your stomach. I don't want to feel those shoulders moving," Tubbo replied. Ranboo pouted a little bit before he took another shallow breath.

'What are you going to do if they move?' Ranboo signed, his heterochromatic eyes looking into Tubbo's blue ones almost mischievously. Tubbo never replied. He did, however, kiss him. He had seen in movies that it worked to kiss someone to prevent a panic attack, hence the attempt. And after all that had happened he just really wanted an excuse to kiss Ranboo again, but nobody needed to know that.

In contrary to the kiss they had shared in public earlier, this one was gentle and less desperate. Ranboo's lips tasted salty due to the crying, but that didn't make it less perfect.

"I missed you," Tubbo whispered, their noses and foreheads still touching as he spoke. Ranboo shot him one of his signature close mouthed smiles and leaned back a little bit more. His hands were cupping Tubbo's cheeks, which was normally the other way around. He made sure that the boy was looking at him, before mouthing four words at him.

'I missed you too'

Moments like this had been rare in their building relationship. It didn't happen often that Ranboo acted as though he was speaking, but when it did, determination to make Ranboo speak again became higher and higher. Tubbo smiled widely, kissing him again shortly.

"Now, focus on one color. The first one you see, and try to find every single object with that same color," Tubbo mumbled against Ranboo's hair. Ranboo didn't have the power to question his orders and looked in front of him, where he noticed the blue keychain on Tommy's bag.

He moved his head to the left, looking at the blue letters on Tubbo's jacket and the blue nike sign on his sneakers. He found the blue stick connected to Tommy's lollypop and the blue of his phone case. He then looked around, meeting Tubbo's eyes. He had not noticed that this technique served as a distraction until he noticed how much calmer he was when finding the magnifcent blue's in Tubbo's eyes. Tubbo looked back at himm curiously, not breaking eye contact.

The car stopped, making the boyfriends look away from each other. Ranboo blushed lightly, looking outside. Charlie parked the car in one of the parking spaced in front of the Underscore home and looked through the rearview mirror proudly. Ranboo looked and felt just as proud and leaned forward ruffling the boy's hair.

The four boys made their way inside and were greeted by Minx. She had immediately asked why they were home so early and what Charlie and Ranboo were doing here. Upon seeing Ranboo's blotched face and red eyes and Tubbo's exhaustion, she could only guess that it was nothing good.

Tubbo had briefly explained the situation and Minx had promised to send Puffy their way as soon as her current session was over. She had closed the door towards their home behind them with one worried glance towards the worn out couple.

Tommy had pulled Charlie towards his room instantly. The boy had looked at him questioningly and only followed the deaf boy after Ranboo nodded playfully. As oon as the younger boys had left though, Ranboo broke down.

'I'm so scared,' he signed, as tears made their way down his face. Tubbo positioned both of them on the couch. 'And I hate this. I hate crying, I hate feeling pathetic, but I'm just so - so terrified. You should've seen their faces, Bee. I can't go back. I don't want to go back.'

His signing got sloppier after that, too incomprehensible for Tubbo to understand. All Tubbo could do was hold him as he cried afterward. All he could do was feel his heart break every time the boy gasped for air. All he could do was wait for the boy to reach a level of exhaustion that made him fall asleep.

When he finally did, Tubbo gently laid him down on the couch and grabbed a blanet close by. He tucked the boy in, watching his features soften for the second time he knew him. For a moment, there was no pain, no trauma present. He gently moved his thumb across Ranboo's freckled cheeks, feeling his own eyes water.

"Tubbo."

Tubbo looked up to see his mother stand there. Puffy gestured him to follow her, which he did after one last kiss on Ranboo's forehead. He followed his mother towards the kitchen walking past her and letting Puffy follow him. He sat down on the counter, expecting his mother to sit down in one of the kitchen chairs. However, she didn't. Instead, she laid her hand on both Tubbo's knees and looked at him thoroughly.

"What happened today?" she asked gently, moving her hands to they covered Tubbo's. Her son swallowed thickly.

"I found out who sent the text. I don't like the process of how I got there, but I did. I was just so angry, mother. I was so mad. They shared Ranboo's scars with the whole school and if I had just stayed away from him, none of this would've happened. I let myself become who everyone thought me to be and I'm so scared of what will happen next. I mean, I'm lucky that I'm not expelled but I was so angry. I don't know what to do, mom," Tubbo explained.

The further his rambling got, the more emotional the boy became. He had never thought that he would actually cry over this, but once he started, there was no stopping. He began sobbing like he hadn't done in ages. Puffy reached out to him and held him in her arms as he cried. There was no point in saying contradicting words now, but she could hold her son as he finally opened up. Tubbo buried his head in the woman's shoulder, holding on to the woman's shirt desperately.

"I don't know what to do."

Chapter 19: XIX

Notes:

This is almost coming to an end! I believe i have 2 more chapters planned after this one? But fret not! I'm working out a new beeduo fanfic aswell :)

Ranboo regained consciousness, his eyes moving under his eyelids before they opened slowly. For a moment, he was unaware of the unfamiliar surroundings and the situation all together. He sighed quietly, closing his eyes and turned around, his head pressing down on something hard. A frown made its way up his face as he looked at the grey fabric that seemed to be an armchair. He closed his eyes once again, enjoying the dreamless slumber he had just woken up from.

"Hi there, sleeping beauty," he heard someone say behind him. He smiled lightly curled up against the couch a little bit more. Tubbo was here. What was he doing here? It was nice hearing his voice, though. He felt fingers rank through his hair and smiled contently. That was until his brain started working again.

He remembered the past few weeks, the car crash, crying, the hospital, befriending Niki again, Tubbo's first day back at school, their 'coming out', the exposure.

Instantly, the smile fell from his face. He turned around to look at the boy, who was looking at him sadly. His eyes were more blue than they had ever been, mostly due to the redness around the blue orbs. Dark bags created a partial circle under his eyes and once in a while, Ranboo could hear him sniff his nose.

'Have you been crying?' he signed, after removing his hands from under the blanket and reaching them out to his face. Tubbo quickly wiped his eyes before he could, failing to hide the obvious fact that he had cried earlier.

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it," he tried to reassure the mute boy. Unfortunately, his attempt was unsuccessful. Ranboo raised an eyebrow, and at that moment Tubbo knew that there was no way that he could get away with lies.

"Seriously. We'll talk about it later, but now there's a more pressing matter. Your dad called and he's coming over," the boy said, changing the subject wisely. This seemed to work.

'When?'

"You've been asleep for almost an hour, so I guess any minute now," he smiled apologetically. Ranboo looked at him fearfully, shaking his head repeatedly. "Charlie called him, Boo, I tried to stop him."

'I don't want to leave you. I can't,' he signed. Tubbo grasped both of Ranboo's hands with his somewhat ok hand, looking straight into his eyes.

"Then we won't"

Ranboo looked up, hearing another familiar voice that wasn't Tubbo's, but his father's. All he could do was stare, feeling Tubbo's strong hand wrapped around his own protectively. Tubbo looked up too, smiling sadly. He was the one to let go off Ranboo's hands, making room for the father and son to talk. Mark sat down on the couch next to Ranboo and wrapped his arms around his sons waist.

"We moved here because of what happened, but I would never have moved if you were happy there. If you wished to move, I would make it work-" Ranboo pulled away and shook his head quickly. Mark smiled fondly. "-But you look like you've found a reason to deal with your scars," Mark said, looking at Tubbo, who was - not so subtly - eavesdropping on the conversation. Tubbo visibly sighed in relief, as ranboo became much more emotional. He was holding back tears, accepting his father's request of another hug immediately.

"I would never do something you're not comfortable with," the man whispered, pulling his son closer to his chest. Ranboo buried his head in the man's shoulder, mouthing a 'thank you' against his clothing. He repeated that gesture when they pulled away.

"Now, you boys need to tell me everything that happened today."

Tubbo and Ranboo started to explain everything. Tubbo took the lead, and Ranboo found out officially that his way of obtaining information was the reason for his bruised knuckles. Ranboo added information here and there, signing frantically to keep up with the speed of the conversation. When they eventually finished their story, Mark looked pissed as hell. The man's fists were balled, his knuckles white. Behind a mask of reassurance, anger seeped through his features. Ranboo was quiet. Not just by not talking, but by leaning his head down and fumbling with his fingers.

"Excuse me for a second," he mumbled, standing up. Ranboo acted quicker than he had ever done, wrapping his arm around his father's wrist.

'Dad, it's going to be fine. Don't do something you might regret,' he signed quickly. Mark kissed his forehead for a few seconds.

"I won't, Kiddo. I'm gonna make a call for some professional advice," the man replied. Ranboo eyed him warily, and Tubbo seemed to have the same thoughts.

"What kind of professional advice?" he asked. mark looked at his son's boyfriend, the usual kindness hard to find.

"Judicial," the man elaborated shortly before grabbing the phone out of his pocket, rubbing a hand trough Ranboo's messy duo coloured hair and walking off. Ranboo and Tubbo looked at each other similarly, before nodding and walking after Mark quietly.

When they reached the door, Tubbo motioned for Ranboo to be quiet. Ranboo signed a 'seriously?' before leaning his head, specifically his ear onto the door. Tubbo did the same, their heads nearly touching.

"It's nice hearing from you too. Listen, I'm calling for a favor. No, no, no, I'm not in trouble. Ranboo was blackmailed at school and it's bad. We do have proof od the act, but is it prosecutable?"

Ranboo wondered who he was calling, because they seemed to be friends. He listed few people in his head, but he didn't have a clue. Then, Mark began talking again.

"Is it possible for you to come here? Seeing a familiar face might do him some good." Tubbo raised his eyebrows beside him, and Ranboo shrugged in response.

"Not so good. To be honest, I fear that it might be worse than he's shown." Ranboo frowned, looking down at his hands. He had suppressed how he felt from the outside world for so long, and these past few weeks had only been a glimpse of the anxiety he dealt with dialy. He didn't know whether he had to be terrified or relieved that his father suspected the true extent of his mental state.

"That would be great." There was a slight pause, before they heard him speak again. "Yeah, of course. Call me when you're paperwork is done. Thanks again, Mr. Awesomedude."

Upon hearing that name, Ranboo suddenly knew exactly who his father was calling. Sheriff Sam Awesomedude had been a family friend ever since his mother had died. He was one of the officers in charge of the investigation that followed the fire. He had taken Charlie and Ranboo to the station more times than he could count, which was exciting. They hadn't seem him in about a year since he was transferred to another department in a different state. Now that Ranboo thought about it, that was actually close by.

He felt a hand on his wrist, ready to slap it away, before realizing that it was Tubbo's hand. He looked at him curiously. "-don't want to get caught eavesdropping, huh," he heard Tubbo whisper. The silence behind the door indeed suggested that the phone call had ended and Ranboo's eyes widened.

He grabbed Tubbo's hand and pulled him with along with him quickly. They ran towards the couch, Tubbo chuckling behind Ranboo, who couldn't help but smile himself. Ranboo turned around the moment they passed the couch, surprising Tubbo, who was still moving. As a result, Tubbo tripped over Ranboo and dragged him down with him towards the couch as a surprised sound escaped his mouth. Ranboo was able to hold him up by his hips as Tubbo himself leant his elbows beside either side of Ranboo's head.

They both looked at each other in surprise, before the corners of Ranboo's mouth began to twitch and the both of them began laughing quietly. Tubbo leant his head on Ranboo's shoulder, feeling Ranboo's chest vibrate.

"I hope I'm not interrupting,-" Ranboo and Tubbo looked at each other again, before Tubbo quickly rolled over so that the both of them could look at Mark. The man was smirking lightly, a mischievious glint in his eyes. '-but I called Sam. He's gonna finish paperwork on his current case, and will take a co-worker of his to help us. In the mean time, he told us to gain as much information as possible to assist him. Could you send all the evidence to me?"

Tubbo nodded once and made room for the older man to sit next to them on the couch. He pulled out his broken phone and a new one that Ranboo hadn't seen before. He must've gotten the phone in his absence. How his old phone was still able to function, Ranboo didn't know.

He did however, look at his boyfriend as they were exchanging information. He didn't care that Tubbo picked up on his stare and glanced at him from time to time. He couldn't help but think of the thought that had appeared just moments earlier before his dad had returned. His heartbeat started raising again, but it wasn't anxiety that was the cause.

Tubbo was.

He began thinking about how he loved the feeling he got whenever Tubbo was near and the fact that Tubbo was able to make him laugh like he hadn't done in fourteen years. He loved how patient and loyal he was, how understanding and sweet. He loved how caring he was towards his family and how he didn't care about the rumors that weren't true. He loved his incredibly low voice, his unruly hair, his smile, his eyes. He loved his kisses and wished that they could take their relationship to a next level one day.

He was completely and utterly in love with Tubbo Underscore.

Upon realizing this in that moment, he had instantlu felt terrified. Love wan't particularly a small word, and he wasn't exactly an expert on the love part. Worst of all, he feared that Tubbo would never hear him say these words and would never hear him say them back.

He got pulled out of his thoughts when his father received a call and picked up. Upon answering, he stood up and walked to the kitchen, probably to get some privacy. Tubbo was looking at him with a worried expression plastered on his face.

"Are you ok?" he mumbled, grabbing his hand gently with his right one. Ranboo smiled softly in his direction and nodded, slowly pulling his hand back.

'I'm fine,' he signed. He wasn't yet sure whether that was the truth himself, due to the contradicting events from the last couple of weeks, but there was at least some truth to it. Despite his anxiety, at that moment he was fine.

"You sure? Today hasn't exactly been the best," he deducted, earning a small chuckle from Ranboo.

'You're here. That's all I need to feel fine,' Ranboo signed, a small blush covering his cheeks and ears. Tubbo looked at him with an indescribable look on his face. He looked like he wanted to say something, but nothing came out.

"Please don't ever leave me again," he eventually said. His words sounded so vulberable that Ranboo hesitated if they even left his mouth. Ranboo shook his head slowly, although he was sure of his answer. "These weeks have been torture because I know about your anxiety and I knew it was going to be worse and I wasn't there to comfort you. I wasn't there to hold you and kiss you and-"

Ranboo pressed his left palm againt Tubbo's mouth to stop him from talking. He slowly removed his hand and replaced them with his lips. Tubbo kissed him back instantly, humming lightly. The kiss was simple, but it was everything that they both needed. They pulled apart quicker than either of them had wanted, but sadly they needed to breathe.

'I fixed your car,' Ranboo signed bluntly. Tubbo looked at him weirdly.

"You fixed my- why?" Ranboo shrugged, blushing lightly. Before he could explain why, his dad appeared again, still on the phone.

"Hold up, let me put you on speaker," he said. Ranboo and Tubbo looked at each other for a second before both leaning forward curiously. "Go ahead."

"Hey kid, how're you doing?" he heard Sam's familiar voice echo through the speakers. "I presume that your boyfriend's here too?"

"That's correct sir. I'm Tubbo, Ranboo's boyfriend," Tubbo replied upon seeing Ranboo's hopeless face. "And he's doing well, all things considered."

"I'm glad to hear that. So, listen Ranboo, I just spoke to your dad about the possible prosecution of Dream Wastaken and we could charge him for either the cause of the car crash, blackmail and with your consent even the abuse of sexting. That's a far stretch though, because this is not about the two of you kissing but the exposure of Ranboo's scars," Sam explained. Ranboo listened carefully and looked at Tubbo, signing a couple of words in his direction?

"Could I ask you a question?" Tubbo asked hesitantly, nodding when she approved his request. "How can they prove that the car crash was his fault?"

"That's a good question, kid. It's a matter of timing, witnesses and statements. It's not gonna be easy and it will be time-consuming. Are you guys ready for that?"

Tubbo looked at Ranboo, who looked determined and nodded. He didn't take his eyes off him while responding. "We are," he said.

It turned out that Sam hadn't lied when he said it wasn't going to be easy. The rest of the week, the boys had to drive over to the station and tell what had happened. They had to be as transparent as possible, which, especially in Ranboo's case, was a bit tough sometimes. Eventually, though, it was worth every second.

The monday that followed Tubbo's suspension, the two boys were in their first class - they had successfully avoided weird stared and comments concerning Ranboo's condition - when they were removed from their class. Manifold was already waiting for them in his office.

"This morning I got a call that mister Wastaken has been arrested for causing a car crash and blackmail. I wanted to tell you this in private because we do not want his bad influence on out school grounds. He's not going to bother you within these, walls, ever.

Tubbo managed to let out a surprised laugh. It had actually worked. Ranboo seemed just as shocked, looking at the principle with wide eyes. Their fingers were interlocked under the table, the grip on each other's hand tightening.

"He's gotten a work sentence of thirty hours a week for the rest of the year, but I've never told you this," the headmaster continued, winking at the two perplexed boys.

"And Punz?"

"Mister Op needs to pay back all the money he's earned and he's suspended for a month," Manifold explained. Ranboo looked at him gratefully and Tubbo thanked him politely.

"As for the reason this all happened, if anybody bothers you, mister Beloved, please don't hesitate knocking on my door. And mister Underscore?" While Ranboo nodded, Tubbo hummed curiously. "Try not to beat someone else up."

"I won't, sir," Tubbo promised, a small blush covering his cheeks. Ranboo grinned, giving Tubbo's hand a little squeeze. The principle dismissed them and after thanking him again, they left his office. Immediately, Tubbo peppered Ranboo's face with kisses, grinning widely in between every kiss.

"We did it, Boo," he whispered. Ranboo nodded, his eyes shining beautifully. Ranboo pulled him in for a hug, and they stood there for a good five minutes before pulling away.

"I'm not gonne let anybody hurt you again," Tubbo mumbled, pecking his lips once more. Ranboo grinned, mouthing an 'I know' in his direction.

And for the first time since his childhood, he actually believed every word.

Chapter 20: XX

Two months, three weeks and six days.

It took Tubbo two months, three weeks and six days to collect the needed money for Ranboo's surgery. He did, and would for a long time, hide the fact that his mom had 'donated' half the money, but at last, the money was there.

To be honest, after the exposure of Ranboo's scars, he had feared that his charity wouldn't get enough attention. His surprise had been all the more real when half od the kids had helped fund the surgery more dediatedly than they had before. Of course there were poeple that laughed at Ranboo and teased him, but they quickly learned that Tubbo could be very threatening.

He had called Mark Beloved as soon as their goal had been in sight, who had immediately gotten in touch with the hospital. Further information was unknown to the jock, causing him to be terribly nervous all day. Ranboo, despite noticing his weird behaviour, chose to ignore it.

That evening after school, the two boys were making homework on Ranboo's bed when Mark knocked on Ranboo's door. Both boys looked up, noticing him standing in the door opening.

"Can I steal Tubbo from you for a second?" the man asked, surprising both boys. Mark never specifically asked for Tubbo, and although Tubbo had his assumptions about the subject, it was weird hearing the man call him out like that.

Ranboo nodded hesitantly, looking at his boyfriend who rolled of the bed, onto his feet. They made eye contact for a few seconds as Tubbo walked towards the door, the dark haired boy winking at him reassuringly. Then he disappeared from sight, Ranboo's sight, following Mark downstairs curiously.

"What's going on?" he asked, wtching the man pace from his left to his right. He rubbed his mouth before stopping a few feet away from the boy. "Sir, is somethi-"

"I just got off the phone with doctor Foolish." Tubbo cocked his head to the left and squinted his eyes. He felt his heartbeat thump against his ribcage. "-it's the doctor that could perform the surgery. He had an open spot in two weeks, Tubbo. Two weeks."

As the man continued talking, Tubbo's eyes widened and he covered his mouth in shock. He let out a laugh in disbelief, watching as Mark's eyes started to tear up. Without giving it mich thought, he threw himself into the man's arms, feeling the man's arms wrap themselves around his waist.

"Thank you," he heard Mark whisper. Tubbo pulled away after that, suddenly feeling slightly uncomfortable hugging the man. The grown up man had glossy eyes and a few tears rolled down his cheeks.

"It was the least I could do," he replied honestly. Mark wiped his eyes and cheeks furiously, sniffing quietly. Tubbo himself felt his eyes burn as well. He hated seeing people cry, even if the cause was positive. Besides, he himself felt like he was flooded with happiness as well.

"I've never met anybody in my life that was prepared to do something this generous, kid. I'm glad that you're the one making my son happy,' Mark said, placing a hand on Tubbo's right shoulder. The boy blushed furiously, looking down.

"Well, he makes me happy too. Besides, he's in constant pain and that needs to stop. And now that's finally possible," he said, letting out another amazed chuckle. "I can't believe we made it."

He turned around when he heard wood creak behind him, noticing a guilty looking Ranboo at the bottom of the stairs. Tubbo shook his head in amusement, unintentionally sharing that movement with Mark.

'I'm sorry. I was curious,' Ranboo signed, smiling apologetically. Mark chuckled.

"I suppose you were. Come here kiddo, there's something we need to tell you," the eldest Beloved said, nudging to the couch. Mark and Ranboo sat down on the couch, Ranboo facing Tubbo, who sat down in the chair diagonally left from the couch. He was fiddling with his fingers, which Tubbo had caught as a nervous trait that he possessed.

'What's going on?' Ranboo signed, looking from Mark to Tubbo and back. Mark nodded in Tubbo's direction , who opened his mouth to speak.

"Do you remember the money I saved at school for the surgery?" Tubbo asked. Ranboo frowned, the playing with his fingers stopping. Then , he nodded slowly, not breaking eye contact. "What if we told you that we have collected enough money to take care of the surgery?"

Ranboo's eyes widened visibly, but he didn't seem to grasp exactly what Tubbo was saying. And that was true. He hadn't known how to feel about others saving money for his surgery way back when Tubbo confessed that that's what he did. He didn't know how to feel about the surgery and now that the money was there, he was happy, but terrified, fearing that the surgery might somehow not work.

"I called doctor Foolish about fifteen minutes ago, and he actually has a spot available in two weeks." Mark repeated his words. Ranboo swallowed, looking at both their happy faces.

'What if it doesn't work? What if it gets worse?' he signed, fiddling with his fingers once again after he had signed. Mark sighed, smiling lightly.

"We have an appointment next week. He's gonna show you exactly what he will do and what the consequences might be. If you really don't want it, you can always back out, but Ranboo, you could be able to talk again. We have never gotten this far," his father explained. Ranboo touched his throat subonsciously, anxiously rubbing the burned skin on his neck.

'Is it really happening?' is what he signed after a long silence. He watched as his father began to tear up, and after the man confirmed his question, he couldn't help but feel his own eyes burn as well.

"Bossman, we'll finally hear your beautiful voice soon," Tubbo grinned, his eyes too being glazed over. Ranboo grinned widely back at him. He hugged his father first, squeezing his eyes shut tightly while holding the back of his sweater. He couldn't wait until he could whisper an actual thank you.

He then moved back and moved to Tubbo, pressing their lips together shamelessly. He then shifted, hugging the boy the same way as he had done with his father. Again, he wished he could praise him with uncountable words, which he might just be able to do sometimes.

Still once their excitement died down, they realized how much of a risk it actually was. In the weel that followed, ranboo and Mark had visited the hospital for an appointment with doctor Foolish. The moment they sat down in the waiting room, Ranboo felt more anxious than he had ever done before when visiting the hospital.

"Ranboo Beloved?"

Ranboo looked up, seeing the familiar face of the doctor, who apppeared around the corner. He stood up, followed by his father and walked up to the man. He noticed how doctor Foolish never tried to shake his hand but moved on to Mark immediately. Weirdly, that created a sense of comfort, because he seemed to have remembered his discomfort of touching unknown people.

"Thanks for meeting us on such short notice," Mark said while shaking the man's hand. The doctor smiled and nodded once.

"I have the time. And besides, I think you have waited long enough for this opportunity, right?" He directed the question to Ranboo, who simply shrugged. The trio walked towards the same office they had been in before and took their seats.

"So, Ranboo. The reasonn I asked you to be here today is to discuss all that's going to happen in the upcoming surgery. I'm going to draw out and explain what we will do, what consequences there are, how long the estimated recovery time is, and more. Does this sound ok to you?"

Ranboo shruged again.

And so, the doctor began working. With a black marker, he marked the places where they would cut him open and he explained how they would move and stretch his vocal chords. He then adressed the possibility of damaging the skin around his throat and the aorta, which did not sound comfotable at all.

He also warned that there was a sixty percent chance that the surgery would have the expected results. And he made it very clear that said rsults wouldn't be noticable immediately. It would take a lot of discipline and doctors visits before he could even start speech- and physiotherapy.

"I'm not tryng to scare you off, but it's mandatory for you to know what you're stepping into," doctor Foolish explained, earning another nod in his direction. "Knowing this, would you still like to continue with the surgery?"

Ranboo looked at the plastic skeleton that was dangling at the right side of the room, studying it for a few seconds. He was trying to buy himself some time because the answer to that question was yet unclear.

He didn't really have a choice though. Despite the dangers involving the surgery, his father, boyfriend and almost the whole school had made sure that the surgery was funded. It would be the biggest dick move in history to decline his offer now. He had to try.

"Ranboo?"

His attention shifted to the doctor and he provided him with his signature fake smile. He felt the pressure to answer, while he just wanted some time to think and decide. He felt his father's eyes on him and could almost smell the desperation. Doctor Foolish on the other hand looked calm.

'I'll do it,' he signed. His stomach churned when Mark sighed visibly and translated the words back to doctor Foolish.

Even later as they stood outside, Ranboo wasn't convinced. Of course, the surgeons would know that they were doing, but it didn't exactly reassure the boy. Even that night, when Tubbo visited them, he couldn't share his happiness. Unlike Mark, however, Tubbo actually noticed that he wasn't happy with the decision.

"Alright, what's going on in that pretty little head of yours?" Tubbo asked, sitting in front of him with his legs crossed. Ranboo was curled up in a ball, his head leaning on his pillow. He looked up, hating how concerned Tubbo looked. "-And don't you dare lie to me. Something's bothering you."

Ranboo felt his lower lip start to tremble and his vision started to blur. God damn it. He heard Tubbo chuckle and felt the weight on the bed shift. Then, he felt Tubbo's arms wrap around him. He curled up against him, a tear falling down his cheek.

"There we go. Let it all out, Boo," Tubbo whispered, looking at him worriedly. He shifted and rested both his hands below Ranboo's ears, his thumbs gently wiping away the falling tears. He looked down when Ranboo put his own hands up.

'There's only sixty percent chance that the surgery will work' he signed. Tubbo had pulled hiw own hands down and sat up. He helped Ranboo do the same. He nodded.

"That's less than expected. Did he say something else?"

'I think there's a chance that I might not survive the surgery,' the boy admitted. Upon seeing this, Tubbo grew more worried.

"What do you mean that there's a chance you might not survive the surgery? Isn't it a harmless one? What exactly did he?" he asked, trying not to sound too panicked.

'They could cut my aaorta and could damahe my vocal chorts and throat even more,' the boy signed. Tubbo relaxed just a little bit, realizing that it was the boy's anxiety that made him think about the worst case scenarios. It did, however, not sound like the surgery would indeed succeed.

"Honey, don't forget that these doctors are specialized in throat surgeries. Don't forget that if they would do sometihng wrong, they would know how to fix it. You wouldn't just bleed out," he said, trying to reassure both his boyfriend and himself. Ranboo smiled with his mouth closed.

'And what if I do?'

"Then I will hunt every single one of them down because they murdered my boyfriend and make sure they never operate ever again. But I doubt that that will happen, Boo."

'You promise?'

Tubbo looked at his scared boyfriend, swallowing once before answering.

"I promise."

Chapter 21: XXI

Notes:

Last chapter! I hope you enjoy <3

beep.

Fire, smoke.

Beep.

His throat was on fire.

Beep.

Ranboo frowned, his eyes moving underneath his eyelids. He still heard that annoying, steady beep and wished for nothing more than it to stop. His mouth was incredibly dry, making him crave at least a glass of water, but his throat was sore to an extent where he thought that he wouldn't be able to swallow the liquid.

The moment he opened his eyes, he was blinded by bright light an a lot of white around him. He frowned and moved his hand towards his face. The movement felt uncomfortable and his arm felt heavier than usual. What was going on?

When he fully opened his eyes again, they had adjusted to the light a bit more. He looked at his hand first, noticing the IV that was taped against the inside of his elbow. Then he looked up and saw a heart monitor.

Huh, so that's where that sound came from.

He then remembered the surgery. Right, that had happened. The pain didn't seem too bad, taking into account that they had just cut him open. Perhaps that was due to the painkillers though. He heard someone talking and looked towards his feet. He noticed his father walk his way and he smiled lightly when the man brushed some hair from his forehead.

"How are you feeling, kiddo?" Ranboo provided him with a tired, closed mouthed smile.

'Still can't talk,' he signed. Mark snickered and kissed his forehead.

"No shit, Sherlock." Ranboo turned his head towards the person that had just spoken, grinning with that same drunk-like smile. He opened his arms widely, the limbs ending up leaning against the sides of the hospital bed. Tubbo did, however, catch onto his idea and walked closer. He hovered over the bed and kissed Ranboo's cheek, before allowing Ranboo's arms to wrap around his weakly.

"I'm glad you're ok, Boo," Tubbo mumbled. Ranboo slid his arms down and Tubbo backed up slightly. He watched Ranboo grin with watery eyes, before his hand appeared in between their faces and a finger was pressed against his nose. Ranboo only stopped grinning when Tubbo backed away even more with an amused smile on his face.

"Ah, Ranboo. Good to see that you're awake. How are you feeling, buddy?" Ranboo raised his thumb at the third person that had entered the room. He was under the impression that it was doctor Foolish. The doctor sat down beside him, holding a folder.

"So, your surgery went well. I'm not going to lie, once the anastetics will wear off it's not going to be painless, but I will prescribe you with some painkillers. You do need to rest for at least five days before coming back, because your tissues need to heal, but i'm sure we'll figure that out. Now, I'll just leave you guys alone. If you need anything, press the red button over there."

Mark thanked the doctor, who nodded and waved at Ranboo before walking off.

'I'm tired, dad,' Ranboo signed slowly, earning a fond smile from his father. Tubbo, who was typing something on his phone, looked up after he had signed, not knowing what he had ust said.

"Get some sleep then, kiddo," he said softly, ruffling his hair playfully. Ranboo whined, unintentionally amusing both his father and boyfriend. Tubbo put his phone back in his pocket and sat down next to him as Mark tucked him in. Ranboo was too tired to comment that he wasn't a little kid anymore.

"Niki texted me. She freaked when we both didn't show up at school today. I thought you would tell her about the surgery," Tubbo explained. Ranboo squinted his eyes for a few seconds before shrugging. He honestly couldn't remember at the moment.

'Tell her i'm fine,' he signed back. Tubbo smiled and grabbed his phone.

"All done, Boo," he replied. "Oh, and she says you're a fucker and that she's coming by when school finishes," he read. Ranboo chuckled. He could hear her say that. It became harder and harder to open his eyes, and soon he gave up on keeping them open and closed them. He fell asleep as he heard Tubbo and his father talk, feeling a pressure on his forehead before blackness consumed him.

TWO WEEKS LATER

"Alright. So, don't forget that you haven't spoken in fourteen years, Ranboo. Don't be upset if things don't instantly go the way you want them to."

Ranboo sat parallel of a tan skinned man with neck lenght, brown curls. Yet there was a white streak. His name was Wilbur or something, Ranboo hadn't really cared much about that detail. He had been assigned to help him regain his voice and practice his speech all together, since he hadn't spoken in such a long time.

He frowned, yet did as he instructed. He opened his mouth and tried to create an 'ah' sound, just as he had demonstrated moments earlier. He had hoped that a flawless, clean sound would escape his mouth, but he was taken back when his thorat seemed to close in, which made him start to cough.

"Easy there. It's perfectly normal the first times. You vocal chords aren't used to the stretch and vibrations. Take your time, then we'll try it again."

Ranboo took a sip of his water, the cool substance soothing the strain on his throat. He took a deep breath and tried it again. Yet, the same thing happened. Being as impatient as he was, Ranboo sighed in frustration and looked down, angry with himself. Wilbur smiled at him.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" the man asked. Ranboo grasped onto the notebook in front of him and twirled the pen. He then wrote down a couple of words and handed the notebook over to him. He smiled upon reading words.

"No, i'm not homophobic, Ranboo. So, a boyfriend, huh. Do you have a picture?" Even though Ranboo was hesitant of his interest, he was quite flattered. He reached for his phone and showed him his lockscreen, which was a picture of him and Tubbo, laughing in front of the willow tree at lunch. Niki had taken the photo weeks ago, and he had fallen in love with the picture instantly. Wilbur watched the screen with a smile.

"That's quite the looker you got there. He must really look forward hearing you talk, right?" He said. Ranboo blushed at his words, accepting the notebook and writing down his response.

- he helped saving money for the surgery. -

"And if you could tell him one thing, actually speaking, what would that be?" he asked, almost knowingly. Ranboo blushed and wrote down the answer. Wilbur smiled. "Then that's going to be our main goal. Try to think about waht you want to say at your next try."

Ranboo closed his eyes and visioned Tubbo in his mind. He instantly felt his cheeks burn up, but ignored that. He opened his mouth again, shaping his mouth the right way. He tried to produce said 'a' sound, flinching when he felt the same strain on his voice again. But a sound did escape his mouth.

He was startled by the low sound that resonated through the room. Months earlier he had screamed one sentence at his father, but that felt different. That felt like his throat was either going to burst or rip in pieces. This merely felt uncomfortable.

"There you go! We're going to keep practicing this today until you master it, and then we're going to start with some simple words, does that sound ok to you?"

Ranboo just nodded, too amazed with his achievement. For the first time in almost fifteen years, he had actually made a sound.

THREE MONTHS LATER

Ranboo didn't like lying, but he decided not to tell anyone about the progress he made. Not his dad, not Charlie, not Niki and not even Tubbo. He wanted to surprise every single one of them. He turned out to be a quick learner, and within a month, he had picked up loads of words and sentences.

Despite his excitement, he still had school to deal with. Ever since his exposure, he felt uncomfortable and out of place. Even months later, people still stared and snickered. He still hid the scars like he used to, but he felt more naled then ever before under three layers of clothing.

Tubbo thought that all was well, but he wasn't always there to look after him. Whenever Ranboo was alone, people started whispering and pointing in his direction. He wasn't only insecure because of this, but he was also terrified that they would start beating him up soon.

"Hey baby."

Ranboo felt two arms around his waist and smiled contently. The position was awkward due to the bag on his back, but he loved the gesture. He turned himself around and placed a gentle kiss on the jock's lips. He watched how Tubbo's eyes fluttered closed and opened again after two or three seconds. It had become a regular thing for him to do whenever they shared a short kiss, loving how his lids opened and he could look into his eyes again. He hummed quietly, causing Tubbo to look at him excitedly.

"You didn't cough!" he exclaimed happily. Ranboo blushed and shook his head. He had been able to do that for a couple of weeks now, but again, he tried to keep it to himself. "Does this mean that there's any progress?"

Ranboo shrugged, trying to be as indifferent as possible. He didn't want to ruin his plan, not when he was so close. Tubbo looked at him and kissed his forehead.

"You'll get there, Boo. Take your time."

"Look at them, burned before they could even go to hell!" one kid exclaimed to his friends. Ranboo flinched. It wasn't a new insult. Actually, it had been used more times than he could count. That didn't mean that it didn't still sting. Tubbo, however, hadn't heard the insult before.

"Excuse me? What did you just say!?" he asked, leaving Ranboo marching up to the kid. Ranboo grabbed his wrist and pulled him back, shaking his head.

'They're not worth getting you suspended or expelled,' he signed. Tubbo was still pissed, Ranbooc could see it, but he tried to keep himself calm.

"What is it, fag? Finally realised that you could do so much better?"

Ranboo looked up to see Tubbo even more pissed now. Inside of him, something snapped as well. Thus, he did something that was very unlike him.

He punched him square in the face.

The boy looked perplexed for a few seconds, before landing a hit on Ranboo's cheekbone. Ranboo stumbled back in surprise, holding his cheek angrily. Tubbo caught him, now absolutely livid.

"You guys better reassess your plans if you don't want to end up in a hospital."

Ranboo looked behind him, where the voice came from and helt his heart warm upon seeing Niki, Charlie, and Tommy stand behind them. The three kids backed off slowly, the boy with his hands raised defensively. Only then, Charlie rushed up to Ranboo, reaching for his cheeks.

"Are you ok? Does it hurt? Do I need to call dad?" Ranboo shook his head, ruffling the smaller boy's hair.

'I'm fine, Charlie. He's just a dick,' he signed. Tubbo touched the spot where he was hit, causing him to flinch.

"That's definitely going to bruise. Are you sure you don't need an ice pack?" Tubbo asked worriedly. Ranboo grabbed his wrist and shook his head.

'I'm fine. Besides, you didn't participate in the fight which means you're not gonna be expelled,' Ranboo signed. Tubbo's expression changed to a pissed one.

"Seriously? Are you fucking stupid?! You can't just let yourself get hurt because of me!" Tubbo exclaimed, raising his voice just enough to make Ranboo flinch.

"I have to agree with Tubs on that one, Ran. That kid is a dick but Tubs can handle some came-caling. Plus, he isn't worth that bruise," Niki said, hugging him. Ranboo couldn't help but feel worse and worse by their words, wanting nothing more than to be alone and cry.

'I wanna go home,' he signed. Tubbo nodded curtly.

"Yeah, I'll take you. Tommy, Charlie, are you coming too?" the jock asked, still clearly pissed off. Ranboo bit the inside of his lip nervously, looking at Niki who seemed to catch onto his sudden change of mood. She winked in his direction as Tubbo guided him away, the gesture more soothing than Ranboo had anticipated.

The ride towards Ranboo's house was silent and uncomfortable. The two younger kids occasionally signed something. Ranboo looked outside of the window and Tubbo drove the car. He trusted Tubbo enough to do so. The moment the car stopped, Ranboo walked out immediately and opened the front door to let the kids in. Tubbo and him entered slowly, still not saying a word. Only when they reached Ranboo's room, things changed.

"Why would you be so reckless?" Tubbo asked, sitting down on the bed. His disappointing tone was even more heartbreaking than the angry one, and Ranboo instantly felt himself tear up.

"I try so hard to keep you safe, and then you do this and-" Tubbo started to ramble. Ranboo felt tears run down his cheeks, feeling stupid because of his actions and terrified to lose Tubbo. Said boy realized that he was crying and rushed towards him, brushing the tears away and apologizing continuously. Ranboo closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He could do this.

"I did it because I love you."

Tubbo's reaction existed out of three steps. First, he didn't seem to process what had just happened, but when he did, he froze and his jaw dropped. Then he supressed a grin that threatened to break out.

"Say that again," he demanded, looking at him with an excited glint in his eyes. Ranboo blushed.

"I love you," he repeated, this time a bit louder. Tubbo's hands were still on his face and now served as a mean to pull Ranboo in for a kiss. He pressed their lips together, Ranboo clinging his hands onto his shirt wile kissing back just as desperately.

"I love you too," Tubbo whispered against his lips, earning a big smile from Ranboo. Instead of kissing him again, Ranboo laid his head on the boy's shoulder. They stood there in the middle of the room, eyes closed and enjoying each other's embrace.

And Ranboo? He was the happiest he had ever been.