Chapter Text
“Haha, man your magic is the literal ugliest and most useless shit I’ve seen.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if they all knew already!”
“Man, give up. I know that you want to make friends but you’re just annoying. Give up, man.”
“God, how do your parents even love you, you’re an absolute freak.”
“Ow! God control your damned powers, freak-show! You almost burnt me you fu- “
“Tubbo!” Tommy shouted loudly. Clearly a little annoyed but Tommy ducked after being given a sharp glare from the substitute world history teacher. An embarrassed flush lighting up on Tommy's checks. Lowering his voice, Tommy pried, “What’s gotten you so interesting with the world map, Tubbo? You've just been staring at it almost the entire class. I thought you hated geography!” Tommy asked much quieter. A little glint in his eye that told Tubbo he thought his teasing observation was the funniest thing. Jerking back his head minutely, Tubbo realized with a start how dry his eyes really were. ‘Damn, how long was I lost in thought?!’ he thought with mounting panic trying to blink as fast as possible to rid the uncomfort of eyes drier than a desert.
Turning to face Tommy, he tried is damn hardest to smile as bright as the sun.
“Oh, don’t even worry, big man! Just thinking of my next cool project for computer class!” Tubbo tried his best to seem convincing. But the light in his eyes gave just a little hint that Tubbo wasn’t truly thinking about just his computer class’s next project.
Tommy gave him an odd look that Tubbo couldn’t place. It made him more nervous than he would have liked to admit. Tommy continued talking though, “Alright…but I still want to get back to telling you about this new moth that I caught in my room last night. So, there I was, about to get my history book and smash the wall – “
“I really shouldn’t be spacing off like that,” Tubbo scolded himself, “I can’t lose control again, and god forbid I show them my magic. All that will do is make me lose my two best friends.”
So Tubbo resolved to sit at his desk with all his concentration on his classes. He actually paid so much attention to trying to pay attention to his classes, that he didn’t understand nor remember anything else about what he learned during his school day.
Tubbo had thinned memories of eating lunch with Tommy, while Ranboo gave sarcastic quips and tried to add to the conversation only for Tommy to cut him off and go on another tangent about how moths are superior to butterflies. Ranboo really didn’t like that opinion, and Tubbo silently supported Ranboo in his fickle plan of trying to interrupt Tommy every time he started talking about moths again, to give an ‘interesting fact’ about butterflies.
God, it was the funniest thing, to watch those two idiots flounder about in their attempt to interrupted the other interrupting the other interrupting the other, and so on for ever and ever until the warning bell for classes rang out.
Tubbo just sat on the ground next to the other two, smelling the fresh grass and feeling the cool and hard ground against his back. He occasionally pushed little comments and giggles and sopped up sunlight and warmth.
Tubbo he loved the outdoors. Sunlight nestled deep in his bones, birds chirping loudly around the tree that the three had decided was their designated lunch-spot, little butterflies flittering around. It was truly magical. You could feel Tommy in the way that the flowers would curl just a little around the tree and pin point Ranboo's cool attitude under the shade of the leaves. Tubbo didntk now why or how, but it was undeniably them
After lunch was finished and packed away. The trio made their way back down the hill to start the last couple of afternoon classes. Pushing the need to stay as exposed to sunlight as possible, Tubbo reluctantly trudged inside once more.
‘It’s been so long. So many years, and you still can’t get over not staying in the sunlight 24/7. Get a grip!’ Tubbo screamed at himself.
Tommy peered over at Tubbo as he was mentally scolding and screaming at himself, “You really don’t burn at all do you? Wow, king, you just gotta know that I am incredibly jealous. If I could stay in the sun for more than ten minutes and not burn to a crisp, I would never leave the sunlight again!” Tommy seemed to be having a hell of a time imagining all his time spent in the sun, while Tubbo was having a crisis.
‘After 5 years to spending almost all your time with these dipshits, you will not. WILL NOT. Reveal your magic, bitch.’ If just screaming at himself earlier didn’t do anything, Tubbo would try the method of aggressive repression.
It’s worked before, it’ll have to work again.
Tubbo just nervously giggled, but didnt comment. Thankfully, Tommy never mentioned it again, he just kept talking about that ‘fucking moth again, god damn it.’
After having to listen to Tommy retelling the story of how he had fallen in love paternally with a moth he caught last night, again, to Ranboo on the way home, Tubbo had enough. He waved and shouted his goodbyes to his friends as quickly as possible and raced towards his house.
“Wait!” Tommy shouted one last time towards Tubbo’s back.
Tubbo turned sharply, giving a quick curious glance at Tommy. “Yeah?!” Now having to shout at Tommy to be heard down the street.
Tommy gave him that strange look again before replying with, “How about tomorrow we plan to go to the park down the road? I saw that it’s gonna be sunny, and thought you’d enjoy the warmth?” A curious and what Tubbo thought an almost cautious lilt to Tommy’s question.
“Umm,” Tubbo thought for only a second before, “Yeah! I don’t have any club meetings tomorrow afternoon, but I have to be back before sundown. So, I can’t stay out too late!”
“Great!” Tommy smiled. A small gleam in his eyes. Ranboo quickly shot a look at Tommy, and if Tubbo hadn’t lingered a little, he would have missed it. Did Ranboo and Tommy have something planned for this little trip? It wasn’t any of their birthdays, children don’t normally celebrate their parent’s anniversaries, and having a party just for catching a new moth was a bit excessive, even for Tommy.
Ranboo turned to ask Tommy something, looking almost panicked and apprehensive, but stopped before looked at Tubbo almost apologetically. The two shared quick eye contact before Tommy shouted his goodbyes back at Tubbo and pulled Ranboo harshly down the road towards his own house.
‘What is going on with those two today?’ Tubbo thought hesitantly.
Tubbo walked down the crunched dirt path towards his front door. The smell of blooming flowers and the twit of birds began to silence his distress upon seeing his friend’s secretive behaviours. Tubbo breathed deep and tried to let out all the tension held in his shoulders. Breathing in the light scent of hydrangeas and lilies, pausing to look over at the little fountain to the side of the path for the new bird family to bathe in, and looking up at the sunlit leaves.
The tension fully ebbed away and rolled off Tubbo’s shoulders.
Turning the lock to his front door, he stepped inside. Toeing off his shoes at the entrance, throwing his backpack onto his bed and flopping onto his desk to begin the gruelling work that his high school teachers assigned that day.
He sighed and started, but every time Tubbo paused, or his thought wandered even a little, it always went back to that odd look Tommy gave him.