Chapter Text
"Why, in the name of every God imaginable, did you have to wake me up this early?"
The complaint wasn't unusual, but it did put a sour expression on Tommy's face, as if he was the one offended in this situation. The Enderman besides him just wasn't grateful, is what he concluded before speaking. "Well! I'll have you know our bee boy is a pain and a half to wake up in the morning-"
"I'm aware, you do this all the time and I'M the one who listens to Tubbo whining-"
"-and it's so boring here! I wanted to do something with my bestest friend and I need you to wake him with me."
Ranboo rolled his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance. "I'd rather not, this isn't worth my beauty sleep," the taller complained, though truth be told, he wasn't entirely against the idea of spending time with the other boys. Since his arrival in the Overworld, they have been the two he's become closest with, despite denying any affectionate feelings towards them. If you ask Ranboo what he thought of Tommy and Tubbo, he'd look away and say they're annoying, but his cheeks would illuminate a light purple in a betraying blush.
They were his only true friends, really. Gods only know why he let those troublemakers hang around him for so long, but he'd (begrudgingly) never change it.
That didn't mean he didn't regret every decision he's ever made that lead up to Tommy shoving the prince's arm closer towards the bee's cottage. "Oi! Quit brooding and walk! I wanna blow some shit up before Phil gets back-"
The taller of the two sighed, and Tommy grinned in victory as they continued the walk. As they got closer, more and more flowers bloomed and flew in the light morning wind, likely new for the bee's energy source. In the END, Ranboo had never seen such colorful flowers, only being accustomed to the purple plants that grew fruit. Tommy and Tubbo seemed to love the things, Tubbo especially needed them to survive, which is why he's gotten so used to staying delicate with the things. Tommy's even teaching him how to make a flower crown, to surprise their other friend. Tommy's known Tubbo since they were kids, and has spent his own fair share of time learning how to savor an energy source for his friend- in return, Ranboo learned a little while ago, Tubbo had Phil teach him how to preen feathers for the younger avian. Somewhere, it touched Ranboo how close they were.
"...you go in first-" Tommy said suddenly, when the Enderman realized they were at the front door. There was an air of nervousness surrounding Tommy and a look of mild regret over every decision ever, which would be concerning for the flamboyant teen if not for the fact their beloved bee boy was supposedly terrifying in the morning. Which is strange considering how nice he is during the day. Ranboo didn't really believe Tommy when he'd say so, especially since Tommy isn't afraid of anything plausible, Ranboo couldn't help his disbelief with something as silly as Tubbo in the morning.
Nevertheless, Ranboo gave his friend an incredulous look, almost offended he'd even dare ask. "Don't tell me what to do! I'm not even supposed to be here." Ranboo huffed, and the blonde groaned with a stubborn tone. They both knew how this would end- bickering until Tommy finally backed down since the Prince never knew how to take the fall. Tommy had to do the dirty work for now.
The blonde bucked up some confidence, puffed out his chest, then opened the door.
It was quiet, unsurprisingly. On the outside, the cottage was one story and painted a softer yellow, nothing too eye-bleeding. Besides the decorated paths and plants, it was relatively peaceful. Inside, however, was an absolute disaster. Clothes tossed everywhere, old empty beehives kept in the corner and dusty paintings hanging on the wall. There were a few picture frames on the shelves, all of Tubbo's friends and old pets, as well as some little memento's. A little white feather next to a larger black one, a piece of gold on top of a mini pumpkin, a never-wilting wither rose propped up next to a keychain- decorated with a little book and a library card- and on the bottom shelf, a fish bowl with little decorations and colorful rocks, a colored drawing of two tiny people that looked to be a first graders level of skill, though the two teens knew exactly who made it. There was also a golden rod that looked to be put out from heat, with little star and fox stickers. They seemed to be well taken care of. It was so obvious how much Tubbo seemed to cherish his friends, with the shelves being the only not-messy piece of furniture.
There was a plain carpet lining the living room, ending at the start of a very small kitchen, which had a black and white tiled flooring. The kitchen was fairly clean, save for the empty water bottles tossed around the counter. There was also a large tub-like bowl in the living room, with a sleeping axolotl in the corner. Tommy looked at it in jealousy before passing it and the kitchen, beelining towards Tubbo's room. Ranboo followed.
They stopped once again at the door, and Ranboo looked at Tommy to open it. First, though, the avian pressed his ear to the door to try and listen for anything, to listen if Tubbo was awake or not. Maybe if he was Tommy wouldn't hesitate to go in. Tommy did, in fact, value his life. Ranboo, however, rolled his eyes- how dare he wake Ranboo up just to take so long to get their mutual friend?
A few seconds more, then Tommy finally put his hand on the knob. He twisted, turned, then pushed the door open slowly.
The teens heads poked through the crack of the door to peer inside. There was a soft light coming through a window, barely illuminating the small room. More clothes were on the floor, as well as books and journals and stickers all over the walls. the bed was tiny, and could barely fit another person. There was a large blanket covering the boy, unable to see his body at all, only a mere round lump. He was dead asleep.
Now, Tommy may not have a death wish, but Ranboo? He thought it was silly to think such a small boy was so scary. The Enderman was just about a seven foot prince for goodness' sake! He feared nothing and no one, and he was frankly tired that he had to miss his own slumber for this. So, the teen strode inside the room with an air of confidence, much to the dismay of Tommy- who stayed by the door with whispers of warning. Ranboo stood above the bed with his hands on his hips, staring at the still lump before poking the top. Tommy gasped.
"Ranboo-"
"Wake up peasant!" The Enderman exclaimed loudly, suddenly, and with a stern face. "I've missed enough sleep for this, so let's go!"
It was quiet for a few seconds, with Tommy just about gnawing his fingers off in a scared anticipation. Then, the teens heard a groan. Tubbo was awake.
But they expected a threat, Tommy even expected a knife to be pulled out of thin fucking air. What Tommy didn't expect, though, was his hand to shuffle out of the blanket- slowly, calmly, sleepily, and Tommy thought Ranboo was going to get stung. But then hand was...different. It was paler and dirty, and if Tommy squinted, he could swear he saw some discoloration near the palm. The rest of the arm was covered by a blue wool nightshirt. Tommy doesn't remember him ever having blue pajamas.
But what made the blonde the most confused was what Tubbo said. The boy groaned again, and in a deeper, almost raspier voice- as if he'd been screaming all night- spoke out. "Boo, play with Michael in his room..." There was a yawn in between, then the hand disappeared to supposedly curl back into his sleeping form. "I was up all night reading to him, I'll play Knights later..."
Michael...? Boo? Tommy was just as confused as Ranboo expressed, and the two awake teens shared a look to tell each other that they, in fact, had no idea what their friend was talking about.
Carefully, Tommy stepped closer into the room until he was at the foot of the bed, staring at the lump.
"Tubbo..? Buddy, uh, who's Michael?" The blonde said slowly, as if making sure his friend wasn't sleep talking or anything, and there was another groan- more like a whine, though.
"Tommy, please, I'm trying to sleep, I get he wants to be Sir Michael or whatever but I can't be the dragon right now-" The lump shifted, the body was moving, and soon enough what was once covering the face of their supposed Tubbo was tugged down. What they expected to be a round, bee-boy's face turned out to be something completely different.
It was Tubbo, but not. Instead of two long antenna poking out his head, it was replaced by long curled horns- the right of which having a little chunk missing, and the other simply cracked, and curled around long fluffy ram ears until they poked just in front of his face. Said face was a little sharper, tenser, and had a large scar covering his right cheek and chin, all the way down to the little part of the neck they could see. His hair was messy and long, all over the place from sleeping, and barely covered his eyes due to being so flippy. It covered the right eye as well, most likely hiding the rest of the discoloration, but the one eye the other two could see was the same as Tubbo's- but...duller. Instead of a bright blue that twinkled with mischief, it looked to be watered down, tired, with bags layering underneath.
This was not Tommy's friend. This was not his Tubbo.
There was a moment of silence between both parties, all three staring at the ones they didn't know.
Until, "WHAT THE FUCK!?" rang out- belonging to Tommy, as no one else was capable of reaching a pitch that high.
The stranger didn't seem too phased by the volume, as if used to screaming, and slowly sat up in the bed while maintaining a look towards the two teens. Tommy was right, it was a blue wool sweater, likely knitted by hand. The stranger shifted backwards against the bedframe, before letting out a weak laugh.
"Holy shit, what a fuckin' dream this is-" The brunette muttered, rubbing his now fully awake eyes. "Better than nightmares innit, but a chicken? Tommy would be offended."
At his name, the blonde's feathers puffed up slightly in annoyance. "Oi, 'm not a chicken bitch! How the fuck do you know my name? Get outta Tubbo's bed! Who are you-"
"One at a time, gods." Ranboo muttered, nearing a headache as the stranger turned to lock eyes with Ranboo. Or, well, not really. Both eyes were now fully covered by his hair, and the Enderman had to wonder if he could even see through that.
The brunette seemed to looked Ranboo up and down, blinking in almost shock. "Fuck me, a full Enderman? And what the fuck are you wearing? Boo's gonna get a kick outta this dream."
There it was again. A "dream". Tommy would think so himself, as well, if he didn't already know he was awake. The blonde marched up to the side of the bed with a scowl, bending down to get a closer look at the male. "We're not no dream, bitch! Now who're you supposed to be? Where's Tubbo?"
The brunette was quiet for a second, then a look of confusion drew into his lips. "I'm...I'm Tubbo? How could you not recognize me?" He mumbled, before groaning. "I thought dream people were supposed to know you already."
"Like he said," Ranboo started, crossing both arms over his chest. "This isn't a dream. You've clearly broken into his friends home."
"Yeah! And you ain't Tubbo, he's a tiny fuckin bee boy- wings and all! And he doesn't look fucked up like you!" Tommy added, missing the way "Tubbo" had flinched slightly at the insult.
Said boy shook his head slowly, bringing a hand up to rub his eyes underneath the hair. "No, no- this has to be a dream, because- 'cause Tommy isn't a chicken, and Ranboo isn't so...prick-ish."
"Excuse me!?"
"And I'm- I'm me, clearly, I never had wings or anything. So I'm obviously dreaming." He looked back up before suddenly yelping in pain, and Tommy's fist curled nearby the boys shoulder. "What the fuck was that for!"
A smirk graced Tommy's lips. "You're not dreaming, see? Now tell us where Tubbo is!" He demanded, and then, it was quiet once more. The two teens stared at the stranger, awaiting a response before he suddenly pushed passed Tommy and swung off the bed. He was the same height as Tubbo, now that he was standing, with a little fluffy tail on his back. Tommy would awww at it if he wasn't so suspicious. The brunette turned to face them again, backing up.
"It's...really not a dream?" He muttered, taking a deep breath. "So I just- magically woke up in your friends bed, who's coincidentally named Tubbo? And you lot just so happen to share the names and looks of my best friends? Fuckin crazy, where's the door?"
Tommy seemed to beam in victory at the others need to leave, but Ranboo...he narrowed his eyes, almost inspecting the other. He sounded just as confused as they were, if not more, and almost panicked? He didn't have much time to watch him, though, as Tommy grabbed the others wrist to drag him to the door. "Tubbo" followed without question, but once the three were outside, he stopped. And stared at the land before him, his body language showing he was in awe. Tommy grumbled and turned to the boy.
"Well? What's the fucking hold up?"
"It's...beautiful out here." The goat muttered, hands falling limp to the sides. "I haven't...seen land so clean like this in a while."
Tommy gave a strange look, then looked back to Ranboo, who still had an expression of curious suspicion. Then, the blonde groaned. "Stop being so fucking crypitc. Go home so we can find Tubbo." He demanded, until "Tubbo's" head turned up.
"That's the thing," he began. "I don't know where I am. I don't think I'm from here."
Tommy raised an eyebrow, then let go of the boy and stepped back, about to yell. Ranboo, however, was the one to put a hand over Tommy's mouth. Now in front of the stranger, he finally had enough. "Tell us your full name. Who are you, where are you from, and why are you here?"
He took a deep breath, quiet for a moment as if to think. "My name is Tubbo_Beloved," he began, the familiarity of both last names shown in the other two's eyes. "I'm the leader of a nation called Snowchester, but before then I was both a soldier and president of a country called L'Manburg. I live with my best friend Tommy, my husband Ranboo, and my son Michael. I'm five foot five and a ram hybrid, which aren't common anymore where I'm from. I have no other family. I don't know why I'm here, and clearly you don't know either. If this isn't a dream, then I don't know what this is, but I shouldn't be here. I want to go home, really, but I don't know how. Or why I'm here, or when I came here." He sighed before continuing. "I know that your name is Tommy, and yours is Ranboo Beloved. Where I'm from, you're only half Enderman, and Tommy isn't an animal hybrid- he's got these red little horns and some fucking devils tail. He's not a chicken."
"I'm not a chicken!" Tommy repeated, scowling at Tubbo. "You clearly made that up, I've never heard of some "La Manburger" or whatever, and you look too young to have a kid!"
Tubbo shrugged, smiling a little. "He's adopted," he said fondly. "And it's L'Manburg, it was blown up a while ago anyways. Like I said, either this is a dream or some really fucked up drug Tommy made me try to get me to hallucinate."
Ranboo stepped forward, looking down at Tubbo before turning to Tommy. "Maybe...Maybe Phil and Wilbur can help. He has all those books, maybe it says something about this country?"
Neither of the teens noticed how Tubbo's body tensed at the names. But they definitely heard him mutter Will's, a slight shake to the whisper.
Tommy raised an eyebrow at him, before turning. "Follow me!" He announced, and Ranboo followed first. Tubbo hesitated, before slowly walking after them, composing himself back to normal.
If the three teens couldn't figure this out, at least Phil would be able to help.