Good Things Never Last

Chapter 3

I just kept taking deep breaths as I silently tried to reassure myself.

It was going to be fine. They would be glad to see you.

The terrified fox in front of me slowly turned around to face me. I gave him a quick look up and down. A black and white hat sat atop his head, with two slots on either side to let his fluffy ears through.

He wore a white ruffled shirt under a pastel blue tailcoat that fell to behind his knees. The attire was completed with white slacks and a pair of knee-high black boots.

Looking back at his face, I almost smiled at his confused expression. It was as if he'd seen a ghost.

I don't think it had properly clicked in his head that it was actually me who stood before him.

He looked more scared than surprised.

He was probably afraid that I was going to stab him or something, so I kind of understood why he looked horrified.

He remained there for what seemed like hours, examining every inch of my body, trying to figure out where he'd seen me before, or at least that's what I assumed he was doing. Perhaps he was attempting to figure out why I was listening in on a crucial conversation that wasn't supposed to be overheard.

His eyes widened when they locked with mine, obviously startled by my arrival.
"Y/N?"
His eyes continued to dart over me as he still stood, frozen in shock.
"Surprise"
It was hardly audible as it left my lips, a large grin slowly creeping across my rosy cheeks. The next thing I knew, I was smothered in a warm, much-needed hug.

No one dared to move a muscle in the room behind Fundy as he hugged me closer to his chest. No one said anything, and the room was deafeningly quiet.

"Fundy, Y/N left months ago and she's not due to come back for another year"
Tommy was the one who broke the stillness. He sounded hurt, as if I was a touchy subject.

Fundy and I were torn apart by his remark. From the angle that Fundy and I were standing at, the others could only see Fundy's back and my arms wrapped around his waist, leaving them completely unaware of who I was.

Fundy stepped to my side, allowing me to see every single person in the room. Tubbo was the first to jump out of his chair and rush over.

"Y/N Y/N Y/N!"
His words echoed across the room, and before I knew it, his arms were tightly wrapped around my waist, almost as if he was trying to stop me from leaving him again.

"Hi Tubbo"
The boy in my arms raised his eyes to meet mine, and both of our smiles grew even wider.
"Y/N, you have no idea how much we've missed you. You've missed so much! I used to sit on top of the walls every night with Tommy, waiting for you to appear over the horizon-"

"Y/N"
Wilbur interrupted Tubbo's rambling, rising from the counter he'd been leaning against before walking over. Tubbo reluctantly let go of me as he nodded to his leader before quickly going over to Fundy.

"Why didn't you tell us you were coming back so soon?"
In an attempt to suppress my smile, I shook my head slightly.
"I wanted it to be a surprise I guess. I don't know. I just really missed you guys"
He gave me a little warm smile before grabbing my hand in his and pecking my knuckle with such a gentle kiss.

"Well we've certainly missed you too. It's been awfully quiet since the Innit duo lost their best member"
He hesitated, looking around the room for a cheeky remark from the boy in the back corner, but nothing came.

Sighing, he continued.
"And Tubbo is right, you certainly have missed a lot, but you have all day tomorrow to catch up on that. As you probably could tell once you entered our walls, we have expanded and we've also gained a new member believe it or not"

Wilbur's speech came to a halt when he stepped aside, revealing a tall brunette wearing sunglasses on their nose, blocking his eyes. They, like everyone else in the Camarvan, were dressed in the trademark L'manburg suit. She got up and took a few long strides before reaching out and extending her hand to me.
I grabbed it firmly and shook it.

"I'm Eret"
His voice is deep and soothing in a way.
"Y/N"
I sent them a brief nod before they turned and left. He seemed like an interesting character.

When I turned around, my gaze was drawn to a dazzling blue pair of eyes belonging to a tall blonde boy seated on a counter in the room's back corner. We only exchanged awkward glances, each of us waiting for the other to initiate the conversation. I approached him and offered him my hand to help him up. He grasped it, stood up, and brought me into a hug. As he towered over me, laying his chin on my head, I realised how tall he'd grown.

"Hello big man, I mean woman"
I look up at him with a smile.
"Ayyyy Big T, long time no see"
"Well that's your fault for just leaving me, isn't it?"

"Oh shush, if I hadn't left, you wouldn't have got Cat now, would you?"
During my journey, I stumbled across a chest near a spawner that contained a music disc named Cat, and my first thought was of Tommy and how much he'd enjoy it. He had always been into music discs, and I was certain he didn't have that one, so I included the disc in the next letter I sent him.

"Oh shush Y/N, you're just salty because you couldn't spend time with the most amazing human ever, me!"
"Tommy, I thought we agreed that we were equally just better than everyone else"
"Yeah yeah, Y/N sure"
I scowled up at him after hearing the sarcasm in his tone.

"Right, you two can catch up later. Y/N must be exhausted after all the travelling and stuff"
I had completely forgotten that Wilbur was in the same room as us.
"Yeah, I am pretty tired"
And with that, we all left the van full of joy and happiness.