HIRAETH // Captain Puffy X Reader

25

You tore through the forest, calling Tubbo's name every few seconds as you went, in the hopes that he would hear you can come find you. It seemed unlikely though as you got deeper and deeper into the forest with no sign of Tubbo anywhere. You were beating yourself up for not noticing him slip away - he had been standing right next to you for Christ's sake, how had you not noticed him disappear from your side?

What if he got lost in the forest and was left behind when the ship pulled out? What if he got hurt, or there was some undead thing that hadn't burned up in the sun that got him? Or a giant spider or some sort of other monster? He was only a little boy, no matter how well he knew his way around a training sword. 

You slowed your jog for a moment just to scan the forest around you again. You couldn't see the beach anymore, and you weren't quite sure how far you had run - you had been more focused on finding Tubbo. You had kept the beach behind you though, so you knew where the ship was... approximately. 

"Tubbo!" You called again, yelling as loud as you could. "Tubbo!"

There was a rustle in the brush to your left and you peered between the leaves, hoping against hope that it was Tubbo and not some spider. 

Big brown eyes looked back at you, and there was a blink of recognition before Tubbo crawled out from under the bush, grinning. Relief flooded your system, and you scooped him up off the ground, hugging him to your chest tightly. Tubbo squirmed, but you didn't let him go.

"You're hugging me too tight." He said, trying to wiggle his way back to the ground. 

"You can't go running off like that." You said. "It's not safe, and I was the only one who noticed you were gone - what if you got lost or hurt?"

"I'm not going to get hurt." Tubbo said. "I can kill a zombie, you know!"

"Doesn't matter." You said. "We've got to get back to the ship-"

At that, Tubbo frowned. "But what about the treasure!" 

You shook your head. "Tubbo, we have to go back to the ship. Your mum is going to get the treasure, and we'll wait for her to come back, okay?"

Tubbo's frown deepened, and your heart pulled a little, but you knew you couldn't give in now. "That's not fair." Tubbo said. "I want to help mum find the treasure-"

"It's too dangerous, Tubbo-"

"No it's not! I can fight too-"

"I'm sure you can, but there's more to it that just being able to fight-"

A voice interrupted your back and forth. "Tubbo? Y/N?"

Puffy brushed a branch aside, stepping around a tree and into the little clearing, her eyes wide with curiosity and fear. "I thought you were going to stay on the ship-"

"I'm so sorry Puffy." You said, setting Tubbo down finally. "He got off the ship on his own to try and find the treasure, and no one else noticed but me, so I went after him." Puffy's eyes grew wide with a different sort of emotion as you explained - that terrible what if. What if no one had noticed at all? What if Tubbo had gotten hurt? Or lost? Or killed?

Tubbo grabbed onto the leg of his mother's trousers. "Please let me come with you mum, please?"

Puffy scooped Tubbo up - much like you had done when you had found him - and held him so that they were nose to nose. "That was very dangerous Tubbo, and I never want you to do that again, do you hear me?" She said. 

The gravity of the situation seemed to sink in then and Tubbo nodded, solemn. 

Puffy's gaze turned to you, softening. "Thank you." She said. "I wouldn't have known, and who knows what would have happened to him-" She cut herself off. "Really, thank you Y/N." There was a genuine sort of look in her eye as she said it.

"Of course." You returned, equally at truthful. You wouldn't have hesitated to jump from the ship after him even if the beach had been made of shards of glass and the ocean of lava. "I'll take him back to the ship right now-"

A sudden boom shook the forest. Puffy's eyes snapped back in the direction that you had come - cannon fire. A bolt of fear struck your heart, and you couldn't help but look in the direction of the beach as well, even though you couldn't see anything through the trees.

The navy had arrived. 

You glanced back at Puffy, waiting for instruction from her. She pursed her lips, looking down at the map tucked into her belt and then her son. From his spot in his mother's arms, Tubbo was trying to peer towards the beach, no doubt to see what was going on. You could see the wheels turning in Puffy's head, running the risk of sending you back with Tubbo versus the risk of carrying on with the hunt for the treasure - now with her son. 

In the end, she just swung Tubbo up on her shoulders, making sure he was secure. Two little fists made handles out of her ram horns, and Tubbo grinned - he was getting what he wanted after all, it seemed. 

Puffy started off towards the rock spires. "C'mon." She said. "It's too risky to send you back now if the navy's close." 

Ignoring the ache in your legs from tearing through the forest after Tubbo, you followed along in her wake, keeping pace with Puffy's quick strides as she followed the map. You could feel the blood thrumming in your veins from both fear and all the running you had just been doing - you couldn't help but fear for the Night Ghost and her crew back on the beach. 

What if the navy had opened fire? What if the ship was already damaged?

What if they deemed it too tough and left you behind?