Piece by piece to love | Sleepy bois inc

Chapter 27: Third musketeer

- I'm really sorry, I have no idea where else to go- Phil looked with curiosity at the young man. He was slightly older than boys, maybe a year or two, but he was taller than Tommy for about a head. He had this skin condition that made dark splotches appear on his face as well as colouring part of his hair darker. But he didn't seem to be bothered by that, he even wore that half'n'half face mask. He also had round glasses with differently coloured lenses: one red and the second green. He seemed like a nice fella...- My parents just gave me a bag with my stuff and said that they don't want to see me for another month... and I still have that essay to write, otherwise my professor is going to have my head...-

- Easy, man, you'll have plenty of room here to write some papers, geez- Tommy wasn't really sure how to react to this almost crying tone. Sure, being put out the door wasn't nice, but in this case he would rather worry for accommodation than school work... On the other hand Techno will have HIS head if he doesn't memorize his papers... Maybe there was some logic behind this...

- Are you sure I won't bother you? I was just hopeless and then I remembered that you two recently got a house and...

- Dude... we've been living here for like two or three months straight...

- It's still recently compared to thirty years...- Tubbo shrugged his arms, slightly looking into Phil's direction. No, Ranboo staying here wasn't a problem at all, there were plenty of rooms to share, he could even pick where he would want to sleep. But if he wanted to have his own, it would have to be the attic... Still, it wasn't a problem at all. Just what will he say if he discovers that this place is haunted? Boys knew he wouldn't be able to see them, but paranormal activity those three caused would be impossible not to notice.

- Supper's ready, but you can pick a room first if you want to-

- A room? I was sure I'd be sleeping on the couch...-

- If you insist- blonde teenager smiled sarcastically, crossing arms on his chest. He got used to Ranboo after a few... "incidents'', but that doesn't mean he won't pick on him for fun.

- Tommy!- Tubbo pouted, making Tommy roll his eyes. No fun at all, geez.- No, we have a few spare bedrooms... three of them are already decorated and... well belong to somebody but they aren't here exactly- not a complete lie, but still one.- There's also a room in the attic if you want some privacy-

- I don't want to disturb anyone and the attic doesn't sound half bad...

- Wait with your opinion till you see it, kay, 'ender-boy?- despite the warning Ranboo seemed to like that empty room. He was particularly excited about the telescope. It made following him Phil chuckle, remembering how happy his boys were when he first brought it home.

They ate supper in a warm atmosphere, with Tubbo and Tommy talking about their life here. They of course had to lie about the ghosts, so they quickly made up a story about Tommy's uncle Phil and his sons going on a vacation to London. Thankfully Ranboo didn't question it... He just said that he would want to thank the uncle for agreeing to him staying here. Tubbo assured him that it won't be necessary, but he insisted that with closest occasion he would do so. Phil of course was listening to it all with a wide smile, while Wilbur was almost rolling form laughter in the kitchen.

- Does wind always make sounds like this here? It almost sounds like a laughter- all four smiles faded, but thankfully Tubbo and Tommy caught themselves in time not to raise Ranboo's awareness.

- Yeah... You'll get used to it in no time!- Tubbo was sweating hardcore, looking slightly at the Phil, who was just standing there with his eyes wide open. This kid was here for an hour and already is able to hear them? Thank the god he was so oblivious... he basically just accepted everything the boys said without a doubt. It was probably because of frustration and stress... Phil sighed, leaving them alone. It would be the best to stay away from Ranboo for now, they didn't want to traumatize him after all.

- How long do you think he'll stay?- Techno was already waiting for him in the attic, trying to organize all the boxes behind the curtain. None of them wanted Ranboo to see the mess back here, especially with all of that weaponry lying around from both the conventions and his and Tommy's training.

- He claimed it would be a month, but we'll see. We need to be careful though. It seems he can hear us- he hadn't forgotten all the previous owners of this house and how their stays ended. They might be more human right now, but even the pure fact of living with ghosts may end up poorly and that he did not want for the boy.

- That's what I was afraid of...- Techno murmured, caught in his own thoughts.- We're becoming more and more bound to Earth-

- What does that mean?

- People will be able to hear us if we're not careful. Not only him, but everybody. I'm almost sure if we focused enough we would be able to show ourselves to him, without getting in contact with our binding items- his gaze shifted to the sword laying in the corner. They left it there today, with Techno more focused on upcoming guest. With time they had forgotten that the boys were able to interact with them simply because they touched the most important item to them. It just was so natural at the moment...

- That seems reasonable...- lately everything had been working upside down: instead of focusing on touching things they had to worry about NOT touching them. Closed doors became a bigger problem, sometimes they could also get cold or too hot. As if they were alive again. Thankfully they haven't gotten hungry or thirsty yet despite being able to eat... Another three people for food would put a big strain on the boys' budget.

- Hey, dad... do you think... will be alive again?

- Alive? No. We died. There's no going back. But... our state starts to resemble living, doesn't it?