Sometimes Ranboo can get overwhelmed by everything. Sometimes he just needs space and some time to think.
"Sometimes" has begun happening quite frequently.
That's why Ranboo was currently sitting on the edge of a boat dock, feet dangling above the near-freezing waves below him. It was an ungodly hour in the morning, close to 3 AM-ish if he were to estimate, as the crickets chirping and waves splashing were the only noises audible, signifying the complete lack of human life in the area.
Brrrrnng
Ranboo let out a loud sigh, feeling the vibration of his phone going off in his pocket. He slid it out and clicked the power button, the light illuminating the dimly lit environment.
3 Missed Calls
More notifications he should have muted. They'd been going off for the past 5 hours, ever since he suddenly exited a discord call and ghosted everyone he'd been communicating with. He wondered why they weren't all used to this by now. Ranboo would get worked up over something unknown, disappear off the face of the planet for 12 hours, and then come back as if it never happened. It felt almost routine to him, so the fact his friends would still always panic boggled his mind.
Falling back onto the rotting wood, Ranboo examined the stars above him. He was never good with astrology, nor did he care much for it; the extent of his knowledge being the existence of the Big Dipper. Despite this, he often found peace while observing the twinkling lights.
Another sigh was released, and this time Ranboo could see his breath in the air. Maybe it wasn't the smartest idea to lay outside in late fall, but he would have to make due. His sweater was thick, anyway.
"How did I even get here?" He whispered to himself and began to recount the preluding events.
It started earlier that night, during Ranboo's daily live stream. He had been practicing for MCC when he suddenly heard a discord notification go off on his second monitor. Falling to his death, Ranboo quickly tabbed out to read the message.
Tubbo: U wanna call tonight?
Ranboo felt himself instinctually smile after reading the text, and hoped that the audience of thirty thousand didn't pick up on the movement. He quickly typed back a " yes :D!! " and tabbed back to the game. Feeling the need to rush the stream to an end, he made up some dumb excuse about having an "early start" in the morning and quickly went offline.
Closing out of twitch, Ranboo took a deep breath. Why was his heart beating so fast? He talked to Tubbo every day, it is not like this was anything new. Despite his rationalization, he couldn't help but feel an odd sense of nervousness. Swallowing his fears and closing his eyes, he clicked the call button.
Every time Tubbo said hello, Ranboo couldn't help but smile. Maybe it was the smooth, sleepy-ish tone of his voice, making it sound like the boy had just woken up. Maybe it was the fact he usually followed such statements with a joke-flirt aimed in his direction. Or maybe it was simply that Ranboo viewed Tubbo as his best friend, and he enjoyed getting to spend time with him. Regardless of what caused it, Ranboo always felt a rush of serotonin when they spoke.
The couple's conversation went along how they usually do. Tubbo talked about school, Ranboo talked about the latest Mr. Beast videos; Tubbo called Ranboo cute, Ranboo called Tubbo a nimrod. Every talk was similar, but they never got sick of it. Simply coexisting in a call together was enough for Ranboo.
Nothing "big" or "memorable" happened in the call, and, on the surface level, it would appear extraordinarily ordinary.
Yet, for Ranboo, the call had changed everything.
Ranboo shook his head, sitting up on the dock again. God, how had he been so oblivious? He didn't know when or how it had happened, but his realization made absolute sense.
Tubbo had laughed. That's all.
Tubbo just laughed, and Ranboo realized he was in love with him.
He should have realized from the way his heart raced every time Tubbo messaged him. He should have realized from the way he would blush every time Tubbo called him cute. He should have realized from the way his face hurt from smiling every time Tubbo, well, existed.
There were so many signs, but the boy's laugh was what made the emotions flood through Ranboo's thoughts all at once.
The dams had been broken, and there wasn't any way they could be repaired.
It probably seemed odd how Ranboo rushed to end the call as quickly as he had rushed to start it. Ranboo wasn't worried about that, though, it wasn't out of character for him to be a bit odd. Yet, his sudden banishment made the case a bit worse. Tubbo was probably texting him right now, worried he had said something wrong.
"Silly Tubbo", Ranboo thought, "As if you could do anything wrong".
He let out a sad noise, something between a chuckle and a hiccup. It was tragic, wasn't it? Falling deeply in love with your best friend? Wanting nothing more than to be close to a boy who lives hundreds of miles from you? Pining after a man who would never look your way, even if he was attracted to your gender? Fuck, Ranboo was pathetic.
He felt a heavy raindrop fall on the bridge of his nose, bringing him out of his delusions of self-pity. Another one fell on his palm, and another one on his cheek. Soon the droplets were coming down hard and were coating his entire body in water. He let out a final sigh and hoisted himself up off the dock. If he was out in this storm any longer, he would probably catch a cold.
Trudging back home, another vibration went off in his pocket.
4 missed calls
20 discord messages
6 texts
All from Tubbo, of course. Ranboo just clicked the phone off again, placing it back into his pocket.
He would have to deal with Tubbo in the morning.
