STOCKHOLM // Punz x Reader

Nineteen

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"Hello Y/N, I'm here to take the night shift... You look a little tense, you good?" He said, looking at you with concerned eyes. You nodded in response, he passed you to take a look at Punz.

"Hi. I have a singular question, how long have you and Y/N held eye contact? Because they have made me hold it for hours on end." Punz said, nearly death-staring him to show him a small portion of his suffering. You burst out laughing, knowing the answer.

"A little over twenty-five hours, and that was only because Fundy wanted us to stop." Tubbo said, acting like this was normal, and it basically was. Punz instantly turned his head towards you.

"You are not okay." Punz said. Tubbo burst out laughing, adding on to your laughter as it filled the room. Before Punz could spit out a reaction, Fundy popped from behind Tubbo's legs.

"Hi! What happened? Why is Y/N coughing?" Fundy said, completely unaware of what was going on.

"Punz got destroyed, and now Y/N is dying of laughter as a result." Tubbo said once he noticed the small fox. Fundy simply smiled and slipped through the holes in the iron bars.

"It'll be okay Mr. Punz. I made sure the door was open." The fox said, patting him on the shoulder.

"What door?-" Tubbo asks quickly, stepping forward with a worried look. You nodded, clearing your throat.

"Simple, I saw Y/N and Mr. Punz leaned against the cell door, so I took their keys to successfully unlock the cell door." Fundy said with a smile, seeming like this wasn't a prison, yet a friend's house. Tubbo smacked his face.

"Fundy, you could've gotten in trouble if 'Mr. Punz' escaped, your father would be very upset." Tubbo said, sitting down near the bars. You saw the signs and decided to take your leave.

You made your way through the castle without much issue, calmly taking a nice conversation to convince Wilbur to sleep. Making your way back you found that the cat 'Bunz' as Fundy named it calmly found it's way towards you. You picked him up, giving him a few pets.

"Boy, do I have a story for you." You say, stroking the cat's spine. You explained everything that happened from when Fundy came, from when you left. It felt like the cat listened to all of it. Eventually you took off your armour to go to bed. Calmly setting inside the sheets, still warm from the magma underneath.

- - -

You heard your door creak behind you, not being woken up, but feeling slight annoyance. You saw the moon outside, a waxing crescent, the second phase.

You sat up, turning to see who entered your room at this time of night, being met with the eyes of a now familiar blonde man. You quickly threw the blankets off and ran toward him. "Punz?" You ask, reaching a hand to cup his face.

He leaned into your touch, the blue of his eyes disappearing for a moment. "Yeah, it's me, Y/N." He whispered, then pulled you into a tight hug.

You fought the urge to hug him back, and ended up shoving him away. "How are you out?" You interrogated, stepping closer to your bed — and a possible weapon. "Did you hurt Tubbo?" You think of the kind smile on the boy's face when he had relieved you of your duties so you could rest.

Despite the overwhelming love you had for the man in front of you, any harm done to your friends would not be forgiven.

"Y/N," he stepped closer, a worried look on his face. "Tubbo? He's a kid. I wouldn't stoop that low." You felt your tension immediately fade, the only worry you had now was how he was out. "He fell unconscious, so I decided to pull one of your tricks." He admitted, smiling.

You felt sick, knowing that Tubbo would forever feel guilty. You shook your head, stepping forward. "Punz, I'm afraid I have to take you back."

He grabbed your hand just as he had earlier that day. Before, it had seemed loving, now he seemed panicked. "Please don't. Y/N, I don't even have intentions of returning to the Falconier empire."

You paused, locking eyes with him in the dull light. He seemed just as sincere as he did panicked. "But... this gives you so much information that could further you in the war-"

"Y/N." He interrupted gently, the panic leaving his face. "Remember when you asked if I knew what the war was over? How I said no?... Then you asked why we were even fighting it..." He glanced away, the memories returning to him as quickly as they were to you.

"We don't have to fight it, Y/N."

"What?" You ask, the suddenness of the statement shocking you.

"We could go to the nether, just like you offered. We could have that one-v-one..." His voice exposed just how desperate he was. "Run away with me, we can be together..."

You gulped, weighing the options. The love of your life — Punz — or the family you had created here with Fundy, Wilbur, Sally, Tommy, Tubbo... He locked eyes with you again, possibly searching for any sign of your answer.

"Anything with you, Punz." You said after a minute of silence. His features flooded with joy. "However, I will not go anywhere unless Fundy knows."

He nodded, his grin shrinking only slightly. "Okay, that's reasonable... Did you know that he's been trying to get us together ever since I came?" You nodded, letting go of his hand and going through the still open door.

Punz followed you silently through the winding halls toward Fundy's room. You hoped the boy would be quiet about it, otherwise you were both doomed.

You quietly knocked on his door, which was covered in drawings that WIlbur and Sally nailed there after Fundy drew them. After a small while, Fundy opened the door, rubbing the exhaustion from his eyes and yawning quietly.

"Y/N?" He asked, looking over your shoulder at Punz. "Mr. Punz, too?" You smile, nodding slowly. His eyes light up and he flings the door open — as quietly as a child could — and beckons for the both of you to enter.

You sat down on the floor in front of him, leaving Punz to stand. Fundy looked up at Punz before locking eyes with you. "You have my consent! Have fun with marriage."

You cover your mouth, snuffing your laughter. Punz nearly fell over.

"Fundy, please don't tell your father." You say after you calm yourself.

"What made you think I would?" Fundy said, rushing you out of the room with a smile. "Now have fun being so sickly in love!" He waves happily, earning a glare from you and Punz before he shuts the door in your faces.

"Okay, wow, such a jerk." Punz said jokingly. You rolled your eyes at him.

You went back to your room to pack what you thought you would need. From weapons to nether-proof water-canteens. Packing everything you needed down to a few small bags, you easily got to the portal room without being spotted.

"So, this is it." You said, gazing towards him, ignoring the throbbing in your head. You were scared, that was obvious enough in the random fidgeting.

He reached out and grabbed your hand. "Yeah... This is it." He smiles fondly, taking in your features as though it was the last time he'd see you.

You gulp and nod, taking a step towards the portal. Towards your new life and home. You already had an idea of where you would be staying, so there were zero complications that you could think of within the plan. Yet you knew that there was always going to be part of you that would worry.

It wasn't like last time you had travelled to this fiery land. This time, you have someone to turn to when you are homesick.

You couldn't help but smile when you stepped through the murky purple that brought you to the new world. This was what changed everything. And it was a change that you welcomed.
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