- BEEDUO

COLD

TW — NIGHTMARE, ALONE IN A DARK FOREST

The wedding had been grand. Puffy laughed with Niki the whole time, even during the vows. It had been a hell of a night.

As Tubbo, Ranboo, and Micheal walked back home in the dusk air, Tubbo held Ranboo's hand tight. Ranboo looked down at their hands and back at Tubbo, "are you okay, Tubs?" They asked.

Tubbo kept staring forward. He didn't say a word.

"Tubbo?"

Not even a twitch of his ears.

Suddenly, Ranboo stopped walking and let both of their hands fall. "Dude, I was just messing with you! Now, hold my hand." Tubbo demanded. He whipped his head around to face the taller, "C'mon!"

Ranboo shook their head playfully and walked over to the brunette. "You got me there." They chuckled. Micheal just stood there, watching his parents mess around while he just sat there waiting to eat random stuff out of the fridge.

Once at the cozy cottage, Micheal ran to the fridge and Ranboo and Tubbo went to go change into comfortable clothes. "I'll change in the bathroom and you'll change in the room, alright?" Ranboo offered already untying their corset and taking it off along with the suit vest. "What about the walk-in closet? That seems better than the bathroom," Tubbo asked, watching Ranboo start to untie their Victorian blouse with mesmerized eyes. Their hands were so swift and long and . . .

"—take the bathroom because I have stuff to do in there. Good?" Ranboo's deep voice slipped into Tubbo's ears at last. It made Tubbo feel warm. "Uhh, sure. Whatever you say." Tubbo's eyes dropped to the floor as Ranboo walked into the bathroom pulling their shirt off.

Tubbo struggled to take all the layers of clothes off, but he managed. The belt he chose to wear was one of Ranboo's, so it was pretty long for him. As he was putting one of Ranboo's shirts on, they announced they were done. "Already?! Didn't you have like, fifty million things on?" Tubbo questioned, eyes wide. "I do this a lot. Traditions, y'know? Now can I come out??" Ranboo answered. Tubbo said yes without realizing he didn't have any pants on. Ranboo walked out with black plaid pants and a black shirt, and was about to pick Tubbo up when they saw he wasn't wearing pants and was wearing one of their shirts. "You just gonna wear that?" They laughed, walking over to ruffle his hair. Tubbo giggled and walked over to grab some sweatpants. "I thought about it," he said as he pulled them on.

Later that night/morning, at two o'clock in the morning to be exact, Micheal was eating ice cream while watching TV with Tubbo and Ranboo. Why? No clue.

Ranboo was sat in the middle of the three of them, holding a bowl of popcorn that everybody occasionally ate out of. While watching a movie, Tubbo's eyes began to feel heavy and started to water. As he slowly blinked away the tears, his eyelids were growing heavier and heavier. It was to the point where he couldn't stop it, and Tubbo's eyes shut for the night. He slowly slumped into Ranboo's arm softly with occasional light snores. Ranboo looked down at the boy on them. They smiled and pulled the blanket over him. Micheal made a piglin noise and looked over at Tubbo. "Shhhh, papa is sleeping." Ranboo whispered very quietly.

Tubbo woke up. But this wasn't where he once was—it was just him alone in a spruce forest. It was snowing out, and all he had was an oversized t-shirt and some sweatpants. Tubbo's hooves stung in the cold and he winced. "Ranboo?" He called out hopelessly. "Ranboo? I need you! Where did you go? I'm so cold," Tubbo cried out, nearly collapsing in the coarse snow. "Please . . ." He choked out, the pitch black air closing in on him. It was dark and he couldn't see three feet in front of himself. Tubbo shook violently in the frosty air, and he only then realized that he didn't just walk out here. This spruce forest was where the main mansion was, in Snowchester, and he was supposed to be in a flower forest. Where it didn't snow violently. He tried walking forward, but it was just snow, pitch black, and trees. He heard the wind howl menacingly, and creaking noises could be heard all around him. Tubbo walked on and heard a snap right behind him. I can't look back, I can't, I can't, I can't! Tubbo thought, choking on the dry air. Something touched his shoulder, and he heard a low growl before he truly woke up on the couch. Tubbo jolted awake, grasping the pillows and blankets around him, and felt Ranboo's hand on his shoulder. The growl was just Ranboo talking in his nightmare.

"Tubbo?!" Ranboo panicked. Tubbo hadn't woken the other seven times they shook him. Tubbo looked over at Ranboo and began to cry. "I just—it was just a nightmare. I'm sorry, you just kinda starred as the monster." Tubbo laughed softly. "I can't control these tears, trust me!" He laughed again and pulled Ranboo into a hug. "I don't want to be the monster, that's what I've been trying so hard to avoid," Ranboo muffled quietly into Tubbo's neck. Tubbo let out a 'hm?' but Ranboo only shook their head. "Nothing, Tubs. Let's just try to sleep again. I woke up to you calling my name," they admitted, and Tubbo looked away shamefully.

The two went back to sleep with an eerie stillness in the air. Were they disappointed with each other? Were they scared? Were they on the brink of tears? They would never know.