My Beloved [Beeduo]

4

Ranboo was miserable. He hadn't slept in a couple days, mind constantly racing with thoughts of Tubbo. The prince hadn't talked to him since the night in the library, and everytime he tried, Tubbo would make a quick excuse to leave. Ranboo felt alone. Yes, he constantly had people surrounding him, talking to him and checking him, but he still felt lonely. With his best friend avoiding him, trying to get away at any chance he got, it hurt him. It hurt that they couldn't just talk about their issues like they used to. Ranboo even started questioning if he did something to upset Tubbo that day, maybe he looked weirded out when Tubbo kissed his cheek? But why would he? He didn't hate it, so what was the problem?

"Ranboo?"He looked over and met a pair of golden brown eyes, looking sympathetically at him. Ember had been sitting with him for the past hour or two–he honestly lost track after the first thirty minutes. "Are you okay?" The prince nodded and gave her a small smile. She stared for a bit longer, putting Ranboo under the pressure of her gaze. Before he was about to break, she looked away and down at the paper in front of her, "Next is to pick a cake, what kind should we do?"

The prince leaned forward to look at the to-do list. The list for their wedding. He honestly didn't care that he was planning a wedding, it wasn't like he'd be attending it. It was more like future practice. Ranboo didn't really feel too bad either, his father was the one who would finalise everything, and he would be busy until the ball was over. The only issue with it was he didn't like that he was wasting Ember's time, but if he didn't help she'd only be upset with him now rather than later. "Uhm, I don't really have a preference. You can choose."

Ember brushed her long black hair to the side and hummed quietly as she thought. She took the notepad from the table in front of them and jotted a few words down. "Maybe it's better to stick to something simple, like vanilla. That's good with you, right?"

Ranboo nodded, wanting to be done already. He didn't mind helping, but he was just very worried about everything, especially with the ball coming up in the next couple days. Tubbo was completely avoiding him and they hadn't spoken about their plan recently, making the prince anxious.

He worried that Tubbo would just abandon the idea all together and he'd be forced to marry. But he'd never do that to him, especially not when the day was so close and they'd have the opportunity to do so. Even so, it was a thought in the back of Ranboo's mind that never seemed to go away. The consequences for Tubbo would be much more deadly if they were caught. Ranboo would really be under security for who knows how long, and there would be nothing he could do to save his best friend.

"You're spacing out again..."

"Sorry, I'm just..." Ranboo huffed, propping his elbows on his knees and putting his face in the palms of his hands. "I'm just nervous."

Ember placed a hand on his back, making the boy jump, but not enough for her to be startled. "It'll be okay, Boo" He winced at the nickname. "We can do this together."

Ranboo stayed quiet as she assured and attempted to comfort him, but he was barely even listening. Maybe it was because he was too tired to, or maybe it was because all he was thinking about was how he misses his best friend.