a series of sbi oneshots

hide and sleep

Wilbur tiptoed around the house, trying and failing to keep the smirk off his face. He'd woken up to hear his family and friends chattering in another room. He tended to sleep longer in the winter, although he didn't hibernate like some other giants did. When he heard Tommy complaining about the cold, he had a devious idea.

He sneaked towards the living room, making as little noise as someone his size could. When he peeked around the corner, glancing into the room that was raised to about his chest level, he put a finger to his lips. Luckily only Phil and Niki were turned in his direction, and though their lips quirked in amusement, they remained silent.

He saw Techno's ear twitch and thought his brother might know he was there. But that was fine; his target was a different little brother.

Tommy was in the middle of a story. He hadn't caught the beginning, but it was something about Tubbo and a ridiculous number of flowers. Mid-laugh, Wilbur struck. He darted out his hands, scooping his little brother off his feet, and the laugh changed to a scream.

Tubbo and Ranboo both jumped, just now realizing he was there, but the others laughed.

"Hi, Toms," Wilbur said, amusement lacing his voice.

"Wil, don't you dare," Tommy started, but Wilbur was already opening his inventory. He dropped his little brother inside, giggling at Tommy's protests.

"You dickhead, you put me in a cold one!" Tommy whined. Wilbur felt him crawling over the walls to one of the slots that were stocked with blankets. He turned his focus to the rest of his family and his friends. There was a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Who's next?" he purred. He noticed Niki had already slipped away; she'd probably gone to hide somewhere as he was putting Tommy away. Phil laughed once, then jumped off the platform the living room was on, spreading his wings and soaring away. He'd be a pain in the ass to catch.

Wilbur's gaze slipped to the two teenagers. Tubbo let out a noise that was a half scream half laugh, launching himself onto Ranboo.

"Go, go, go!" He shrieked, clinging onto the taller teen. The ender hybrid was giggling but managed to teleport them both away. Wilbur snorted and his gaze fell on the last person in the room. Techno looked back at him with an unimpressed expression.

"Technoblade~" Wilbur sang teasingly. "Are you gonna be the second person caught?"

"I've been betrayed," Techno deadpanned, making no move to run. "I'll accept my terrible fate."

"Come on," Wilbur whined. "You're not gonna play along?"

"Don't judge me, I'm cold," Techno said. Wilbur huffed and picked up his other brother.

"You know, running warms you up," Wilbur pointed out. Techno shrugs.

"So do brothers with magical pocket dimensions," Techno said. Wilbur rolled his eyes and dropped Techno into the same slot as Tommy had claimed. He smiled at their light bickering as he started his search for the rest of the tinies.

If Niki didn't want to be found, he wouldn't find her. She would probably be impossible to catch until she was one of the last left, so Wilbur didn't bother trying to look for her. Normally he'd go after Tubbo first, but if he was teaming up with Ranboo, Wilbur would likely have to wait until the ender hybrid tired out and couldn't teleport. That left Phil.

If Phil was flying around, he was just as hard to catch as Ranboo's teleportation. But Wilbur had a feeling he'd hidden this time. While Phil was a decent hider, he would often laugh and give himself away. Wilbur walked slowly around the house, keeping his eyes and ears peeled for any clues.

He heard a small wheeze of laughter, and his head turned to one of the cabinets sized for him. He grinned and opened the door, finding Phil crouched. To his surprise, his dad instantly launched upwards. He'd been waiting!

Wilbur automatically reached out to grab Phil. He didn't expect to actually catch him, but Phil was apparently going easy on him. He relaxed in Wilbur's grip giving a quick "hi, mate," before Wil slipped him into his inventory.

He began circling the house, keeping his eyes out for movement. Of course, Ranboo and Tubbo could be hiding, but he doubted they would if they were teleporting around. It was much more fun to do one or the other.

He passed by an open area, only half paying attention when he heard a small vwoop. He snapped to attention, looking for the source of the sound. There were a few purple particles floating on the desk to his left. He must have just walked by them.

He started scanning the area, knowing Ranboo could only go so far. There was another, very faint noise, and he pretended not to hear. His friends always forgot how good his hearing was. He made his way closer, careful not to even look at the place he'd heard the ender hybrid. Then, when he was in arms reach, he lunged.

His hands closed around Ranboo, who yelped. He teleported away instinctively, coming back a moment later since that counted as a Wilbur win.

"What? Where's Tubbo?" Wilbur asked, holding the lone teen in his cupped hands. Ranboo shrugged, but there was mischief in his eyes. Wilbur was about to put him in his inventory when he heard a small yell, and something hit his head. He froze, shocked, as he felt Tubbo crawling around on his head.

"Run, Boo! This is a rescue mission!" Tubbo cried, and suddenly Ranboo was gone again, leaving little purple particles in Wilbur's hands. The giant reached up and plucked Tubbo out of his hair.

"You little shits!" He said fondly as Tubbo cackled. The goat hybrid flipped him off as he was dropped into an empty inventory slot. Wilbur felt him crawling around, probably looking for Tommy's slot.

He focused on catching Ranboo, who was still in view, but out of reach. He narrowed his eyes; the teen looked way too smug. Wilbur walked forward, and just as he thought, the second he got in arms reach Ranboo teleported just out of reach.

Ranboo led him on a chase through the whole house, never teleporting completely out of sight. Wilbur got very close to catching him before he teleported a couple of times, but it wasn't until Ranboo sat down on the bookshelf he'd teleported to, yawning, that Wilbur caught him.

Wilbur gently scooped him up, and Ranboo flopped over in his hands.

"Did you tire yourself out?" Wilbur asked with a grin. Ranboo nodded sleepily, and the giant snorted. He'd lasted longer than he normally did; that had been a couple of dozen teleports. He slipped Ranboo into one of the blanket-padded slots, and the ended hybrid instantly fell asleep.

That just left Niki. Right on cue, he heard the tiny thunk of something being knocked over. Wilbur would never find Niki if not for her little hints. Like the rest of his friends and family, she went easy on him, always intending to let him catch her in the end.

He walked to the source of the noise, calling his friend's name in a sing-song voice. Niki giggled, but unlike Phil, Wilbur couldn't pinpoint her location from the sound.

He started opening cabinets and drawers, looking behind items to see if he could spot her. Finally, a small motion drew him to a specific drawer and he opened it. He frowned as he looked inside, still not seeing Niki. Had it been a diversion?

"You don't see me, Wilbur?" His friend teased, and he jumped, suddenly realizing where Niki was hidden. She'd slipped behind a tape dispenser, and Wilbur had somehow completely missed seeing her.

"I do now," he laughed, holding out a hand. She nimbly hopped on, and he slipped her into his inventory.

Wilbur couldn't help but purr happily at the feeling of all of the people he cared about safely tucked away into his inventory slots. Nothing could hurt them there; he loved protecting his family. Niki, Tubbo, and Ranboo weren't technically related to him, but they were as good as family to him.

The cold caught up to Wilbur, and he yawned.

Niki and Phil were in one slot, idly chatting. Tommy and Tubbo had curled up together and were cuddled against Techno, who was probably pretending he hated it. Ranboo was fast asleep in his own slot, nestled in blankets.

Wilbur slipped back into bed, eyes drooping. Content from the feeling of the people he loved so close, he drifted back to sleep.