A Splash Of Paint (MCYT Oneshots)

Runaway Friendships (Dream SMP)

(A/N: happy 5k reads! just for celebration's sake, here's a part two to Runaway Protagonist! enjoy! I had written RP before the Festival was streamed, so things obviously aren't going to match up, but I hope it's still readable!)

After Tommy ran away, things became a blur.

If he was asked to explain, Tubbo wouldn't be able to give all of the details. Hell, he barely remembered it himself, what with anger and despair immediately flooding his senses.

He knew a few things. He saw quite a few things.

Everyone's expressions instantly changed. Some had guilt, some had confusion, some even had anger.

Niki had come down to yell at everyone, furious, and with the full force of TNT and Eret's overenchanted weapons and armour behind her. She had also beaten up Schlatt to the point where Dream had to quickly pull them apart before Niki could colour his face with more blood than skin.

Everyone found out about Wilbur's TNT plan and what he'd said and done to Tommy, and half of them proceeded to yell at him for it while everyone else dealt with the other people who were at fault, before they were cut off by BadBoyHalo — the kindest man on the SMP, the only person who had never swore before — throwing up the middle finger at Wilbur, before telling him to fuck off — with those exact words! — and killed him.

He himself had gotten so angry he ripped off the suit jacket he was wearing, let himself become Big Crime, and proceeded to...... to kill Technoblade with his own Axe of Peace he had somehow gotten, while Eret made Dream run away on half-a-heart, into the forest.

Oh god, he killed Technoblade. And he didn't even remember enough to appreciate it.

Everyone not participating in the war — Alyssa, Sam, Callahan, and all the others — had quickly and efficiently dismantled any build that had been made for the Manburg Festival. Fundy had given Eret a journal Tubbo had seen him write on everyday, and told Eret to read it before making any assumptions, before he turned and ran after his fiancé, Manburg outfit discarded on the ground.

Now, after the events, Tubbo was standing near the forest, fists clenched and head facing down. Anger and guilt warred in his head.

If only he had been stronger, if only he had been less of a coward, if only he had told Schlatt "No.", if only he wasn't such a failure-

"Tubbo!" a firm hand landed on his shoulder, making him flinch. The hand immediately loosened up. "Breathe."

Tubbo turned to look at Eret, who was staring at him, concern showing clearly on his face.

"Are you alright?" asked the now de facto leader of L'Manburg, as appointed by everyone else. "It's okay to cry, you know?"

Tubbo wiped away his tears, and stood up straighter.

"I'm going to go look for Tommy," he said firmly. "And you can't stop me."

"I'm not going to stop you," Eret replied, startling the younger. "But I want you to rest."

"Rest? Rest? Eret, I can't rest now, not when Tommy's out there-"

"Tubbo, calm down." Eret gripped his shoulders tightly. "I've already contacted Dream to whitelist Phil. I've also told him to give Phil a compass locked onto Tommy. Tommy's strong, and we both know it. He'll be fine."

Tubbo slumped down, all the fight and energy suddenly sucked out of him. "What's gonna happen to Schlatt, Wilbur and Technoblade?" he whispered.

Even though he knew they'd done so much wrong, they still used to be his idols and friends. Even if they were evil, Schlatt still had praised him, Wilbur still had been his brother-figure, Techno still had trained him. They were evil, and he hated them with everything in his heart, but he couldn't bring himself to fully hate them just yet.

Dream would've been on that list too, but as it turned out, Fundy had been a spy. And even though Tubbo still kind of hated Fundy, he was his partner-in-crime in dreamon hunting, and Tubbo knew firsthand that Fundy could keep his fiancé in line.

Eret sighed. It was both a mournful and exhausted sound.

"I don't know, Tubbo. I don't know."