Tubbo Underscore was only seven years old when his father died.
His mother struggled to raise him on her own, trying to hide her hardships behind her shining green eyes and bright smile. She'd tell him not to worry, give him a cookie the staff had made, and all would be well.
That was, until she decided to marry his stepfather.
Johnathan Schlatt was usually cheerful, always managing to make Tubbo laugh when he was upset, though most of his attention was on his sons, Quackity and George. George had been given a kitten, who he named Dream.
Then his mother passed.
She told Tubbo she left all her belongings to him in the will, but when Tubbo went to ask Schlatt about it, he said she had obviously made a mistake during the writing. According to law, he likes to say, the house went to him as the only legal adult in the household.
As years went by, Tubbo grew into a fit yet small boy with his mother's fluffy brown hair and bright green eyes always filled with joy. Schlatt figured he would make a fine stable boy and told him to help muck out the stables.
Only two months passed before Schlatt, in a drunken rage, became jealous of how happily his stepson went about his work and ordered his bedroom be moved into the basement.
Tubbo complied, finding some comfort in having the warm furnace near him every night.
Then one night, Tubbo was tending to the fire when he accidentally burned his hand on the metal rod he was prodding the logs with. Hissing, he dropped the rod into the fire, waving his hand around to dispel the pain.
That night, Schlatt came in. "Come here, little stepson. I want to show you something."
Tubbo was screaming, his face and arm and chest and back and neck burning, burning, burning, burning-
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Or, I watched Cinderella and decided to write a Bee Duo AU
"Don't die before we get back." Tommy shot back, unable to bring himself to smile. He turned and started towards the store. "C'mon Tubbo."
Tubbo followed him, jogging slightly to catch up. "Man my legs feel fantastic."
Tommy snorted and gave him a look. "What?"
"After all those hours in the car, man." Tubbo raised his eyebrows. "Do your legs not feel fantastic?"
"My legs feel like jelly." Tommy said, and despite it all he was grinning like the idiot that he was. "But hey, let's be fair. Maybe thats from the car trip and not the world ending."
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MCYT AU, BOOK 2!!!
This is a direct sequel to The Year We Had. Please read that first, otherwise this will not make sense.
FINAL WORD COUNT: 215,647
CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS:
These themes apply for the entire book. If this is not the book for you, that's more than okay. Please read with care.
-Graphic depictions of violence
-Themes of death/character death
-Themes of abuse
-Themes of suicide ideation
More minor content warnings will be placed at the beginnings of chapters that contain that material. Please read with care, and stop if need be <3