Attached | Bee & Boo

All I Have

TW: Abuse (explicit), injuries, police, ambulances, swearing, implied abandonment issues (possibly more that I missed)

A/N: Sorry I disappeared for a bit lol, here's some angst, I guess

 Pretty much everyone was asleep by now, the sun having passed the horizon a couple minutes ago, the temperature dropping fast. Shivering slightly, Ranboo made his way silently over to Tubbo, soundlessly sitting down next to him.

"What happened to him?" the brunet asked quietly, his gaze not leaving his fidgeting hands. He didn't need to specify who he was talking about, they both knew. Michael, albeit happy on the surface, kept referencing some not so normal things for a child his age to know.

"Tubbo, I-"

"No. Don't give me some bullshit excuse. Tell me."

"He- I- I couldn't protect him, Tubbo." His voice broke, tears pricking at his eyes as he desperately tried to keep himself together. "I- I tried so, so hard to- to help- I failed, Tubbo- Tubbo I failed! I told him- I told him I would be there for him and- and I wasn't!" The words were pouring out of his mouth now. "I- I should've- I should've helped in, I- I should've stepped in! I was right there, Tubbo!"

"Hey, hey, hey! It's alright, Big Man!" the boy tried to comfort, the assurances falling on empty ears.

"It's- it's not, Tubbo! It's- it's my fault! I shouldn't have- I shouldn't have angered him! I should've just- just gotten the alcohol! He- he told me to get it! And- and I should've- I should've listened to him. It's my- it's my one job! I- I should've just done it." Tubbo stood up, gently grabbing the shoulders of the trembling teen.

"Hey, it is not your fault, okay? Say it. It is not your fault." Ranboo shook his head, making a weak attempt at pushing the brunet off. Tubbo held firm. "Say it, Boo."

"I- I can't. I can't, Tubbo."

"Why not?"

"Because it was my fault! I should've- I should've just listened! I should've just protected him!"

"Ranboo, it isn't your responsibility to take care of a toddler! You're what, fourteen?"

"Well, who else does he have?!" Tubbo faltered, wracking his brain for an answer. "I'm all he has." Ranboo paused, looking down. "He's all I have."

"Well," Tubbo stated. "Now you have both of us." The hybrid looked up in disbelief, red streaks trailing down his face as he gave up holding back tears. Nothing else needed to be said. Ranboo simply wrapped his arms around the shorter boy, not caring about the fact that Tubbo's head was barely at his shoulder. It just didn't matter.

The two stood like that for a while, only stopping when the taller felt a tug at his pant leg. Glancing down, the hybrid smiled as he scooped up Michael, holding him bridal style as Tubbo tickled the toddler's stomach.

-

Michael squealed with laughter, causing Tubbo and Ranboo to quickly shush him, glancing at their sleeping friends frantically. Quieting down (though he was still grinning like an idiot), he looked from boy to boy, trying to ignore the heaviness in his eyes.

"You're supposed to be asleep, silly," Tubbo commented, tapping the hybrid's nose gently. Just like Boo. The toddler observed, though he didn't say it aloud.

"Noooo," he whined, shaking his head as Ranboo tried to set him on the bed, clinging to the tall boy's arms desperately.

"Sleep," the brunet insisted, snuggly wrapping the toddler in one of the several blankets. Michael glared all the while, trying and failing to keep his eyelids from drooping as he did so.

"What- what if you leave?" he asked nervously, glancing at Boo in particular.

"I'll be here in the morning," the hybrid assured.

"Pinky promise?" Michael questioned, holding out the previously mentioned finger.

"Pinky promise," Ranboo agreed, linking the two digits gently. That was a promise he was intending to keep.

-

"Listen here, you little shit!" the man barked, holding the struggling boy roughly, not caring about the red mark he was now leaving. "You get me some beer, okay, boy?"

"I- I can't!"

"Why the fuck not?!" the man yelled, his breath (which stunk of alcohol) overwhelming Ranboo's senses as he fought to get away.

"I'm not old enough?" he explained meekly, already bracing for a punch.

"Then steal it, you idiot!"

"I-"

"Do you need some encouragement? Is that it?" The boy curled in on himself, terrified of what would happen next. CRACK! Ranboo fell to the ground, surprised by the sudden release of his arm.

"Go away!" a small voice shouted. Michael. The toddler was wielding a frying pan, probably found in the dumpster of a kitchen. The hybrid eyes widened, gesturing frantically for the younger to get away from the man.

"What the fuck did you just say to me?" The toddler stood his ground, staring fiercely into their abuser's eyes, seemingly unafraid of what was about to happen. Before Ranboo could do anything, the pinkett was already flying across the room, his body now limp on the floor.

"MICHAEL!" the hybrid sprinted towards the unconscious boy, shaking him desperately. "Michael, please wake up," he begged, not caring about the obvious danger behind him. "Michael, please!" No response. No, no, no, no, no, not like this. He heard a creak, presumably from the man who was responsible, but he couldn't care less. "Michael, please wake up."

CRASH! The boy whipped around, shielding the toddler with his body. His adrenaline fueled brain couldn't seem to process what was happening.

"Freeze! Get on the ground, now!" Who had said that? What were all of the lights outside of the window? All of a sudden he was moving, moving away from Michael.

"No," he cried out weakly, reaching desperately for the unconscious boy, before everything faded to black. 

How's that for first chapter in like a week lmao? Have a wonderful day/night!