But if I'm not? {Tommyinnit au}

Untitled Part 14

"And Tommy, you... look so clean!" Ranboo giggles, before looking up at me, his smile a little stiffer, as if he's worried he's said something inappropriate.

I laugh it off. "Yes, father came up to me and was like 'you ain't going to no party looking like that, son!' and shoved me in the bathtub." I make an angry face and make my voice as dark as I can to imitate my 'dad'.

Ranboo giggled even more, while Tubbo was completely losing it. I smiled a smile that hopefully didn't look as weird as I felt inside.

Together we walk up to the house. Inside the house, Tubbo habitually kicks off his shoes and follows Ranboo upstairs. I catch a glimpse of Alyssa in what must be the kitchen, before hurrying after the others, the box in my arms. I feel the animal inside move a little uneasily as my steps up the stair make the box shake.

The house is not huge, but homely furnished. Ranboo's room is tidy, with wardrobe and bed tucked away in one corner and a table in the other, leaving lots of space. A big, red rug covers the floor. Ranboo sits at one end of the round rug, and Tubbo sits next to him. Ranboo smiles one of his gentle smiles at me, as if he can sense that I'm nervous about being in this strange house. The simple gesture calms me, and I'm reminded that even though Ranboo can be a bit reserved, he's the center of the storm, the one who keeps tabs on me and Tubbo, while also being funny.

Carefully I sit down so I can look them both in the face, and place the box next to me.

"Me first, me first!" Tubbo exclaimed. With a small laugh, Ranboo recieves his wrapped package, and carefully began to open it, as if he was afraid of damaging the contents if he tore open the wrapping paper.

When he gets the contents out, he smiles. He weighs the nerf-gun in his hands, before looking up at Tubbo, who is smiling so manically he could be out of his mind - which he probably was, most of the time.

Tubbo put his hand on Ranboo's shoulder, and said in a contrived voice:

"Ranboo, to celebrate your 16th birthday, I have decided to let you wield this gear, and I will personally see to it that you use this weapon to the best of your abilities."

For a moment there was silence, before I exclaimed: "Hey, don't you forget me!"

The room filled with laughter, and Ranboo stroked his new 'toy' one last time before turning to me.

"What's that you have there?" he asked, pointing to the box.

Suddenly I felt embarrassed. Tubbo had bought a nerf gun which was certainly not cheap, while I had just taken something I found in the forest. I hadn't even wrapped the 'gift' with a flimsy string, but just put a jacket over it. And what if he liked dogs better?

"It's your present... I... I hope you'll... uh... like it," I stammered.

I tried to hide how much I was blushing as Ranboo removed the jacket from the drawer and opened the lid. Tubbo noticed that I was acting strange, and I gave him a questioning glance before he looked up at Ranboo who was silently looking down into the box.

"What's so..?" While Tubbo was speaking, he bent over and looked into the box, and as soon as he saw the contents, he also fell silent, without finishing the sentence.

As the two boys reverently looked down at the cat inside, I felt a smile spread across my face. Their reaction was worth everything.

"And I've talked to Alyssa too," I blurted out, not knowing if the other verlig were listening. "You can keep it if you like it, and I haven't named it yet, so that part is up to you."

After a minute, Tubbo tore himself out of sight and fixed his eyes on me.

"That's not fair!" he exclaimed, in a failed attempt to sound sour. "You can't pull the cutest creature in the world and give it to Ranboo and expect me to come up with something in the same..!" Tubbo struggled for a moment to find the word, before giving up and letting his gaze rest on the cat, the comment 'sweet as sugar' slipping out of him.