Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

1.

It’s been a stressful week if Tubbo’s been honest. Getting thrusted into Parenthood weeks before he’s 20th birthday was not on his 2023 bingo card, nor was getting booted off to some wayward island having to fight for his life for half a month a week prior to that. 

And once he was given a child and decades of trama to unpack, life gave a little break in the form of Fred’s rediscovery.

That was also the day he cried the longest his had in a while. He’s always been in tuned with his emotions, he needed to be to not accidentally flood the spawn area. 

The day Fred left it took everything in his power to not torch the island in his rage and grief, but even then the grass surrounding where Quackity’s house used to be is still charred months later.

He couldn’t allow himself to cry, not even in Purgatory since everyone was counting on him. Not like it even counted for anything, since he failed in the end anyways..

Then came Sunny, practically right after he came back. He couldn’t cry then either, he can’t show his daughter how unprepared he was to have her.

He still feels so unprepared, but Pac remarks how brighter the skies have looked since Sunny entered his life. How the clouds were no longer a constant around the TubChunk, and even the savanna grass had a deeper green to it. 

“The colors of the land are matching your eyes again.” 

Who knew Pactw from Tazercraft had such a way with words? It nearly broke him, and it took 3 days for his factories to come back online after the harsh winds that hurled it’s way through his factories.

It was a pain to restart, but it kept his mind off. Until, eventually, a hawk decided to upturn his life again when it lead them to Fred. 

That’s the day he cried, completely covered in sweat and dirt while being held in Fred’s arms. Fred’s chin resting on Tubbo’s head and Tubbo gripping the back of their vest so hard, it almost caused a new tear in the ratted clothes.

Oh how it rained, but he couldn’t even feel it. In that single hug, it broke down the dam of months of repression ‘till the river ran dry. Fit, later on, said the rain was heavy but it reminded him of 2B2T in how warm the rain felt. Massive pelts of rain practically drenching you in minutes, he said, but it felt like the rains of spring letting the flowers grow once again.

Then life couldn’t give him a break, as Fred was taken back by the Federation and he hasn’t seen the worker since. 

His seen other workers more than him! Even Pomme and Dapper have started visiting more than the guy! Now, his preppin’ some tea and cake while Sunny decorates the table area. 

Which leads him to today’s mystery, the locked chest smack dab in the middle of his factory. He hadn’t even noticed it at first, as he was in the smelting factory ‘cause Sunny wanted the cake to be made from scratch. It was only when he realize he needed “milk” that he returned to the factory.

He’s been staring at it for the past 5 minutes, after checking it wasn’t trapped with mines of course. He checked his mini-map too, only him and Sunny were in the surrounding area. 

He didn’t even hear a warp stone! Meaning the person who left this here purposely trying to cover their tracks, and could be with him right now hiding their name on the map to try and get the jump on him. 

So he waits, he waits and waits until a force knocks to him knees. He whips around ready to chainsaw the first fucker he sees, but a happy squeal enters his ears before he has the chance too. 

“SUNNY, oh my fucking god, don’t scare me like that again Poppet.”

Sunny looks up at her dad, still a short little egg even with Tubbo kneeled down.

They’re grinning at him and hopping up and down while pointing at the chest.

She flaps their hands around, stimming to get the energy out before she signs.

‘Gift?! A Gift For You and Me Pa!?’

Her little tail swings back and forth behind them like an excited puppy, and it swells Tubbo’s heart so much he thinks he might get heartburn.

But then Sunny takes a step forward, and Tubbo quickly yanks her back by the arm. He realized his error, as Sunny immediately looked distraught but Tubbo was already there to remedy.

”Aw sorry Sunny, didn’t mean to scare ya Poppet. Honest. I just don’t know where the chest came from and was worried it was rigged or something.”

Tubbo then looks over her arm, to make sure he didn’t accidentally bruise his princess over a flight or fight response. After seeing no indication of anything, he decides to be a little goofy to lighten the mood by obnoxiously poking and pinching the little Eggie.

Sunny laughs and squeals, pushing away to escape the little tickle fest and stomps her foot on the ground, shaking a wagging finger at her Dad, telling him off with a pouty expression.

Tubbo laughs himself, and stands up. “Alright alright, I get it I get it— but Sunny look! I checked the area already, if you want we can look into the chest together?”

Sunny immediately nods and reaches up, clearly wanting to be carried. So, Tubbo complies and with confidence of a Dad, he walks over to the chest and kicks it open.

Instinctively, he shields Sunny away with and takes a look inside. 

Immediately, once the chest, lies a single book surrounded by the most beautiful arrangement of a bouquet Tubbo has ever since in his life. He’s honestly surprised the flowers aren’t overflowing the chest with how they fill completely surround the book.

Sunny shimmies in Tubbo’s arms, and gasp looking at the mix of colorful flowers and the cutely wrapped book with a periwinkle bow laying on top of it. 

His princess hops out his arms and goes for the flowers, taking a small bunch off the side and bringing them to their nose.

She sighs, and sags down to the ground like those small yellow buds cured their brain tumors, which Tubbo knows for a fact they don’t have.

She pops right back up, and shakes their Pa’s pant leg, tugging him closer to the mysterious chest. Though, Tubbo likes to think he has enough critical thinking to guess that the chest came from Fred.

At least, he hopes it’s from Fred, or else he might have to break this poor sender’s heart ‘cause he’s heart has already been taken. God that sounded cheesy as fuck, he’s never thinking that again—

“PA, read the book! I wanna know who left this here!” Sunny shouted. Tubbo didn’t blame her, since if Fred did send package, then he would be shouting from his factories alongside her.

”Okay okay! Just, let me search something up first—“ Tubbo pulls up his comm and scans over the flowers in the box. All of them look so pretty with how clipped and alined they are, even how they vaguely form a heart! Or is that a triangle? Lowkey it’s hard to tell, but nonetheless it looks beautiful.

While his comm combs through the info, he picks up the book and ever so gently, picks up the flowers decorating it’s cover and unties the ribbon.

He glides his finger over the cover and even notices how the the sender took the time to singe the title into the book. 

Dear Tub —

“PA PASS IT OVERRRR” Sunny snatched the book out of her Dad’s hands and started flipping through the pages. 

“SUNNY!”

Sunny jumps, but immediately looks guilty and disappointed in herself. They look up at their Pa, just to put her head out down in shame.

They didn’t mean to get too excited, and Tubbo saw it how it was and got on his knees again to be on Sunny’s level. 

“Now Sunny, I’m not mad or even upset… I promise I’ll tell you what it says after, but please tell me before you do that again. If I wrote that book, I wouldn’t have cared but that book belongs to a friend who hasn’t spoken to me in a while..”

God he feels so bad for making Sunny upset, but at the same time there is a flush creeping up the back on his neck thinking about what the letter could contain. 

Though, Sunny no longer seems upset knowing what the conditions are now, and smiles and signs,

’You Promise?’, they even give Tubbo their dragon eyes and Tubbo feels all his defenses drop down. He brings up his pinky and Sunny matches it, both of them hooking it together with bright grins and sharp teeth.

“I promise.”

Sunny lets go, and then drags her Pa down to the floor to sit, then plops herself right in his lap. They pull out their communicator, and from the looks of it start playing Gacha Life, so Tubbo accepts his fate and starts reading the book.

Somehow, it managed to land next to his shoe, so he reaches over and— for his own amusement— places the book right on top of Sunny’s curls. She grumbles, but doesn’t move so Tubbo snickers and lets himself look over the title again.

Dear Tubbo <3

He flushes, feeling the butterflies swarm from his stomach to reach the tip of his fingers, making them shake the book slightly. Fred never titles his books, so this felt so strangely out of character, he half didn’t want to believe it. 

But.. who else would send flowers to him and give him books? Practically everyone on the island has someone they already fuc— HE MEANS fancy, so it rules out all the islanders. Agent 18? Please, he would rather get throw back into purgatory for a year.

Ugh, he's delaying it. So, steeling his resolve, he flips to the first page and begins reading.

Dearest Tubbo,

It has been a while no?

Deepest apologies my dear, as it has been hard to get the Census Bureau off my case ever since my failure.

Already Tubbo hates it, it was never Fred's fault for Quackity's lack of intelligence. He feels the butterflies turn to wasps as his fingers dig deeper into the paper. 

The familiar type of anger and rage starts brewing, and he almost wants to be consumed to it again. But, a quick glance down, he sees Sunny shake a little in laughter and peeks over to see a little gacha version of Sunny sitting onto of stacks of cash.

 
He chuckles too, completely forgetting his previous anger as he flips pages.

Of course, it took a lot of work and cashing in old favors, but eventually I finished my regulation period and was able to find the time to message you again my dearest.

I'm so sorry for leaving you on read again, but I promise I'm going to be doing everything in my power to make it up to you.

Aww Freddddd! He doesn't have to make up anything to him! Truly! These flowers were completely enough, in fact they were almost too much! There is no need to do anything else, Tubbo's just glad he's gunna start writing to him again! 

Speaking of flowers though, he takes one hand off the book and reaches for his comm, seeing if anything is said about the flowers in the chest.

“Pink Camellias express longing, for either platonic friends or romantic partners. Heliotropes for eons have represented devotion and eternal love..” Tubbo clutches his heart like a school girl, but continues scrolling down for the rest of the meanings.

“Blue Hyacinths represent consistency and loyalty, to always be by someone’s side while Purple Hyacinths often are tied to wanting     forgiveness for someone. Red salvia is ‘Forever Mine’, with Violets being faithfulness. Zinnia is missing friends, and Tarragon the ‘dragon tail’ herd meaning lasting interest.”

Tubbo was awestruck, feeling completely warm and loved. He.. hasn't felt like this in a while, not since the 2nd date book. He wants to scream in all honesty, and he's gripping the pages so hard he knows he's finger prints will forever be etched into the paper. And isn't that even better?

"Pa! It's really bright outside!" Sunny says, as she hops off and runs outside to soak up the Sun. He whips his head around, getting blinded by all the light poring out the broken windows and entrance. 

"Mine out for the trains Sunny.." he barely gets out before the girl is gone.

Well, they know where he is if she's in trouble, plus Panada is coming back soon with homemade jam from Bagi for the tea party. Huh, he forgot about the tea party, but shit he got more pressing issues right now than some cake he was about to half-ass, so Tubbo continues reading.

Sorry in advance for the reading I’m going to put you through. Both with this book length and having you brush up on our flower meanings.

I remember you saying to pick up gardening as a ‘hobby’, but I found sneaking off with the companies business card to be much more efficient.

Tubbo snorts, flipping the next page, not even caring anymore that this book is hella long.

I’ve done a lot of apologizing this book, but it’s only because I think of you so much. I want to right all the wrongs, and to step up as someone both you and Sunny can rely on. Which, another apology needs to be issued. I’m so sorry I couldn’t be there for you as a supporting pillar in a crucial time in your life. 

Having to take care of a child is something no one should have to go through alone, and the fact I left you at the mercy of under qualified workers is unacceptable on my part.

Huh? Tubbo goes to the next page, and suddenly Tubbo was never more grateful his daughter left the room.

It should be me kissing you every morning as you fix your daughter’s hair. It should be me massaging your shoulder after a long day of work as you provide for them. It should be me being in your life providing you with everything and anything you need. 

It should be me tracing your hands and combing my fingers into your hair as you confide in me about your worries. It should be me helping you undress when your muscles grow too sore and for me to snuggle in bed with you to keep you safe while you let your guard down.

Tubbo was burning up, from his stomach to his fingers to his face and even somewhere farther down he feels an inkling of heat. Is this really the same Fred that didn’t know what a kink was last time they spoke? Did the time in the cell really affect him that bad? Did he want to...

Despite the growing heat melting the skin off his face, he felt strangely reassured. Fred wanted to do those things, Fred to be part of his life, and Fred wanted to be there with him.

Fred wanted to not only be here for him, but to be here for Sunny as well. Which, practically sealed the deal on a already finished document.

Tubbo knows Fred, and despite all the bad things he has done in the past, he knows that even if the maze while he was fighting for his life, Fred never hurt him.

Well, besides that one time with the frying pan during the Wall-E date, but that was Phil's fault more than anything... stupid bird man saying stupid bird things about Fred's supposed abs... 

Anyways, before his train of thought can get anymore derailed, he quickly flips the page to hopeful save himself some time and folds the top corner to revisit the page when he’s alone at 3am tonight. 

I don't want to intrude on your life if you have no place for me, but if you still do, I managed to sneak away with time on Friday... so... if you are able to... would you like for me to take you out on a "date" on Friday?

I am still unsure exactly what that entails, but I know I want to have dinner with you while I gaze into your eyes as you talk about you day. 

If you let me of course.

Fred stop being such a fucking poet, or he might actually kill himself. And the confidence boost, with the right amount of respectfulness? God, he's almost too perfect, besides the high likelihood he has tortured people. But hey, lowkey makes him hotter—

He smacks the shit out of himself, it’s too early in the day for his morals to conflict with one another.

Again, sorry for the long absence. I really want to make it up to you and I have planned to do exactly that. Feel free to leave a new book in our usual outpost, as sadly until Friday I have to be on my best behavior in order to make sure no suspicion begins to seep through. 

But, you’ll forever be on my mind until then. 

Yours Faithfully

— Fred

And that’s the end. 

…

..

.

“AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH”

In the distance, 100,000 blocks away, a Cucurucho falls out his bed, landing right on his nose from the sudden earthquake that rocked the island of everything it’s worth.

Tubbo on the other hand couldn’t feel a thing, as he was too busy rolling around the factory floor hugging the book to his chest. Redstone dust was falling from the ceilings and machines. Items flew off the conveyor belts with factory bull mooing in fear in the background, but Tubbo couldn’t hear it at all. 

He only rolled around for a minute before he jumped up, punching air as the rest of Quesadilla Island was experiencing a harsh 6.9 magnitude earthquake from seemingly nowhere.

“WE’RE SO BACK, IT’S NEVER BEEN SO BACK.”

Tubbo was sosososososso happy. Over the fucking moon, thrilled, ecstatic, elated, fucking gay! He’s friend turned pen pal turned crush turned mutual pine-y just asked him on a fucking date. 

Omg.. Tubbo is going on a date Friday! An actual, honest to god date! And it’s with someone he actually likes! He wants to scream again, so he does.

”AHHHHHHHHHHH OMG OMG SAVED SO FUCKING SAVED WE ARE SO BACK RIGHT NOW IT HAS NEVER IN THE HISTORY OF GOD’S EARTH HAS IT EVER BEEN SO FUCKING BACK!”

”OIIIIII, TUBBO!”

Tubbo whips around, ready to spill his heart to the closest being here, but that’s when he noticed the predicament. 

Right, he forgot to put his emotions to check..

Once he remembers though, the world quickly calms down and after a few ticks, the shaking stops entirely.

“Jesus, what’s got your brain acting bonkers?” Fit retorts, and Tubbo sees that under each arm, he holds an egg. 

“Yeah Túbbo, it was crazy out there man!” Pac gasps out, also carrying two eggs but held up against his chest instead. 

Fit was carrying Rámon and Sunny, both of them smiling and kicking as they try to leave Fit’s grasp, while Pac was holding onto Richas and Em, both chilling with Em tucking under Pac’s chin and Richas waving to him.

He waves back, and goes to grab his daughter by the leg. She kicks and squeals, laughing at the blood rushing to her head until Tubbo positions correctly against his chest, copying Richas and Pac.

”Yeaahhh, sorry ‘bout that guys. It’s just—“ Tubbo blushes again, thinking about the letter. He looks back at Fit and Pac, sees their patronizing gazes and quirked eyebrows, and immediately looks away again. Suddenly, the items on the ground take up his immediate priority as he goes over to gather them all up.

Fit and Pac are right on his tail, Rámon, Em, and Richas tugging Sunny off of him as he was immediately hounded for answers.

”Ooo, do I smell some Fofoca right now?” Fit smugly said, with his chest puffed out in a show of bravo. 

“No no no, you got it all wrong—“

”Is it Fred?” Pac asked, completely spot on as Tubbo darts towards the inventory. He practically crams all the items down the backpack before he turns towards to the two and shushes them.

”GUYS. Not in front of the—“ It was too late, the damage was done.

The 4 eggs, who previously were focused on each other turn their heads around. Some slow and methodical, and the others so fast he thought he heard bones crack. 

Then he was bounced on, Fit and Pac making the smart move and backing away as Rámon immediately takes the lead and starts placing down signs, Richas sitting on his back to make sure he doesn’t escape with Sunny joining him as they shake his shoulders, and Em crouched next to him, pointing at her book with ‘Really?’ As the only thing on the page.

Tubbo nods at her, and turns forward again to read Rámon’s signs. 

‘HUHHHHHH!?!’ 

‘WHO TF IS FRED!?!’

‘YOU ACTUALLY PULL PEOPLE?!!’

”WHY IS THAT SURPRISING??” Tubbo screams to Rámon, for Sunny to then get off him and tug at his collars, a determined look on her face.

”You said you’d tell me what it said Pa! You promised!” They shook him as they talked, and honestly Tubbo was getting lightheaded at this point.

"ALRIGHT ALRIGHT but please get off! I'll explain I promise!”

It took a lot of convincing on Tubbo’s part to get Richas fully off of him, but once everyone was sat down in a circle in the middle of factory, he had to address the elephant in the room.

”When the fuck did Agent 18 show he broke ass up?”

The guard crossed his arms from where he sat between Em and Sunny, and the worst of it was that while he was writing in his notebook to reply back with some type of response, he has a silver crown resting on top of his black hat.

God, it still blows his mind that this son of a bitch was Sunny’s friend—a good one at that too— but he can’t let his own personal beef with the worker to interfere with Sunny’s bonds.

They’re still an annoying nunce though, and he will fight the bear once the eggs are away.

You just mad I was invited, now get on with your sad excuse of a love life.

Tubbo inhaled through his nose, and gave a tight lipped smile before continuing on, facing away from the idiot.

”I’m being the better person and not getting started with you. But, the basic gist is, Fred wants to take me on a date Friday.”

A beat of silence is passed, but then, the room explodes and Sunny and Richas are back in his arms, Agents 18 is tearing at their fur, Fit and Pac are saying their congratulations, patting him on the back, and Rámon and Em were writing as fast as they could on their signs.

”PAAA I WANT MORE DETAILSSSS”

”You can’t just leave us on a cliffhanger like that Túbbo! Does— does he want to be your boyfriend now?”

”I meannn— penpals to boyfriends is a pretty big step, are you sure you’re ready for that?”

”Of course he’s ready Fit! He’s Túbbo! Plus, wasn’t that what you wanted? Like, even in purgatory you mentioned—“

”Pac oh my god, please don’t out me like this—“

“PAAAAAA”

Sunny’s loud screech put Pac and Fit on hold, but sadly it doesn’t save Tubbo one bit. She and Richas looks up to him, and Rámon and Empanada move away to show their signs.

‘U CAN’T JUST DROP THAT ON US! I WANNA SEE THEM!’ Rámon wrote first, with Em’s sign next to his saying:

‘Who are they!?! No islander is named that!’

”Okay, probably should have mentioned, Fred is a federation worker named WA02.”

A thud is heard, and from looks of it, Agent 18 looks to have dropped the book they were writing, and even behind their mask shock was evident. The pen they were writing with rolling away as they put their head in their hands.

They lead forward, and further, and further, until they straight up started starfish-ing on the floor with another thud. A hand tugging on his sleeve made him look back down to Sunny. 

‘Are They Dead Pa?’ They signed.

“No Poppet their fine, just, I think going through a crisis?”

She contemplates this, for some reason looking very focused and sharp, until she whispers something to Richas. After some words were said, Richas gives a very Cheshire smile before giving them the thumbs up. 

Sunny looks at her Pa, with full sincerity in her eyes, before asking:

“Does it mean I get a new Dad?”

Tubbo blows up in red, Agent 18 looks to have passed out, and Fit and Pac loose their shit.

So much for a tea party..

Chapter Text

2.

It was a great day. Honest, it was.

Fred started writing to him again, he offered take Tubbo on date on Friday, and he gifted so much love in a span of 10 minutes Tubbo nearly took down the island with him.

God, the look of pure anguish displayed by the workers at spawn nearly killed him. And the added bonus of seeing Agent 18 having to switch out their gun with a broom did, in fact, make him shed tears of joy when he first saw it.

But, as Tubbo laid on the couch in Sunny and Em's room, a deep void sat in his lungs. He gasped for air as he hushed his breath, trying to rectify his breathing before he accidentally wakes up Sunny.

Heavy and suffocating, filling his throat and sinking his lungs, his vision swirling and darkening—

It was a bad dream, at least he thinks it was. He can barely recall it now, but whatever it was about had something to do with his new found fear of suffocation. 

It’s annoying, that suddenly after just one less than pleasant experience he’s got irrational fears. Maybe that’s why looking at Lenay’s corpse now he feels sympathy, instead of the twinkle of anger and frustration he usual feels when reminded he has to care of Sunny alone. 

He and Sunny, all alone. 

Even then, Sunny has Empanada and Pepito. Tubbo used to think he had Fit and Pac, until they both started going out..

He rolls over onto his side, facing Empanada’s side of the room as he tugged his knees closer into himself. She’s staying at Bagi’s today so he had no worry of her seeing him like this.

Fit and Pac, Fit and Pac. Even their names sound better together without him.  

It’s not even a jealousy thing, because why don’t those two understand their is more to the world then them—

Fit has Ramon to take care of, and so does Pac with Richas! Why can’t they understand that them being together can only bring harm to the people they care about?

What if Fit dies? Or Pac since both of them got dragged back to Purgatory? How would Richas feel when he’s lost another parent? Or Ramon knowing another parent died and he becomes like orphan squared? 

Can they realize that when they get into trouble, it leaves more collateral than if they just stayed friends? Can’t they realize their leaving him behind—

A shuffle of covers is heard behind him, he quickly looks over and sees Sunny shift around the their queen size bed. He’s still unsure how they got it down here, especially since Sunny only makes up a fifth of the bed, but as she flips to their side and cuddle against her pillow with Reggie sleeping on the pillow behind them, he feels at ease.

The clench on his jaws and the grip of his fist loosen the more he look as Sunny’s peaceful, breathing being.

Looking at her a bit longer, he checks his comm and sees 5:20 am in the morning..

Welp, he knows he’s not going back to sleep, so as quietly as he could, he pecks Sunny of her forehead and sneaks out the bunker. 

He elevators up, and passes the ghost blocks just to immediately be blinded by the early morning sun peaking over the horizon. It shines a pretty glow around his potato farm though, he will admit, with the pretty dew that sits on top of the leaves.

God, nobody is going to up at this time, no one to bother.

And he soooo doesn’t want to work on his chores this early in the morning, so what else to do?

The harvesting machine comes up, so Tubbo hops on and lands in front of the farm. 

He wanders around the bases, seizing the day by ignoring all the shit he has to fix later, and somehow, someway, he ends up at the dock.

So, he decides to visit it the other parent on the block. 

Climbing down to the under side of the wooden floors, he balances on the little platform Sunny made and just sits down, him getting soggy be damned.

He’s crosses his legs, the water being warm and comforting unlike his past experiences..

 
A catfish swims to his right, swimming right into Lenay’s eye socket and resides inside her skeletal corpse.

The process of human decomposition is not something he's familiar with, but if he had to guess probably the water and catfish made her dust and bones quicker.

It was bones ever since Tubbo first saw her. 

“God, what is it with the people running this plot having a death kink? Like, there are other mods better for item recovery. Better yet, do /keep inventory!”

He hisses through his teeth, getting pissed once reminded by the stupidity of how broken the rules are in this place. 

“Lenay, you were there when we spawned in that fucking prison.. ugh that feels so long ago now! We have a daughter, I survived Purgatory 1 and 2, and everyone that doesn’t tolerate me wants my fucking head!”

He turns over, and sees the catfish leave the head from under the jaw bone. He peers the rest of the skeleton, seeing the moss and seaweed cover the frame and most of the bones from the knees down either missing or weathering more away.

“Sorry for making you listen to my word vomit. You deserve rest. Not whatever the fuck spews out my mouth.”

Silence, only the water rushing and morning doves singing in the background.

“I’ll see you later Lenay… Sunny would have loved you; they already do.”

Tubbo stands, Tubbo smiles, and Tubbo leaves.

Might as well enjoy the quiet while he has it, so he takes heats up the air around him just enough so all the water soaking him evaporates immediately, and warps to Spawn.

The loud warping stings his ears a bit, but once the lightheadedness and buzzing stops, he finally takes in the new scenery.

The rose vines stand out against the grey stone and graffiti, he takes note as he gently nudges them away to see the main area. They feel cold because of the dew, and the bright red petals slightly litter the floor.

He chuckles, reaching down to pick one up and feel its velvet between his fingers. Once he stands up though, he gets a good look the path and holds in his gasp. 

It’s pretty. 

The bright yellow and pink coming from the sides, the bricked pavement going off each way as up front large, pastel pinks towering above with a small pond great for fishing or drowning lays right below it.

The benches circling the water, the little fishes spinning around the weed and moss. Spinning around each other, happily.

”I bet those little itty bitty ones around that long bubbly weed one are Em, Pepe, and Sunny. Always together if their up a the same time,”

He looks around the water a bit more, and sees a lot of solo and 2 pairs. The first group of 3 seem to be the only ones in a bigger group.

Probably for the best, he thought, since any less of the squirmys and the bigger fish would eat them..

One fish stood out to him though, and that was the one by the moss bed closest to the surface. It was longer than all the rest and almost complete light blue. Splotches of white were nears the fins and it was acting unnatural while how little it moved.

Tubbo was worried it might’ve been dead if it weren’t for another fish coming up and sliding alongside them. The new fish was darker green and had more shinier scales than the blue one, but was smaller in size.

They both were completely different species, but once green was came up to blue, blue looked to have gained all his energy back as they swam around green and nudging them too.

Green then started circling them too, and both swam off to a deeper part of the pond chasing after one another. Twirling and spinning in sync before they were out of sight..

The sun hadn’t reached spawn yet, but it was getting a lighter blue the more he sat there. The air was colder as well, and being in a baggy t-shirt and pants barefoot was really not one of he’s best of ideas, but hey at least it’s pretty.

What would make this even more pretty would be a light mist he thinks— wait, he’s kinda dumb. He closes his eyes, and breathes in. Breathes out, and opens his eyes again.

The air around him got colder, and he the street lights turned blurrier out of the corner of his eye. The sky was turning into a spotlight as he stared into the stars, far enough away from his base were the pollution was hitting it.

It’s nice to fuck around with nature a bit, but of course, once he got too comfortable, a figure darted past the trees near the bakery.

Immediately he’s up, and he thickens the most around him. He leaves only a bit of it lighter, in the direction of the bakery, so if the offender tries to attack they only have one clear route.

A sudden movement, he gets into a ready stance, he doesn’t have a weapon fuck, he digs his toes into the pavement, he brings his fist up—

Two white, gloved hands appear from behind the bushes. Completely straight up, as slowly a blue cap and little white ears make their appearance, along with the figures masked head.

Tubbo breathes a sigh of relief, and lowers his defenses. He’s still hyped up on that rush of adrenaline though, so he speeds walks to Fred and is already laughing at the display.

Fred, who was hiding in the bushes for some reason, was still on the ground, seating on their knees with a fallen book on their side.

Tubbo chuckles some more at the, admittedly, cute display before giving a hand. Fred stares at it, nods, and takes the hands to pull himself back up.

Fred’s the taller one now, but Tubbo stopped caring after the 3rd time he noticed it— shush with the ‘if you stopped caring why do you keep calling it out’ he can lie to himself sometimes it’s fine.

Shaking the losing battle from his head, he sees the book in Fred's hand with the bear just standing there, waiting.

Tubbo tilts his head, eyebrows pinched together, trying to decipher why Fred was just standing there.

A minute more passes with a light wind blowing by until Fred brings up his other hand, still connected to Tubbo's.

A hot, burning flush crawls up Tubbo's neck to his face, and he quickly lets go of the hand like it was causing the burning.

Fred immediately goes to his book, and Tubbo can't help but be mortified that he restricted Fred like that.

He practically was talking away the guys freedom of speech, hell, he wouldn't be surprised if Fred wanted to smack him for it, that he would want to cancel the date because Tubbo can't keep his hands too himself and just stay in his lane—

Fred flips the book to Tubbo, and Tubbo gingerly takes the book in his hands. 

I’m sorry for scaring you,

“No no Fred you’re fine! Really!” Tubbo lied through his fucking teeth, not trying to show how fucking terrified he was at that shit.

A flash of red skies and blades twisting in his gut suddenly made him pale. His breath picks up, and he wants to twist away and hide and find he’s goslings and find Sunny, oh god Sunny—

A gentle force covered his hand, and he looked down to see what creature has him in their grasp, but only sees a white, grass stained glove intertwining with his. 

 
An arm is connect to that hand, and that light blue vest sparked recollection in his memory, as the hand tightens it’s grip and Tubbo was able to look up at a white mask, finally realizing he’s on Quesadilla not Egg Island.

He feels the sun start blaring down from behind him, and Fred looks angelic with the Sun directing highlights their full front half. From their curls hiding under their iconic cap, the way the lower half of the blank mask is semi-transparent— probably for easier breathing— and reveals shadows of a deep cupid bow and a lighter lower lip.

How the tiny metals on their uniform reflect the light, and how their shoulders are slump and completely relaxed, causing Tubbo to copy that action immediately. 

 
Tubbo looks at Fred, and can make the valid guess Fred is looking at him back, and squeezes their hands thrice. 
 

Tubbo doesn’t know what he wanted to happen, but soon Fred perks up and takes Tubbo by that hand and leads them to the bakery. Tubbo’s confused, by follows anyways and soon their right in front of the baker.

The baker is just a robot, but they seem to be powered down for the time being as they don’t open their quests until much later. So, Fred leads them right to the front of the desk, pulls out another book from his inventory, and writes away with their free hand.

Shit, he never gave back the book.. Tubbo thought as Fred scribbled a bit longer. He begins to places the book to Fred’s side on the table, so the worker can get it when they’re ready, but before he did, he jotted down his own little pick up line in the book too. 
 

He smirks, hopefully Fred looks back into this book later, or he’s little one-sided petty revenge isn’t going to work. Does the bear even know how long he spent yesterday re-reading that one page? Actually, Tubbo would rather die if they ever found that out—

Fred seems to be finished, so Tubbo hands them the old book in exchange for the new one.

He flips to the first page, squinting at the longer paragraph before focusing on the first words. 

I’m not stupid and neither is you. You didn’t look like you were in the right headspace back there, and with the winds picking up suddenly I had to grab your attention quick so sorry if the sudden touch spooked you.

“I’m fine Fred,” three words in and Tubbo can already feel the judgement staring at him behind that mask.

 

“And even if I wasn’t all there, you- you helped a lot. Guess your body was already too good of a distraction, since- since I could’ve sworn I started lagging.”

A tick passes by and Tubbo can see Fred’s ears perk up after the pick up line. The hands that were still together and Fred’s larger fingers start caressing the back of Tubbo’s hand. 

Fred was going to kill him at this rate, he lies Tubbo_, he die as he lived, bitchless.

Fred took back the book, and started writing once more but with quicker speed. Tubbo chuckled, and that seems to speed up Fred’s script even more and soon the book was already back in his hands. 

 

Oh, so this is what you want to do? Okay, your eyes must be the ocean because I can get lostttt in them allll dayyyyy.

Tubbo snorted, the rush of blood making its way to his face again. 

“Okay, okay that was good.” 

And it continued, both of them cracking jokes and making worse pick-up lines as the minutes flew by and, through one way or another, they both ended up sitting on the floor completely oblivious to the world starting to wake up with the Sun shining through the windows of the bakery.

Tubbo was down right cackling at how horrendous these jokes were getting, but once the air returned to his lungs, Fred flipped to a clean page and began writing.

It’s getting early. I have to return to my job soon, but before I go again my boy with pretty eyes, I have another gift.

Tubbo tilts his head, shocked that Fred wasn’t kidding about feeling guilty for the “leaving on read” thing. So, we a pinch of stupid braveness, he grips Fred’s hand harder and doesn’t let them up. 

“Look, I appreciate it Fred, I really do, but you’ve already given me enough. The flowers you sent yesterday was gorgeous and Sunny spent the entire day planting them all over the factory in any blank space they could. I loved them too, and, don’t tell Fit or Pac, but I actually wanted to shed a few tears on how sweet it all was.”

Tubbo stares into where he thinks Fred’s eyes are, and continues.

”So please, I don’t want you to spend so much on me when really, all I want to do is watch Grey’s Anatomy with you.”

And possibly go strip mining but that’s a Friday discussion. 

 
Fred seemed stun-locked, but continued their hold on Tubbo’s hand as they wrote down more.

You don’t seem to understand. Which, for your smarts, I want you to connect the dots. I want to do this because I, personally, feel the need too. This doesn’t cost me anything as I just want to do it all for you. I want you to see me as someone you can rely one, someone to, if anything were to happen, you could call me up and I’d provide.

Unless you don’t want me, which I can respect, but I want to go on that date with you on Friday and prove to you I can be that person for you. To be that pillar, that support, that lover.

Do you understand that?

Tubbo finished the last sentence, and placed the book down. 

“I never really gave you an answer did I? For the date I mean..” he goes and grabs Fred’s other hand.

”..I do want you to stop, but not because I- I don’t want you. I do, I wanna go on dates and go on one on Friday with- with you. It’s—”

He rolled his head straight up, praying to Felps for some answers, but words aren’t wording right now and he hates it.

”I hate fake bullshit. I don’t want you to only be nice and be extravagant to me only in the beginning. I don’t want you to blow your money and do all this show man business just to grab my attention. That’s bullshit, I just want the real you, not the guy that gives me everything.”

A tight squeeze pinches his hands, but Tubbo is not detoured as he squeezes even harder back. 
  

“I’ve forgiven you a while ago king, none of the shit that happened was your fault. So here, bring it in and just let me be with you.”

Tubbo holds his arms out, and a tick passes before Fred just engulfed him in the hug. The bigger bear practically made it seem they were trying to tackle Tubbo to floor, but Tubbo didn’t build that whole ass drill just to be called weak, so he sits tall and lets the bear sink into his being.

A high pitch thudding sound was made behind him, and before Tubbo could fully understand it he felt something warm press itself into his neck. He felt—

He gasped. He felt Fred’s face being pressed into his neck. He felt a slope and point of a nose, a ticklish fluttering of eyelashes, and hot air dancing next to his ear making his goosebumps rises up.

Omg omg omg holy fucking shit Fred’s gone and done a face reveal wait wait wait—

“I’m not going to stop giving you gifts. You deserve every nice thing está mundo has to offer. Thank you, you’ve changed my world for the better, no matter how chaotic.”

Tubbo is stunned locked, mind short-circuited as Tubbo took in every single little detail. From the words, to the inflictions, to the accent Fred had, to the chuckle they gave right after they finished speaking..

Tubbo must’ve be lost in his own head for a while, as he only noticed Fred had moved when a stretched out hand came in font of his face.

Fred had the mask back on, but his mouth was revealed to show off a sharp teeth smirk before they fixed it back in place.

He knows he looks like a rose bush right now, but Tubbo never ends of a lose so he grabs Fred’s hand and pulls himself back up. Despite the heat showing bright on his face, he matches the smirk Fred gives him and pulls them down with that hand. 

“Okay, if you say so. I better see at least a double chest full of chocolate and Create parts by this afternoon if you’re so sure.”

Fred’s smile grows even bigger, showing off a bit of their gums as they nod a quick, affirmative nod. 

 
Tubbo smiles, and he thinks that he’s like seeing that smile again soon.

Fred had left the bakery after a quick goodbye, and Tubbo stayed to get a head start on the cookie quest to hopefully get some for Sunny before she wakes up.

Once he realized he’d be needing Badboyhalo to do it for him, he runs back to Tubhaus and goes back to the bunker to sleep-in for the day after the whole cast of emotions he’s had.

The next time he wakes, Sunny and Empanada are grabbing him by the legs, dragging him across the potato farm.

He accepts his fate, and tries to go back to sleep hoping the girls didn’t notice him waking up. But, he knows he’s luck has ran out when he feels Sunny place fucking wormtail right on his chest.  

He shoots his eyes open, seeing the turtle try biting his shirt and look up at the eggs. Empanada is smiling and Sunny has her sketch book open, telling him what he needed to do.

”Ughhhh fineeee. Good morning Minecraft eggs,” he looks down to his chest, already upset at the words he needs to say, “..and good morning wormtail..”

Sunny’s tail wags back and forth, and now they’re right at the front of the factory.  

Empanada drops a leg, and pushes him up just to cover his eyes. 

 
“Please don’t tell me when I reopen my eyes all my shit is broken. Not like this Empanada—“

The hands remove themselves, and luckily nothing is broken, but the multiple chest in the center of his base brought alarm bells.

He stood right back up, clutching wormtail so they didn’t fall, and started surveying the area, just to notice all the chest were arranged in a heart shape.

“I’m not going to stop giving you gifts. You deserve every nice thing está mundo has to offer. Thank you, you’ve changed my world for the better, no matter how chaotic.”

The conversation from this morning rung itself to the forefront of this mind, and he step up to open the first chest, just to see it filled with chocolate of all brands, some you couldn’t even on the island.

A note was attached to the first bar, and Tubbo plucked it off to examine it closer. 

 
The rest of the chocolate and gears are in the other chests <3

Motherfucker didn’t even write he’s name of it, but if he tucked that note straight into his hoodie pocket and hide his giddy smile with his hands, no one said a thing.

Chapter Text

3.   Filler(?)

Fred was still riding off their high by the time he warped back to the office.

It was embarrassing to feel this much emotion; making their entire body vibrate and having his own tail wiggle frantically behind him. It had gotten so bad they had to tuck it behind their belt, just in case any superiors or gossipy co-workers were around.

They can’t say the sensations and dopamines were unwelcome. No, of course not, because it’s everything they could have ever dreamed of and something that nearly felt sinful with how much it rocked his body.

Since they were young, emotions were something not recommended for the line of work the Federation did. They and 18 were taught this specifically, and while they picked up the lessons much more than they did, it seems maybe rank wasn’t worth much if the testy bear had still found a way to worm themselves into Tubbo’s life..

Maybe emotions could be the key they needed, but, maybe it’s okay not to know everything sometimes. And clearly Tubbo had no qualms with their lack of expertise in that area. 

 
Their scrambled thoughts didn’t lead to much, which frankly annoyed them, but they were already filling away the recent statistics reports and jotting down their observations of the day for the Census Bureau and WS01. They haven’t seen her in a while, but they’ve heard she’s been moved to the island during their recovery period.

They hope they gets to talk her soon, it would be nice to get an alternative opinion one their current troubles. Hopefully she understands, considering her own backstory.

Fred finishes up, and decides to tear any old pages from their old books to recycle. Opening up the first one, they follow their regular procedures, tossing the pages to the recycling bin and neatly making sure no evidence of the tearing remains in it before setting the notebook aside.

The second one however, Fred only found it to be filled with sketches and rambling from the man that claimed their mind. Fred yanked their mask off their face, throwing somewhere adjacent to their desk, and pulled the book closely to face.

In thick, scratchy handwriting, in the center of the page, laid:

I ain’t a miner, but I can make your bed-rock.

 
Fred was gagged.

They were surprised they were still standing, the pick-up line so bad and barely hidden in its 2nd meaning Fred was erupting in heat. Their tail was wagging so much that it popped out from behind their belt, and they became light-headed.

May he thank all the training he went through, or else he would be a puddle on floor that the poor D workers would have to clean up.

Fred heard footsteps coming down the hall, becoming louder and louder as 2 voices seem to share a light conversation.

hijodelaputamadre— Fred whipped their body toward their mask and shoved the notebook in the closest drawer. Once they had adjusted the mask, both Cucurucho and Elena were standing outside their door.

“Good Morning, what are you doing?” Cucurucho asked, curiosity noticeable given the in-forced labor laws that made all employee’s go home at 9 o’clock sharp.

Fred nearly made the life ending mistake of answering back with their voice, but caught their mistake just in time to not notice the book he was writing in..

It was too late, they were already handing the book over but they could only hope that they didn’t feel the need to flip the page.

Both Cucurucho and Elena were reading their response, and for every second that passed, Fred felt another bead of sweat drip under their fur.

They didn’t let a single muscle twitch, lest they give away their nervousness.

After both seemed to be done reading, it was Elena who came up to them stating what she was here for.

”Both me and the Census Bureau are going back to Egg Island for further information. If any disturbance is made known, immediately contact us so we can return.”

”Yes.”

Fred nodded, quick and direct, before holding out his hand for the book, hoping Cucurucho won’t get pocket it in their inventory.

Thankfully, luck is on his side, and the notebook is handed back immediately.

”I hope you enjoy the island, and then both of them were gone.

Fred waited, and waited, until they were 100% both of them were gone to finally breathe out a sigh of relief.

Fred looked went to Tubbo’s page, only for a small note to fall out of it.

Confusion nestled in their head, just for a heart-attack to rack their whole nervous system.

I hope you enjoy yourself :)

…

..

.

Fred’s not going to look a gift horse in the mouth, and promptly decides to forget the message, as it’s now a future-them problem.

In the now, Fred delicately tears and pinches at binding, trying to preserve as much page as possible. By the time they were done, Fred warped to their house and pinned it careful to their personal diary. It was another hobby they picked up after gardening, just to write all the gushy stuff they didn’t want in the letters..

Speaking of, it has been an eventful morning, so Fred strips, takes a shower, gets in their night gear, and writes.

T’was a long night in the Tubchunk, and all the critters littering his base were driven away from how loud the music was blasting in his base.

 

It was a Wednesday night, which, is fucking crazy because, it means Fred only gave Tubbo the first gift yesterday.

Yesterday.. Fred gave them the first chest filled with love, no other way to interpret the flowers, then this morning happen.. That shit was only this morning? It felt like it’s own pocket dimension, like something Tubbo would’ve seen in a corny fanfic Tommy would’ve written—

Tommy! Fuck, does being unwillingly married to a God make this shit more difficult? 

“So NOW you think of me?? After I had to come back to the mortal realm with your AWFUL flirting ringing through my earholes?!?”

”WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU HERE??”

Tubbo jumped 15 feet in the air— not really but his heart did— and landed on his ass as a response.

He looked up, just to see the fake God floating over him, and Tubbo already felt a small headache growing.

”Where’s Molly? I need someone here not trying to kill me..” Tubbo grumbled, worried if he might have to deal with Jack or Krow too if Tommy had enough power this time to appear physically.

”She’s got Godly business to take care of! Plus, this is a husbands’ talk! I get to see if you have a partner I approve of! I love our gay polyamorous relationships Honey!”

“What did I say about calling me that! Also, shut the fuck up! Sunny could wake up!”

"I haven't even met the little squirt yet! Where is my child??"

Tommy started floating around, purposefully ignoring any attempts Tubbo tried to make in progressing the conversation. It was like barely 7:30 yet Tubbo felt like heading to sleep early for once..

"Sorry, you know how he is when meetings are coming close."

Tubbo wanted to weep tears of joy when he heard Molly speak next to him, but it dropped once he heard 3 more voices following up behind her.

"AYUPP!"

..Tubbo should've just went to bed..

Chapter Text

4. Kisses and Healing

It was finally Friday, and as the sun was teetering downwards more and more, Tubbo was pacing in the bunker. 

He was, understandably, a reck. 

The days after Tommy’s (and Molly’s and Krows and Jack Mainfolds) visit had been long and treacherous. 

With Fred having to get everything done before Friday, their time together was non-existent outside the eagle that came and by to deliver a letter to him. 

To rub salt in the wound, Pac and Fit have both decided to be XL bullies about it too.  

 
It was almost like a bell was rung inside their heads every time the eagle payed him a visit, since the couple would magically arrive out of thin air once Tubbo had the letter in hand. 

From dilf jokes, to the regular “Awww our sweet baby” comments, the peanut gallery never ended. Both of them were on his dick more than they were on each others, and lord forbid they find him smiling stupidly at the letters before they arrive.

Today was different. 
 

Today, Fit and Pac were no where to be seen, and even though it was a good 2 hours before Fred’s meant to arrive; it didn’t help his nerves at all.

 
He continued to pace, with Sunny and Empanada looking over in more concern when the pacing doesn’t give up. 
 
 
“God, what if this shit was just a lame ass joke at my expense.. What if Fred gets hurt—What if he gets kidnapped again?”

 
The pacing became strides and Tubbo felt the horns on his head ache and his claws hurt with how bad the stress was getting to his body. 

The second his breathing had gotten a bit shallow, his legs got locked in place and his back was pressed against a firm body. 

Small whisper and purring were heard from below him, and just a glance down showed Empanada and Sunny trapping him in place while Agent 18 was trapping him in place, reeling him in and making him slump into their embrace. 

This island is the worst, but you are going to have to fight him tooth and nail for his family.

 
Right as he was about to mutter a thank you, Agent 18 promptly drops him from where he stands and makes Tubbo fall on his back with a splat. 

The eggs tumble too, but the very least the catch themselves, unlike Tubbo who feels like he his spine just shifted out of place. 

”Ugggghhh, can’t I compliment you for anything?” 

Empanada giggles, and Sunny shifts her clinginess to Agent 18’s pant leg instead, crawling up his shoulders while the bear never breaks his concentration from his penmanship.

Though, once they finish writing, a hand moves to Sunny’s leg to secure them from falling as he flips the book to show Tubbo what it says.

 
Never that.

Though, I’m like 100% sure you would do the same to me. 

Even behind the mask the way their nonchalant leaning and head tilting was pissing Tubbo off, but when Agent 18 offered a lazy hand, Tubbo took it without hesitation and smirked back. 

”Oh yeah, absolutely Gaygent 18.” 

The slap aimed for his head was too obvious, the same way the retaliation poke was. Both easily dodged, and Tubbo was still so glad the Grinch’s heart was only big enough to fit his daughter in there, since the agent couldn’t shoot him with Sunny so close by.

 
“Oiiiii, the world’s greatest babysitter has arrived!” 

Tubbo whipped his head around, and saw the men of the hour arrive like they said they would. 

”Oh? Is Badboyhalo here?” 

“We not good enough for you Túbbo?” Pac exclaimed, immediately swinging his arm over his shoulder. Even making a kissy face next to Tubbo, mock-pleading for a kiss back.

 
Flushed at the antics, Tubbo pushed Pac off and crossed his arms.

 
“Hey! You guys are late, I should be the one complaining!”

 
“10 minutes late don’t mean nuthin’!” Fit retorts, “Plus! You’ve been later! I bet you would be late to your own funeral!” 

That sounds so painfully accurate.  

“I don’t want to hear it from any of you!” 

Empanda tugs on his hoodie, taking him out of the argument and pointing towards her maple sign.     

‘Do you want to be gay and lonely forever? We should be getting ready!’

..She had a point but,,

”Isn’t it a bit too early? I can get myself ready in 5.” 

The silence that followed his statement was palpable, and suddenly Tubbo was aware of every little imperfection he had on his body. 

From his stained work clothes, to his unshaven face, the matted parts of his hair from dirt, and even the small rips at his knees from how much he kneels down when working on his machines.

Sunny stared the hardest, probably the most keen on not wanting Tubbo to ruin the date since a potential step-father is on the line. 

“Pa.. your not leaving this house until even the sun can’t look away from you.”

Fred was relaxed.

That was a lie, but at the very least they presented themselves as relaxed. 

With the sky turning a magical ombre of orange with just the faintest hints of pink, showing that the blues of the night were not far behind, Fred couldn’t help but feel antsy at the fact not everything was done at this very second.

The place they arranged for was not quite done being set up yet, and with them having to be at Tubbo’s in 10, it was starting to weigh on them that maybe they did bite off more than they could chew.

But, with the reassurance from their fellow friends and colleagues, and with his Agent on the side reporting back to him, the nervousness did feel a lot better managed. 

Speaking of, with a ping on their communicator, an update from 18 told them that Tubbo was done and they should start making their way over to the wall of Tubhole to meet up.

What the Agent didn’t know was that Fred was sitting inside a wayward train, waiting for the go head and skipped their way to the top of Tubhole.

They took their time, admiring each technological advancement Tubbo made with their own 2 hands, seeing how the trains never once slammed into each other and how the engines never stopped even once.

The smell of the fuel and copper surrounded the whole area, and Fred relished in how intimately the smell was just Tubbo’s.

It was a smell that stuck on Tubbo like honey, even when Tubbo was covered in grime.

Copper, grass, and honey. Those are what make Tubbo, Tubbo in Fred’s eyes. 

The sky was showing a darker red and blue now, and the colors blending into the abyss from the hole gave such an enchanted feeling. Like Fred was on top of the world.

They still didn’t see Tubbo, so they decided to pick the cleanest area of the wall and sit. The white and light blue suit they were wearing stained at the smallest molecule, but they were more worried about their braids coming undone from their bun more than that.

Dangling their legs from the wall, they felt the smallest amount of chill and wind flow past them.

It was a warm night, so the slight wind was appreciated. Made the whole scene feel more real than anything they’ve ever felt before.

 
“Lost in the shimmering lights?” 

Fred didn’t even need to turn around, but it was instinctually in the way they seeked out Tubbo’s voice. 

And Fred’s eyes shined.

Tubbo looked ethereal.

His long hair was slicked back and pinned up with a few flowers. A small braid dangled at the side of their face, and their eyes shined with depth of the ocean weighing in them.

Their own suit was black, with a green tie and green pocket square accenting it. The undershirt was bleach white, and his dress shoes shined despite the ground he must’ve walked through to get up here.

Fred never stood up so fast, as they quickly closed the distance between the two and spun Tubbo around like it was the only thing that made life worth living. 

Tubbo laughed and shrieked, the vibrato of his voice and the pounding of his heart leaving Fred drunk on the superiority of being one of the few in the world to even have the chance to see Tubbo like this.

Though, they needed to drop Tubbo eventually, so with one final spin, they carefully let Tubbo down.

That didn’t disconnect them though, as Tubbo hooked his arms around the back of Fred’s neck and Fred gripped the side of Tubbo’s waist, the only sound being each other’s breath while the rest of the world went silent.

Fred pulled Tubbo closer, and Tubbo leaned up.

It would be the perfect moment, with the purple sky above them and the adoration drowning his eyes, so Fred took on hand off Tubbo and went to remove their mask when—

“MISTER FRED!!”

Fred actually jumped with having someone other than Tubbo call them for them, though sadly, his reaction caused Tubbo to detach from them like Fred was made of acid.


Tubbo even seemed to redirect all his attention over the voice, but once Fred looked at the source of the jumpscare, they didn’t feel a single ounce of envy.

Standing at the bottom of the wall, was a duo of children. The E.G.G.S he has heard so much about.


The one that shouted was also the same one that was bouncing up and down, waving their hands around to make up for their short stature. 


Tubbo immediately glided down, leaving a still semi-shellshocked Fred alone.


Once the effect wore off though, they made hot pursuit after their penpal. After all, they still have a person they need to meet.

 
Fred just jumped, feeling like showing off just a tiny bit to make a good impression on the little dragon. Seeing Tubbo’s mouth drop while his face turns redder was simply a extra bonus.

 
Fred flipped to the first page of a book, already having the pre-written formalities, as he waited for the child’s response.


Despite wearing sunglasses at dusk, Fred believed their small hiccup in reading as a different issue. Considering the fact she even squinted their eyes and bit their lip the same way Tubbo does when he struggle to read. 


Truly like Father, like daughter. Fred thought with a chuckle.


Once she finished, they signed instead of spoke, but with no less enthusiasm. Shout-signing, making sure to use all the dramatics as she swung their arms in big motions.


‘IM SO EXCITED TO FINALLY MEET YOU! PA MENTIONS YOU A LOT AND IM SO HAPPY YOU MAKE HIM HAPPY!’


” I DONT TALK ABOUT THEM THAT MUCH—“


Tubbo tried to defend himself, but a swift pair of tiny hands jumped up and dragged him down. This egg wasn’t one Fred was completely familiar with, but they recognized as one of the new eggs.


She has tri-colored hair, and looked to be holding their date hostage with how unimpressed she stared at Tubbo after that statement.


‘My name is Sunny and the girl next to Pa is Empanada!! I hope we get to spend more time together!” 

Fred smiled, and bent down to pat the little dragon on their head while reaching in their pocket for something.


Sunny smiled at the affection, but gasped in wonder after Fred reveals a gift for them.


’A princess like you deserves everything. Here, have a gun.’

Sunny cradled the gun like a new born baby, and quickly flipped the safety off and shot at a mob behind them. 


She squealed, signing a shouting ‘THANK YOU MISTER FRED!’ before tugging Empanada’s hand and running off without them.


Tubbo had gotten up during this time, and looked conflicted about the situation but shook it off as he reached for Fred’s hand.


”I’ll be honest. That looks like a future Tubbo problem. One of which, probably ends in me having to fight that gun out of her hands, but,”


The hand grips Fred’s hand tighter, whether from revenge for giving his daughter a gun or in a ‘i love you’ way, Fred couldn’t have cared less because, in the end, Tubbo was holding him.

Chapter Text

4. Roses and Boyfriends

It was a quick warp to spawn, and Tubbo didn’t want to dwell into the symbolism of it being where they first meet. Or else he might end up passing out before the date truly begins.

Fred had made it clear that all the planning was going to up to them, and that Tubbo shouldn’t worry about anything as Fred has it all figured out.

And as the two walk past the bakery, with the beautiful red-purple sky above them, Tubbo sees the streetlights turn on one by one the more they walk.

The world was getting ready for the night, and Tubbo was trying to get ready with it.

The bar was incredibly high this time around, as while the Movie date was great and all, this one feels like Fred’s turn at being the one in charge of the date.

Not that Tubbo had any problems with that, but, it does feel like all he can do is just go with the flow.

To try and regain some control though, he tries keeping up the small talk and get extra flirty with his inflictions. And if the results ends with Fred tripping over themselves and having a tighter grip on his hands, then Tubbo thinks it’s working.

“If you keep tripping, I’m going to start thinking you’re actually lagging at this point King. Though, I would hope it’s because of me if anything.”

Tubbo repeats, even winking this time at the bear just to be brat.

Thats when Fred breaks character.

Suddenly, Fred turns towards Tubbo and grabs him by the waist. The worker pulls Tubbo forward, flushed straight against him, chest to chest, and comes straight down infront of Tubbo’s face.

Truly, the only thing blocking their lips from meeting is that stupid white mask, that Tubbo would love nothing more than to yank it right off.

Not that he has the balls for that level of audacity and disrespect, but the way Fred gets even closer to him, nose touching mask, does drive him just a bit insane.

Fred stays there, while Tubbo tries to keep down his heart rate and prevent his eyes from crossing, and presses further down onto his nose and rubs side to side with the tip of their mask.

All this cute and thrilling affection, just for Fred to let go and keep a firm grip on Tubbo hand, continuing to walk like nothing happened.

Oooh, you sneaky bitch. You want to play this game? I can play it better.

Tubbo dug his heels into the ground, making the pair stop in their tracks. Fred looked back, just so Tubbo to give the quickest peck on their cheek part of their mask, and let go of their hand to run up ahead.

Fred was shell shocked again for 2nd time in one night, feeling all the butterflies and excitement the author’s described in the novels they read, and seeks out more of it while never wanting to stop chasing after Tubbo.

Tubbo wasn’t even that far ahead, but the adrenaline he felt when seeing Fred catch up to him was soul expanding. 

It was at that moment where Tubbo got reminded of the feeling he felt in the bakery, where he felt safe and wanted and enough.

Tubbo wanted to feel this everyday.

So, Tubbo let Fred chase him across the bridge and catch him. Fred squeezing Tubbo high in the air, and twirl him around like a cheesy dancing-in-the-rain scene.

Tubbo wrapped his legs around Fred’s waist, and Fred hooked their arms under and around Tubbo to keep him up.

“You going to be a gentleman and carry me the rest of the way?”

Tubbo chuckled, realizing now how Fred couldn’t really respond back.

But, before he could even think of getting off, Fred continued to walk straight into the presidential building. There wasn’t even a hint of regular whiplash when they went up the elevator, as Tubbo was let gently down and had a hand over his eyes.

”wha—“

A delicate, gloved hand was rubbing soothing circles in his shoulder as he was flipped around with a hand still covering his eyes.

Instead of facing Fred like he was earlier, he was now facing the actually area of the suite. Not that he can see what it look like, but a deep voice whispering in his ears makes all the blood in his body light up.

“Surprise, Cariño..”

And the hand left his eyes.

It took a second for his eyes to adjust to the amber lightning, but once they did, Tubbo wanted to cause another earthquake.

There, from where they stood in the center of the room, was a cleared out, picture perfect candle light dinner.

The room was in a gorgeous, orange lighting, with fairy lights and roses in every corner.

The floor was drowning in deep, wine red roses while the only cleared areas were the center of the room and the pathway to the dining table.

It wasn’t even a big table, but that made it even more perfect as it was small enough that Tubbo could easily reach over and take Fred’s hand.

The table was cover by a classic white tablecloth, nearly touching the floor with a tall, singular candle in the middle. They each had their own set of cutlery and plates, as the table was positioned where they were directly beside the window to watch the Sun go down.

Tubbo was choked on his own words, but could only stare in utter delight at the lengths Fred went for this date.

”I can never top this..”

Fred laughed, and Tubbo was starting to go insane about how calm they were about this.

“What! Im serious! I’m going to have to make a whole new server to even try and replicate what you did for me!”

Fred started to laugh harder, and it was too infectious for Tubbo to hold his own in any longer.

Both of them were clutching each other while they dragged each other to the floor, tears forming in his eyes while he struggled to breathe.

The craziness of this all, was starting weigh in on Tubbo as well.

Here he is, a single father with more baggage then a war veteran, trapped on a island he can't escape from, with a worker from said island that was designed to be cruel and heartless, laughing together on the floor of the dead presidents office, all while a candle-light dinner was waiting for them.


Can't get much crazier than that.

Eventually, the laughs did die down, but only for Fred to take off his mask and attach it to his side.

Tubbo was shocked, but only by the action. Fred realized too, and just smiled unabashed while staring at Tubbo with the most delighted brown eyes Tubbo has ever seen.


"Holy fucking shit your hot as hell.." Tubbo spoke out, even though it was mean to be an inside thought.


Fred seemed to shine and glow with that comment though, so Tubbo had no intentions to take back a completely true statement.

"Glad to know even my physical appearance can make you blush."

"Everything about you makes me blush, you being hot as hell is just a bonus."


Fred seems to actually take a step back at that comment, but immediately dawns a more enamored look as they gently take Tubbo's hands in theirs and walks them over to the table.


They sit, and Fred pulls out another book to write in. 


Then, without warning, Agent 18 warps into the room, dressed in a completely new server outfit, and has their signature cap gone with their gray black hair in a man-bun..


Tubbo looks over to Fred, and sees a knowing smirk play on their lips as they place both of their orders. 


This was the first time Tubbo has ever seen 1) Agent 18 actually listen to people. 2) Fred enjoying someone else's misery so clearly and 3) Fred actually looked like a A-rank worker.

It was a fascinating sight, and Tubbo doesn't know he's staring until Fred stares back. 

Dark brown meets Green and Blue.

White scales meets Dark Green fins..


"Something on your mind?" Fred spoke, in a strangely nervous tone.


It was a much intimate tone then Tubbo was expecting, but he curiosity held no bounds.

"I remembered the day I met you is all.. It seems so long ago that it kinda shocks me that it's still you after everything."

Fred stayed silent, having lost his voice instead of restricted from it. 

"It appears so.."

An uneasy silence fills the air, so Tubbo quickly backtracks in hope to say the statement.

"I don't mean anything bad by it. It's just, ya'know, the literally fucking shit that kept us away from each other for months.."

Why the fuck are you bring put traumas on a first date, are you crazy--Tubbo monologued in his pacing head.


"Yeah, I know what you mean," Fred spoke, interrupting Tubbo's train of thought. "I know all of this is not something you would enjoy, considering are talk in the bakery, but it is something I enjoy and you seem happy enough with that."

Fred smiled, "You're not one for big gestures, because you would rather do things that aid someone in the future then one-offs."

When the fuck did the conversation turn to him????

"Assuming I don't like big gestures is a oversight, considering this is a big gesture and I'm currently loving it."

An inquisitive look came over Fred's features, so Tubbo lobbied on, "Sure, yes. It's you, and I love everything about you."

Fred looked like they wanted to interrupt, "Yes. I love everything, even the fact you have probably murdered people." 

Shock was the next emotion, but Tubbo had a point he wanted to nail into place. 

"YES. I know about your history as a A-rank worker. I've literally seen D and C rank workers kill, meaning you most definitely have a kill count in hundreds at least.

The thing though, is that I have a kill count in the hundreds. I've killed my friends repeatedly, friends I've cared about! If I were to hate on you for being a killer, I would be a hypocrite.

Personally, I think that just makes you quirky." 

Tubbo hates how he can't word emotions properly. Sometimes, he longs for a world where emotions we as easy to explain as a mechanism on a airplane. 


"I..I know what you mean." Tubbo looks up, unaware he had turned away in the first place, "I know we are both messed up -- likely both fucked up-- but even knowing after all this time we still relate to one another is incredible.. as well as saddening."

That got a laugh out of Tubbo. Yeah, they both were fucked up, but he wanted to see where this would go.


"I think, that even with both our flaws and backstories, the fact we can use it as foundations as a way to articulate ourselves is fascinating."

"Uh.. dumb it down for me a smidge?"

Fred laughed, and Tubbo had no room for embarrassment as the sound made him land in cloud 9.

"I think, that if we both can come out of our messes still loving each other, then I think it's worth it."

And just like all those cheesy romance novels, Tubbo reaches over and takes Fred's hand in his, trying to stare all his loving emotions into Fred's eyes. 

"I think it is.."

Such an unromantic phrase, but Fred can pick up the slack. 


"Your so much more romantic and better at words than me, that's just not fair."



They both laughed again, and Tubbo think he found his new favorite sound in the way their tones mingle so well with each other.

"I think are sillies match each other perfectly."

"I believe so too."

Fred gripped his hands tighter and leaning over the table to kiss Tubbo's knuckles with the same care and attention to detail they had this entire night. 

The velvet from the gloves all casted in a warm glow, leaving Tubbo feel his cheeks warm up too.


The small giggle that felt him, sounding so uncharacteristic to his own ear yet matching Fred's energy all the same. 

The scene was just too perfect not to give into temptation. So, Tubbo stood up with both hand still connected, and waltzed over while never breaking his gaze. 

With each step, the adoring smile got bigger and wider until it was fully in Tubbo's control.

The tips of their shoes touched, and Tubbo let it drag out as he took his turn kissing each covered knuckle. The light from the candle illuminated their the Bear's right, with the silver in their hair glimmering in their braids and their eyes turning honey like from the ambers.

They were drinking in each others breath, presence, and auras until they finally meet in the middle.

 
It was healing. 

Lips pressing into one another, the intoxicating feeling leaving Tubbo looking for some stability in Fred's shoulder, Freds arm wrapping around Tubbo's middle to pull him closer, all these little touches felt like the Sun was meting into every purchase of contact.

Tubbo leaning into the touches, while Fred amplifies them by using their other hand to pull Tubbo closer by the back of his neck. 

Tubbo shifted his head the other direction, and used his other hand to tip Fred's chin up so the kiss could deepen even further. 

It felt like all the yearning and hardships they went though made sharing this kiss nearly worth it. That all this time it was their final fairytale ending. 

 
The softness and grating that came from their chapped lips, the heat pooling in areas where the others hands were, the dizzying warmth in just sinking and tasting one another was leaving no room for any other thought in their heads.

Feeling bold, Tubbo pulling back just so he stare directly into Fred's blissed out face. The Bear stared back with half-lidded eyes and just a faint line of spit connecting the two, making Tubbo's knees grow weak at being adorn like something angelic. 

Which, just simply isn't the case, but for Fred he can let it slide just this once.

They both were still catching their breaths after that, the lighting of the room giving just enough of a change that they both could see their breaths blow out into clouds.

"Is it too soon to say I love you?"


Tubbo laughed, "Nah, I think we're both in it for the long haul."


It did not matter what happens or happened to them.

All that matters is that they're together. 

...

..

.

18 really should've asked for more money before he committed himself to this shit.

Outside the Presidential suite, in the rose bushes with the rest of the queers, the Bald one has a pair of binoculars he's trying to share with the blue-haired one. The 4 kids are stacking themselves on top of one another, with the curly headed one with a missing leg is on top with their own pair of binoculars trying to catch a peak.

To which, he brings the binoculars right down and makes a face like he just saw Chernobyl happened. 

"Ewwww, they're kissing." They speak, as the one with the mustache gasps, bringing the tower of kids toppling down at the sudden moment. 

18, picks this moment to save his favorite ones, catching Sunny and Empanada with relative ease as the other two sort themselves out.

The two adults continued pushing and shoving each other out the way like peeping Toms, waving the kids off for being loud. 

Honestly, 18 should cut his losses early and run back to the bunker, but the spaghetti still needed to be brought in so he was forced to endure the sheer looney-tunes aura the people on this island radiate. 

Sunny tugged at his collar gently, so 18 let the two girls down quietly make his way over to the entrance of the building so the food would be shoved in. 


With a quick pray to the Void, all he hopes for is to not catch an eyeful of anything as he lays the cart on top of the elevator keeps his eyes shut.