Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

       The Nether, as always, was breathtakingly hot, but Tommy and Tubbo were honestly having enough fun not to care.

       Currently, they were just chilling out. Or, not chilling out, actually. Because they were in the Nether. Kind of impossible to chill out in the Nether of all things. Not that it mattered, Tommy was just—yeah. He was hanging out with Tubbo! Tubbo, the Tub-man, Big T! He was hanging with him! Always a good thing. Especially with how busy the both of them had been lately. Hanging out together had been a rare commodity and Tommy was happy to spend some time with his best friend for the first time in way too long.

       Looking over at Tubbo, Tommy shoved his hands in the pockets of his cargo pants. When he had first gotten them, Tubbo had mocked Tommy relentlessly for them. Told him he looked like a dad. Tommy had easily replied that being a dad meant that he was a Big Man who was with a Big Woman, therefore he didn’t mind looking like a dad. Way back then, Tubbo had just rolled his eyes and laughed. Didn’t matter what anyone thought about Tommy’s epic, pocket-filled trousers. After all, he was the one who could fit at least four foil-wrapped burritos in a single pocket. Could Dream fit four foil-wrapped burritos in one of his pockets?

       Well, actually, he might have been able to. Dream was the one who had given Tommy the cargo pants in the first place. Who didn’t have cargo pants? Sapnap. Sapnap didn’t have cargo pants. Well, he couldn’t fit four foil-wrapped burritos in one of his pockets which made him not a Big Man and Tommy was a Bigger Man than he was any day of the week but especially since he could fit four foil-wrapped burritos in one of his pockets.

       Tommy really needed to stop thinking about burritos, he was starting to get hungry.

       Using his pickaxe, Tubbo cleaved a path through the Netherrack with ease. Glanced back over his shoulder. “Are you alright, Tom?” He asked in that soft tone he always had. Right then, he didn’t look as crazy as he usually did. To be fair, Tommy always had the same light to his eyes. Sticking Tubbo and Tommy alone in a room was asking for chaos. (They were quite literally a method of interrogation on the server. A little while back, some hybrid hunter broke onto the server. Managed to find their way to the community house. So, once they’d been caught, the hunter had been stuck in a room, chained to a chair, and Tubbo and Tommy were released into the room to pester them until they were willing to give Dream the answers he wanted. It took ten minutes of Tommy and Tubbo one-on-two time for that to happen.)

       “I’m alright, Tubbs.” Tommy replied. Stepping up next to Tubbo, he pulled out his own pickaxe. Started helping him cut through the dark red stone of the Nether. Around them, the air was stiflingly hot. Piglins and hoglins let out short, chuffing noises. Probably why they were going underground. Definitely why they were going underground, actually, Tommy realized as Tubbo blocked off the entrance with a few fence gates. They would have air, they would be able to see what was coming at them, but they wouldn’t get startled by any mobs creeping up on them. Not that the mobs could really creep up on them. The Nether didn’t have any creepers in it. “What do you think a creeper would look like if it had a Nether form?”

       “What?” Tubbo glanced at him. Waiting a few seconds, Tommy watched him. The question processed. Then, shrugging, Tubbo turned back to mining and continued, “Uh, probably shades of red. Something to blend in to the rock around it. They’re all greens and stuff when they’re in the Overworld, so they’d be some sort of color that has to do with camouflage.”

       “Hmm. I wonder what mutation they would need to get in order to change to that.” Tommy mused. As they mined through the stone, underneath what was probably a Crimson Forest or a Warped Forest, judging by the amount of hoglins he could hear, Tommy kept talking. “I mean, it would be pretty hard. I know red and green are on opposite sides of the color wheel, so maybe they have some sort of…not melanin, I know it’s not melanin, but some other thing? Or maybe it’s like bullsnakes? I know you can get bullsnake morphs that look gray instead of, like, browns and stuff. Those are axanthic. Xanthic? One of the two spellings, it just means they don’t have—no, it’s not browns. It’s reds. But yeah, like, bullsnakes have albino morphs and lavender morphs—or is that hognose snakes?”

       “I think it’s hognoses.” Tubbo replied, listening in even while he was more focused on what was in front of him. That was just how Tubbo was sometimes. Instead of chattering to fill the silence like Tommy did, he tended to just listen in instead. Think and sit back quietly. “Although bullsnakes have snow morphs.”

       “Right! Yeah, and then—ooh, do you think creepers have a white-sided mutation?” Thinking for a moment as they emerged from the cave they had made and started walking across the Soul Sand deserts, Tommy looked to him. “Do you think that Dream would let me do some creeper research?”

       Looking at him, Tubbo replied, “I’m pretty sure he would think you’re trying to research into better ways to blow stuff up.”

       Their trek across the desert continued like that. It was a small desert, or at least the part they were going across was. Still, it was dry. Really, really dry, and hot, too. Tubbo would pass Tommy some water bottles every so often as they walked, but kept listening and would occasionally add in his own commentary. No, Dream probably wouldn’t mind him doing research into creepers. No, Sam would not be offended. Yes, Tommy would need to have some of the others working with him in order to supervise. No, it wasn’t because Dream didn’t think he wasn’t enough of a Big Man to do so, it was because doing mob research was always something to worry about. Yes, the others would probably find his research interesting. NO, he did NOT need to make a whole PowerPoint in order to convince Dream to let him do it, he could just ask. No, Tubbo was not going to help him make a PowerPoint he did not need. No, Tubbo would not help him if it was a Google Slides presentation, either. No, Tubbo was not going to help him with any sort of presentation, Tommy didn’t need it and Tubbo had a child to take care of. No, Tubbo was not going to force Ranboo to take care of all the child-rearing duties just so Tommy could do some research into creeper mutations.

       Yes, Tubbo would like to help Tommy with the creeper mutation research, but he wasn’t going to sacrifice his own health and social life to do so and neither was Tommy (Tubbo would not let him do that).

       They were back in another set of Netherrack cliffs when the problem happened. Tommy was making some joke about bullsnakes and about how he was going to get some to compare his research of creepers with and he was going to name one Clementine. Then, all of a sudden, both of them heard a familiar rattle of bones behind them.

       Tommy’s heart dropped, blood chilling in his veins despite the Nether heat, and he knew that Tubbo was feeling the same thing.

       Both of them turned slowly. Found a stupid amount of wither skeletons behind them. “Fuck.” Tubbo said simply. Nodding, Tommy turned. Grabbed Tubbo’s hand. Then, he started sprinting away. The wither skeletons attacked. Some of them didn’t look like normal wither skeletons, either. At least two of them looked more like wither wolves, dark bones still masked with rotting flesh and torn fur in some places. Tongues lolled out of exposed jawbones, eye sockets filled with wild eyes that rolled to focus on them. Blood dripped from broken, yellowed teeth.

       Tommy’s feet slammed against the hot ground, he could feel the heat burning through the soles of his shoes. Behind him, Tubbo stumbled along. “There! There’s a hill!” Tubbo yelled, pointing. Glancing over, Tommy led them that way. The monsters kept approaching. There was a howl, but it didn’t sound like a normal howl. It sounded like a dog shrieking in agony. Shaking his head, Tommy pulled out his sword as they reached the cliff. Brandishing the enchanted netherite blade, he turned and faced down the monsters. Swung desperately when one of the wolves got too close. Fangs locked down around his wrist. Pain shot through his nerves.

       Screaming, Tommy kicked it in the face. Glanced down at his arm. Of course they weren’t wearing armor. They hadn’t thought they would need it. He’d taken his off, removed it and hid it away in his inventory. Mouth falling open, Tommy dropped to his knees. Doubled over, holding his arm to his chest. The flesh was rotting away, darkening and turning charcoal gray as the wither effect really took hold. He’d been bitten in the worst place. Already, his veins were beginning to turn a much darker shade of red. Not quite black, but definitely dark. Even worse, his skin was beginning to pale, but the nerves weren’t dying. No, they were firing off.

       Shaking his head, Tommy pushed himself up. Switched which arm he held his sword in. Brandishing the weapon again, he put himself between Tubbo and the mobs. “Come on, fuckers. Come and get me.” He growled, staring them down.

       The mobs charged.

       He didn’t know how many hits he took. It didn’t matter. What did matter was that Tubbo didn’t take any. All of a sudden, they had a cave cleared out, Tubbo’s hand locked around Tommy’s shirt collar and he was dragged back. Eyes widening, Tommy looked back to Tubbo. Their gazes met. Tubbo’s eyes flicked down to the bite mark on Tommy’s arm. His eyes widened. “I’m fine, don’t worry—” Tommy started. Outside their little cave hideaway, one of the wither skeletons roared. Slammed its arms into the side of their cave.

       Rocks and pebbles fell down around them. Tubbo and Tommy exchanged a look. Then, Tubbo’s eyes flicked over Tommy’s shoulders. Widened as his face paled and horror split his features. “Tommy, get down!” He threw himself on top of Tommy.

       All of a sudden, the cave was crashing down around them. Gasping, Tommy grabbed onto Tubbo. Before he could stop him, Tubbo had braced himself over Tommy, pulled him as close as possible. Tubbo was using himself as a shield like Tommy had done for him earlier. Wait, no—

       Tommy reached for his communicator, found the buttons, and he started to type out a message to Wilbur screaming for—

Chapter Text

          When Tubbo opened his eyes, it was to his head pressed against Tommy’s shoulder and a whole lot of pain.

          Groaning, he tried to move. Tried to push himself up. Something was settled on his shoulders. Actually, a lot of something. Whatever this was, it was—

          Wait. Opening his eyes more, Tubbo inhaled slowly. Shifted. There was dark red light coming from somewhere, an oppressive heat that could only come from the Nether. Everything came back in. Not slowly, either. It kind of hit him like a fucking truck. Smacked him in the face. Like Tommy throwing a book at him in the library. They had been in the Nether. They had been trying to…well, actually, they were just hanging out. Mapping out some of the area. Then, they had been caught…by the wither skeletons…

          The cave had started crashing down on them. Tubbo had thrown himself over Tommy. Tried to protect him from the falling rocks. It made sense. Earlier, Tommy had taken the blows for Tubbo from the wither beasts. Had taken the bite to the arm. Now, he was lying unconscious under Tubbo, who had the mountain on his back and needed to get it up so they could breathe.

          Pushing his hands into the ground, Tubbo gritted his teeth. Pushed like he was shoving the ground down under him. The hot rock burnt against his palms and fingers, pebbles scraping the pads of his thumb as he moved. The rocks shifted above him. Panting, Tubbo shook his head. Gritted his teeth. “Come on.” He growled under his breath. “Come on, Tubbo. You can do this. You’re stronger than this.” Squeezing his eyes shut, he inhaled. Exhaled slowly. On the exhale, he pushed up again.

          Above them, there was a groan. Something stabbed into his shoulder, a shard of rock. Screaming, Tubbo jolted. Felt his knees buckle. The rocks dropped down towards them. Shaking his head, Tubbo gasped. Tears blurred his vision. Pain shot through his nerves. The rock shard had driven itself under his shoulder blade, was pushing it up and away from where it was meant to be and tearing into the muscles of his back. Under him, Tommy let out a soft groan. Tipped his head to the side, cheek falling against the rock. Then, slowly, his face twisted. Pinched slightly. His eyes opened. Still pushing against the rock, Tubbo took a slow breath. Blinked slowly. Underneath him, lying on the floor like some sort of broken doll that had been cast aside, Tommy inhaled sharply. Opened his eyes. There was a glaze to the blue, which was already a different color because of the Nether lighting.

          “Tubbo?” Tommy croaked out softly. Blinking, he sniffed once. Coughed. Then, his eyes scanned their little cave. Grimacing, Tubbo braced a knee against the ground. Pushed himself up against the roof, shoving the rocks up again. The rock shard in his back shifted. Shoving deeper into his body, it found something. Pierced it. Pain shot through Tubbo’s chest.

          He didn’t mean to scream.

          He really didn’t.

          But there was also a little rock spine in his spine and he wasn’t sure what it was messing with but it was messing with something. Which left him gasping, copper in his mouth and a shake to his arms. “Tubbo!” Tommy’s voice cut through the sound. Gasping, Tubbo snapped his eyes open. Looked down. Tommy was staring up at him, trying to move. He put his injured hand on the floor. Immediately, he cried out. Fell back. Then, he grabbed onto his arm, pulled it to his chest and squeezed his eyes shut. Shook his head and rasped in breaths. Shaking his head, Tubbo gritted his teeth. Shook his head again. Rasped in a breath of his own.

          “Tommy.” Tubbo forced out weakly. “Tommy, I need you to—I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I know it hurts. I need you to call someone. I can’t.” Opening his eyes, nodding shakily, Tommy let go of his injured hand. He had gone pale. There was blood everywhere. Swallowing, Tubbo watched him. Felt more pressure on his back. His knee hit the ground. Gasping, Tubbo forced himself back into position. He was doing a plank. It was basically just a whole-ass plank. He was planking a mountain. Shifting his foot placement, Tubbo pushed against the mountain more. Pebbles scattered down around them. Everything hurt.

          Fingers shaking, Tommy started typing a message. Maybe to Wilbur. Maybe to someone else. Whoever it was, Tubbo didn’t care. Just as long as they would help.

          Dropping his head forward for a moment, Tubbo let out a wheezing breath and closed his eyes.

+++

          They’d been stuck there for hours.

          Literal hours.

          Teeth gritted, Tubbo kept holding himself. His legs were screaming. Actually, all of his muscles were. The rock shard was driving into his back still, a whole lot more painful than it had been earlier. Blinking, Tubbo glanced around. Panted a few breaths in. Everything hurt.

          “Are you alright?” Tommy asked. He was curled on his side. The wither infection had spread up his neck, paling his skin to an icy shade even in the dark red light of their little cave. Even worse, his veins were showing, teeth gritted in pain. Both of them were in pain. A lot of it, too. Dropping his head to the side, Tommy closed his eyes for a moment. Exhaled slowly. Reaching up, he settled his uninjured hand over his other shoulder. Gritted his teeth and stiffened up.

          “Everything’s going to be fine, Tommy.” Tubbo replied. Opening his eyes, Tommy looked at him.

          “You didn’t answer my question.” Swallowing, Tubbo glanced around. Exhaled slowly. “Tubbo.”

          “I’m fine, Tommy.”

          “You’re not. You’re holding up a mountain. You have a rock dagger stabbing into your chest.”

          “It’s my back. And I’m not the one with a wither infection.” Tubbo glanced around again. They were stuck. Seriously. They were just…stuck where they were. Tommy couldn’t move due to the wither infection. Tubbo couldn’t move because of the collapse and the weight on his back. Arms shaking, Tubbo inhaled again. Pushed himself up again. Shook his head.

          “Tubbo! Tommy!” Someone’s voice called. Raising his head as much as he could, Tubbo looked around. Recognized the voice. Phil.

          “Tubbo!” Schlatt roared. Turning back to Tommy, Tubbo opened his mouth. Meant to tell him they were going to be fine. Except…Tommy was unconscious. Shit. Shit.

          A shadow passed over the light peering into their little cave. Hands carved away at the rocks, and more light spread across their home. Arms shaking, Tubbo glanced back. “Tubbo!” Phil yelled, crouched down with Schlatt. Their eyes flicked over Tubbo and Tommy.

          “Grab Tommy first, he has a wither infection!” Tubbo snapped. Nodding, Phil grabbed Tommy by the ankles. Schlatt helped pull him out of the cave. Dropping his head forwards, Tubbo exhaled shakily. Tommy was out of the cave, he was going to be fine.

          There was a shift, Tubbo felt the rock spire push deeper into his back. His shoulder blade shifted out of place. Eyes snapping open, Tubbo screamed. Pain shot through the right side of his chest, he glanced down. Felt the tear in his chest. Looking down, Tubbo gasped. Spotted the part where the rock spire had pierced through his fucking chest.

          “Tubbo?” Schlatt asked. Panting, Tubbo let his arms shake. Felt heat flush his face, beyond what had already happened with the Nether. Then, his elbows and knees buckled.

          The last thing Tubbo felt was his cheek hitting the rock as he blacked out.

          When he came to, he was lying in grass. Actual Overworld grass. Schlatt had his hand on his cheek, there was blood on his fingers. He had a look to his face. Oh. Resus, Tubbo realized. “Hey, kid. You’re alright. You’re okay.” One of his hands rubbed Tubbo’s leg, by his knee. He wasn’t sure if Schlatt was trying to comfort Tubbo or himself. “Just breathe, kid. We got you. Got some potions into you, got some water into you. Why don’t you get some more water, alright?” Schlatt held the bottle to his lips. Nodding, Tubbo opened his mouth. Let Schlatt help him drink.

          “Tommy.” He suddenly realized. Tried to push himself up. Hands settled on his shoulders, pushed him back down.

          “He’s alright. He’s fine, Tubbo. Just breathe.” Schlatt reassured. “Just keep breathing.” Everything had weird…black spots around it.

          Tubbo passed out again.

Chapter Text

          Tubbo could feel pounding on his chest, numbly.

          What exactly it was, he didn’t know. It was almost…rhythmic, somehow. Thirty beats, even and pretty much nonstop, then a pause. Then the pattern would start up again, continuing on regularly. There were flashes. Someone leaning over him. Two people, actually. Phil and Kristin. Somewhere, Schlatt was yelling, roaring Tubbo’s name almost desperately. Like he was trying to get Tubbo’s attention. But he sounded…muffled, somehow. It was almost like he wasn’t really there. Like he was somewhere else entirely.

          “Come on, mate.” Phil murmured, leaning over him. There was an odd glow to his hair and eyes, bright light behind him forming a halo over his head in white. His hair was actually shining, like thin gold thread in sunlight, and his eyes were glowing blue. Beside him, Kristin’s eyes and hair were shimmering with lighter streaks of brown against the dark mahogany tones already there. “Stay with us, Tubbo. You need to stay with us. Kristin—”

          “I know, I know.” Her hands settled on either side of Tubbo’s head. Eyes fluttering open all the way, he stared at her. Blinked once. “There you are, sweetheart.” She and Phil had the same worried look. Something crossed Phil’s expression. He glanced at Kristin. Shaking his head, Phil shifted how he was sitting. Leaned over Tubbo again. “Hold on sweetheart. We have you.”

          “Kris—”

          “He’s going to be fine, Phil.” Kristin’s fingers left the sides of Tubbo’s head. Strung between her fingers were strands of dark golden-brown magic. Whispers of purple shot through the strands, glittering and glowing and sparking like little stars. Eventually, a pulse of brighter brown passed through the strands themselves. Kristin turned her wrists slightly. Her eyes were glowing with the same light thrown between her palms. Staring up at her, Tubbo frowned slightly. Realized for the first time that he wasn’t breathing. He didn’t remember when he stopped. “I have him.”

          Pain shot through Tubbo’s chest, and he gasped in a breath.

          It tore through his throat for a second. Blinking, Tubbo grabbed weakly for Phil’s arm. Felt someone cup the back of his neck, pull him a little bit closer and hush him. “Tubbo! Tubbo!” Schlatt was yelling. Turning, Kristin—Phil was holding him, that was whose hands were cradling Tubbo to their chest right then—made a quick gesture. Behind her, Tubbo’s gaze met Schlatt’s. He was staring at him, worry twisting his features. Quackity had a hand on Schlatt’s shoulder, was apparently holding him back somehow. Looking over, Schlatt visibly swallowed. Quackity smiled reassuringly. Then, Schlatt glanced at Quackity. Nodded. He stepped away, and Kristin moved. Blocked Quackity and Schlatt from Tubbo’s sight.

          “Tommy.” He whispered. Glanced around. “Where’s Tommy?” He asked again. Gently, Phil rubbed Tubbo’s chest. Which hurt. Not Phil touching him. No, what hurt was Tubbo’s whole chest, his ribs and his sternum. They were throbbing, it felt like he was being stabbed by that shard of rock all over again. “Phil, please, tell me he’s not—”

          “Tommy’s fine, he’s fine. His arm is fine, his hand is fine. Most of it was just blood loss and some mild hypovolemic shock.” Tubbo stared at Phil. Clutched onto his shirt still. Swallowing, Phil slowly scooped Tubbo up. “Blood loss shock, basically. But it’s alright, he’s got more severe of a reaction than you do because he’s avian. More blood to lose means more severe of a reaction, since his heart is faster than yours is. We got him stitched up and got him some milk and nursed it into him, he’s going to be just fine once we get him a transfusion. Alright?” Shakily, Tubbo nodded. His cheek thumped against Phil’s shoulder. Closing his eyes, he exhaled. Something settled onto his back, and he opened his eyes as he was moved. Phil had put him on a stretcher.

          They shared a reassuring smile. Phil stepped to the side, nodded. Following the movement, Tubbo spotted Tommy. He was lying on a stretcher, too. George was kneeling by him, Dream at Tommy’s head with his eyes glowing bright green. Admin magic, Tubbo realized, a spurt of relief flooding through him. Sighing, he closed his eyes. Looked back to Phil.

          “Take care of him if something happens to me. Okay?” He croaked out. Smiling, Phil bent down. Brushed Tubbo’s hair from his face. Closing his eyes, Tubbo let out another shaky exhale as Phil kissed his forehead.

          “Nothing’s going to happen to you, Tubs. We’re going to take care of you just fine.” Phil began. Then, softly, he added, “But since you’re worried, I promise. I’ll take care of him, I swear it.”

          There was a slight thrum in the words. Made sense, though.

          Deals with admins—with immortals—had effects on the world.

          Smiling, Tubbo settled his hands over his stomach. Then, he closed his eyes. Let himself drop back into the shadows of unconsciousness again. He woke up a couple more times. Mostly to Kristin being beside him. Gentle hands on his cheek. Reassurances from the others—Schlatt, Quackity, Bad and Skeppy, Dream and George and Sapnap, and Niki and Ranboo and Puffy all stopped by, too. So did Tina, actually. There were the others, he knew they showed up and saw flashes of Punz and Purpled watching over him while he was lying in the infirmary bed. He even remembered Schlatt at some point settling him back into the infirmary bed.

          Schlatt had shared a smile with him, and then he sat with Tubbo until he fell asleep again (willingly this time).

+++

          Tommy opened his eyes to a dark room and cool bedsheets under him.

          He’d mostly been dreaming for the past…whatever. During that, he and Dream had walked in the dreamscape. Which, hah. Dream in the dreamscape. But no, this was admin fuckery. Dream had pulled him along to a little dream version of Niki’s bakery, had him sit down while Dream made him some hot chocolate and cookies and they sat there. Ate and chattered away.

          The wither infection was bad. Really, really bad. Sure, they’d gotten Tommy milk, had him drink it, it just…wasn’t in time. Too much poison, too little blood, Sapnap had called it. Of course he knew how to work with wither infection. All the Netherborn did. They had to, to survive after their world changed. After the wither monsters were made. So, Dream had sat with him. Kept Tommy’s soul sitting comfortably in his body, kept his brain working so they didn’t need to worry about the lines on the EEG any more than they did about the pattern of the EKG on Tommy’s chest.

          The whole time, Dream really was just an older brother. Of course he was. The bastard. He ruffled Tommy’s hair, led him around the dreamscape of the server as they ran and joked and practiced. Dream wanted to talk to him about something. What, Tommy didn’t know. Still, from the way Dream looked at him…it was something serious. Really, really serious.

          But for the time being, Tommy was just content not to know.

          Staring at the ceiling, Tommy shifted. Winced as he moved. Turning to the side, he spotted Tubbo not too far from him. “Tubbo.” He murmured. Honestly, he didn’t mean to speak. But he just…he did. Pushing himself up, ignoring the pain shooting through his shaking limbs, Tommy dragged himself out of bed. Tore off the leads for the EKG and the EEG. So what if someone came to check out what was going on? Tommy was going to Tubbo. Besides, he made sure not to accidentally tear out his IV or anything important, his heart was obviously beating and his brain was obviously working if he had managed to crawl over to Tubbo’s bedside.

          Pushing himself onto the bed, Tommy carefully arranged his IV and wires so as not to mess with Tubbo’s own medical stuff. Then, he carefully flopped down, curled up around Tubbo. There was a groan. Tubbo’s eyes opened partway. Grumpily, Tubbo seized Tommy by the front of his shirt, dragged him close, and mumbled something about fighting him for invading Tubbo’s personal space. Huffing softly, Tommy just let Tubbo do what he needed to feel in control. Besides, Tubbo wasn’t serious about beating him up.

          Hopefully.

          Actually, since it was so late, and since Tommy had interrupted Tubbo’s sleep, Tubbo might actually fight him for it. Which, fair. Waking someone up from their much-needed sleep was traitorous. Worthy of the worst punishment.

          Still, Tubbo didn’t seem to mind right then. Instead, he had stretched himself out all the way, kicking Tommy in the shin as he did. It might have actually been his form of revenge. Still. He wasn’t exactly beating the shit out of Tommy. Yet. The yet was probably pretty important. Actually, really important.

          There was movement at the door. Lifting his head, Tommy looked over. Spotted Ranboo standing in the doorway. Sighing, Ranboo shook his head. Then, he strode over to Tommy and Tubbo. Settled down on Tubbo’s other side. There was a moment where Tubbo grumbled again. Turned and shot Ranboo a look. Then, his shoulders relaxed slightly, and he flopped back down to the bed. Let Ranboo and Tommy lie next to him on the bed. Apparently, his touch starvation had beat out his touch aversion, or maybe he just didn’t mind Tommy and Ranboo touching him and was just going to protest it out of practice. Something to ask later. Preferably when they were a bit more recovered. A lot more recovered, maybe.

          Something soft and leathery settled over Tommy’s shoulder. Jolting, he looked down. Glanced to Ranboo. A small smile crossed Ranboo’s face, sheepish and lit by the moonlight. At some point while Tommy was out, Ranboo had gained fangs. Not slightly sharper canines. Actual, carnivore fangs. Like a snake’s. Or…like a dragon’s. Tommy realized, blinking. That wasn’t the only thing about Ranboo that had changed, either. For one, he was freaking purring.

          For another, Ranboo had wings—one feathery and one draconic.