#pls rb tumblr eats fanfic for breakfast

[dreamteamspace]

I have a writing idea this is all of ya’lls fault /lh

Tubbo and Tommy speak before the festival, finally adressing the elephant in the room: Schlatt. It’s time to pick a side.

Canon divergence.

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“And I’m gonna get to hold a SPEECH!”

“That’s great Tubbo.” Tommy’s voice falls flat, walking quickly with a stiff back. Since they’ve reached the forest and are finally out of earshot, Tubbo’s been going non-stop.

“Schlatt put me in charge of the decorations, too. Do you think a game where you can dip yourself in water for refreshment is a good idea? Karl told me it might be a bit much.“

“Sure.” Tommy flatlines back, holding some branches out of the way to let Tubbo deeper into the undergrowth.

Tubbo goes quiet, watching their friend make way for them as they continue on deeper.

The silence between them is filled with the crunching of leaves beneath their feet and the rustling of the trees in the wind. Tubbo stares at Tommy’s hunched back as they follow, trying to imagine the storm that must be contained in the young teen right now. Tommy must be so cold in his t-shirt right now, with autumn right around the corner.

Tommy stops abruptly, and Tubbo almost runs into him.

Tommy turns around to face his smaller friend.

Tubbo expects Tommy to look angry, to get an earful of how bad Schlatt is and how terrible the festival is going to be. Internally, they’re ready to calm Tommy down and tell him it won’t be all that bad, and that they’ll make sure to send back the clothes Pogtopia needs for the winter, and how everything will work out-

but Tommy doesn’t look angry. He looks exhausted. Exhausted and worn down, conflicted, thin frame dressed too lightly for the weather.

Tommy places his hands on Tubbo’s shoulders reassuringly.

“Tubbo, be honest with me.”

“Y-yes?”

Tommy looks down to Tubbo’s green, fluffed jacket.

“Are you... happier?”

Tubbo looks at their friend, unsure what to feel.

“I...”

Tommy looks up at them, firm and determined, trying his best to show that he’s ready for whatever the answer is.

“Please just... be honest.”

Tubbo stares at him. They don’t like conflict. They don’t like seeing their best friend so broken, so cold, so thin-

“I’m... taken care of.“

“Is he... Is Schlatt... better than Wilbur?”

Tubbo can see the way Tommy had to ring the words out of his own mouth, force them out of his chest. There’s a bit of fear in his eyes that Tubbo hasn’t seen in years. Fear that everything they fought for, everything they believed-

Tubbo knows they have to be honest. Maybe, if they can convince Tommy...

“Well, I haven’t know him for very long, but... he’s... kindof nice. He trusts me with all these tasks and makes sure I have everything for them. He said I’m a really good builder.“

Tubbo grows quieter and quieter as he talks, and Tommy listens, taking in the information with a deep breath. He knows Wilbur never gave Tubbo the attention he should have, with how much effort Tubbo placed into everything he helped them with. Come to think of it, they all spent such a long time ringing for Wilbur’s attention, his appreciation, his goodwill, his trust, his respect.

Tommy and Tubbo look at eachother in silence for a moment.

Tommy lets go of Tubbo’s shoulders, taking his hands back as he rethinks everything he knows.

But there’s one thing he knows, more than anything: He’ll do anything to make sure Tubbo is happy.

And that happiness is at stake right now.

“Tubbo.”

“Yeah?”

“You know that... you coming here puts that at risk, right?”

“Well...”

“What if Schlatt finds out that you’ve been helping us? That you’ve been visiting Pogtopia, and giving us stuff? Information?” What if you’re forced to come back to Wilbur to endure the pain you left behind all over again? He can’t bring himself to say that last part, but it hangs in the space between them, thickening the air.

“Tommy...”

Tommy turns his head to the side to hide his hurt face expression. Tubbo deserves better than this. They deserve better than Wilbur.

“Tubbo, you don’t have to do this. You don’t have to betray Schlatt for us.” He sounds far more confident than he sounds, trying to convince himself along the way.

He looks back at Tubbo, face softer. “We pulled you into this, but you... you deserve to be happy, okay?“ Tommy’s voice cracks at the last word, and Tubbo can feel the vulnerability of their friend almost like his own.

“Well what about you guys? I can’t just leave you!”

“Tubbo, listen to me. You should get to be happy, and we’ll figure this out somehow. You’re young, and-”

“You’re young too! You’re like, half a year older than me!”

Tommy’s face hardens. “I need to stay with Wilbur. He needs the stability. He needs somebody to stop him from doing something very, very stupid. Tubbo, Wilbur’s going crackers! If I don’t hold him back, he could ruin everything!”

Tubbo raises their voice in protest. “But- what about you?! Tommy, I’m not leaving you alone with this. Do you hear me! I’m not leaving you with... with Wilbur like that!”

Even when they get louder, Tubbo’s protests have something caring, something insistant. Tommy stares back at his friend, and Tubbo’s chest hurts at the water they can see in Tommy’s eyes.

Tubbo steps closer and takes Tommy’s hands, still suspended in the air, holding them tightly. “Tommy, I’m not leaving you alone on this.”

Tommy stares back at them, hurt and vulnerable.

Tubbo sighs, and lets go of his hands to hug their friend.

Tommy returns the hug, squeezing them tightly, face pressed into the warmer jacket. It’s so warm. The wind is so cold.

They stand like that for a while, standing out of earshot of Manburg and out of earshot of Pogtopia, somewhere in the forest, somewhere in the middle between both sides, suspended in their moment of comfort.

They part, and Tommy sees something unsure in Tubbo’s eyes. He stops, looking at his best friend.

“Tubbo?”

Tubbo clasps their hands together nervously. They take a deep breath before letting it out again. Now or never.

“Tommy, what if... you came to Manburg with me?“

Tommy blinks, unsure where this is going. “Wha- What do you mean?”

“Schlatt... okay, listen to me for a minute.”

Tubbo can see Tommy focus, eternally grateful for Tommy’s full attention. “Okay.”

“Schlatt... I don’t know if he’s better than Wilbur. I just know living in Manburg right now is better than living in that ravine. Schlatt doesn’t like Niki, and he exiled you, and he... he already knows, Tommy.” There’s some fear, some desperacy in Tubbo’s voice.

Tommy’s brain goes blank. “What do you mean?”

“He knows about my visits to Pogtopia. He knows. The festival is a test, Tommy.”

Tommy’s eyes grow wide, his voice quiet with disbelief. “What?”

“He wants to test my loyalty. He doesn’t know what, but he knows Wilbur has something planned for the festival, and he wants to see what I’ll do when that happens, and if I’ll try to stop it. If not, then...”

Tommy’s voice shakes ever so lightly. “Then what?”

“...I don’t know. Maybe I’ll be exiled too.”

Tommy’s hands clench into fists on instinct, anger and energy bubbeling up to the surface at the thought of somebody hurting Tubbo.

Tubbo sees their friend’s face expression, hurriedly cutting in, knowing it’s now or never. “But I have an idea. If we both just... go to Schlatt, and tell him we’re on his side, and save the festival, maybe he’ll trust us?“

Tubbo looks at their friend carefully, knowing the chances of that proposal sitting right with Tommy are not high.

“What?! But he’s- He’s no better than Wilbur!”

“I know, but even if we take him down... maybe we can do that from the inside. With Niki. And Fundy. And maybe Eret?”

Even through his anger-tinted glasses, it’s hard to miss the hope in Tubbo’s voice. They just want them all to work together again. To be together again. As a family.

Tommy freezes. He seems to think for a long moment. His voice is quiet, more mumbled to himself than anything. “We would save L’Manburg.”

“What?”

Tommy just shakes his head. L’Manburg wouldn’t be blown up. They’d have Niki again. Fundy is sure to still be on their side once they’re no longer with Wilbur, right? And Eret... anger still coils in his stomach at the thought. Maybe without Eret. Or they’d have to do something damned good to prove themself to them...

“...Tommy?”

Tommy zones back in, knowing deep down there aren’t many other options they could take. What if he can’t stop Wilbur from blowing everything up on his own?

“What about Wilbur?”

Tubbo talks quietly, choosing his words wisely. “I talked to Niki about that, and she told me... Wilbur is an adult. He... he lead the revolution, right? And we... have to take care of ourselves too.” Tubbo looks up at his friend, pleading him with their eyes. “This isn’t just about Wilbur, Tommy. A-and we’re,” Tubbo gulps, “we’re kids. Niki told me that... she doesn’t think we should be responsible for all this. We grew up in a war, and maybe... we need to catch up on some stuff before we’re all grown, and it’s too late, you know?”

Tommy’s shoulders sink, eyes wide and another wave of exhaustion washing over him. He rubs his face with his hands. He doesn’t want to go back to Wilbur. He doesn’t want to have to convince him to stay sane. He doesn’t want to have to listen to Wilbur tell him he’s never going to be in charge of anything.

He feels guilt, immesurable guilt even at just considering this. But if he doesn’t, and he fails, Tubbo will be with them in that ravine, stuck hiding along cold stone walls. Manburg, or what’s left of L’Manburg, will be no more. There will be nothing to fight for.

And he knows, as the only one who knows of Wilbur’s plan, that he’s the only one that can stop this from happening.

He takes his hands down, watching Tubbo patiently awaiting his answer.

His vision blurrs again as a cold wind grasps into his skin, making him shiver. He wants to eat Niki’s pastries again, and make wood swords with Tubbo to play with, and weave flower crowns and get to have his turn at discussions.

He’s tired of hiding. He’s tired of freezing. He’s tired of having to shed blood to get his point across.

He takes a half step towards Tubbo, and Tubbo wordlessly hugs him again.

Tommy blinks his vision back to being clear. He has to stop Wilbur, and he can’t do that on his own.

“Tubbo?”

“Yeah?”

“What if... he says no? A-and I’m still exiled?”

Tubbo pauses for a moment before answering confidently. “Then I’ll come with you. It’s both of us or neither.”

“You’re right.” Tommy squeezes Tubbo tighter, a fresh, new, raw resolve forming within. “It’s both of us or neither.“

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