it’s 11:41 PM in my timezone i’m still on time i promise
I haven’t written in a while, so this was fun! I hope there’s enough comfort adshjkasf
no warnings? i think? kindly inform me if there are :D
prompt: sizeshifter!tommy saving beeduo from danger with hurt/comfort and fluff (possibly noms)
———
Nearing their fifth hour in this forest, Ranboo squints at the sky. Really, it can’t be called sunset anymore. It’s well and truly night, evidenced by the silver moonlight streaming through the leaves. For all Tubbo boasted about his navigational skills, the two of them are still lost.
"This was a terrible idea," Ranboo mutters. They’ve passed this tree three times, he’s pretty sure. The same L-shaped mark is on its trunk.
"Don’t be such a downer," Tubbo scolds. He dangles a basket in front of himself, admiring the selection of brilliant colors and floral varieties. “Look at all the flowers we got. Tommy’s going to be thrilled!”
Ranboo hums a grudging agreement. They have practically enough flowers to start a boutique. Tommy had better appreciate the suffering they’re going through to get these. When he gets home, he swears, the first thing he’s going to do is take a nice, long nap.
But first, he has to get home.
And that prospect seems further and further off with each passing hour.
There’s movement in the bushes, so Ranboo raises the lantern. Light flickers off a wolf's gleaming eyes, and his heart skips a beat.
“Uh, Tubbo?”
“I’m trying,” he shoots back, annoyed. His head is tilted up, searching the stars, which means he isn’t paying—
The wolf lunges.
He dives to the side, lantern clattering to the ground. “Look out!” he yells. A startled cry follows his exclamation, which he hopes means Tubbo got out of the way in time. Scrambling to his feet, he prepares to either fight or run. The wolf readies for another attack, circling around. Then, it sniffs the air, and freezes. Ranboo waves his arms, trying to shoo it away, and it... works? The wolf turns tail and flees, a last soft whimper drifting on the wind.
Wow. He didn’t think wolves were such cowards.
Ranboo rushes over to Tubbo’s side, helping him stand. Neither realize, in their adrenaline and panic-fueled rush, that the ground is trembling. The ground is trembling. A shadow blocks out the moon, towering over them, and his breath catches. There’s no way it’s what he thinks it is. These woods are clear for miles, have been for years, and yet. Yet.
The dim light of a crescent moon highlights a giant. Ranboo thinks he stops breathing for a minute, tightly gripping Tubbo’s hand as they stare up, and up, and up.
"Shit, that was close," the giant mutters. The two humans stay as still as possible, hoping to remain unseen.
If there’s any god out there, who has ever had any goodness in them, Ranboo silently prays. I’m sorry I called you stupid two years ago. Please don’t let it find us. Please.
Its head turns in their direction, and from the reflection of the moonlight, Ranboo sees its eyes scan right past them. For a moment, he thinks they’ve gotten away.
The sweeping gaze snaps back. "What are you two doing out here," a voice rumbles, and now he knows they’re done for. The voice sounds… familiar? He brushes it off—his memory may be bad but there’s no way he would forget knowing a giant. Tubbo breaks the stare-off with a yelped "run!"
A strangled noise escapes Ranboo’s throat as he tumbles into the hand that has just crashed down in front of him. Judging by the nearby scream a few seconds later, Tubbo’s escape attempt was equally as unsuccessful.
“Please,” Ranboo doesn’t know what he’s begging for, as he’s lifted helplessly up to the giant’s face. “Please, no—don’t—”
"Shh," it whispers. "It's me." Enormous fingers tap one of their—his, Tubbo’s, and Tommy’s—secret patterns.
Tubbo makes the connection first, expression transforming into one of dumbfounded disbelief. "Tommy?"
The night is too dark to see Tommy’s (?) face. Peering up, Ranboo only glimpses the shadow of his jaw as he turns his head, scanning the trees. "That’s me." When he speaks, his teeth flash in the bare moonlight.
“You’re… you’re a giant.” Tubbo’s declaration is tinged with the same wonder Ranboo feels, as he dazedly tries to process his (maybe?) friend’s—size? Species?
In all honesty, he’s just confused.
Tubbo squeaks as he’s slid onto the same palm as Ranboo. The hand cups them closer, pressing them against Tommy's chest, where the thrumming of his heartbeat can be both felt and heard.
He risks a glance at the ground far below them, passing by at a dizzying speed. Nausea passes over him and he swallows hard, tightening his grip on Tommy's fingers. The same fingers that had delicately braided his and Tubbo’s friendship bracelets, that had run through his hair just yesterday, when they were the same size.
They’ve always left Tommy to his own mysterious devices, but Ranboo thinks it’s about time he gives them a long-overdue explanation.
For his size, Tommy’s stride is surprisingly smooth. On the journey to... wherever they're being taken, Ranboo is alarmed to hear Tubbo suppress a yelp of pain. "You didn't say you were hurt!" Ranboo hisses.
"I'm not!" Tubbo denies, but he can't hold in the pained gasp at another shuffle. Ranboo pokes at his ankle—hot to the touch, and definitely swollen— as Tubbo grumbles and swats him away.
Ranboo steels himself to take a deep breath. "Tommy?" he calls, ignoring Tubbo's shushing. He feels a hitch in Tommy's step before the fingers reflexively curl more securely around them. "Could, um, could you be more careful? Tubbo's hurt," he adds, in case it helps.
And- and he can feel Tommy's heartbeat quicken. "Where?" he demands, the question vibrating through him. Ranboo's mind involuntarily compares it to the soft rumble of a cat. A very large, very dangerous cat.
He jolts out of his thoughts when he realizes he’s probably been silent for too long. “Um, he- ankle. Broke his ankle.”
“Sprained,” Tubbo corrects.
“Dislocated,” Ranboo amends, because that level of swelling in such a short amount of time can’t be just a sprain. Plus, Tubbo is a filthy liar when it comes to his own health, and Ranboo isn’t afraid to snitch. The chest behind them shakes with restrained laughter.
“We’ll get that fixed up when I get back home,” Tommy promises.
For some reason, that doesn’t raise the level of alarm it should. They’re being taken to what some may call a giant’s lair, for who knows how long, for said giant to do who-knows-what with them. And where, exactly, Tommy lives has always been a closely-guarded secret.
It’s much warmer here in Tommy's hands. Warmth seeps into his skin, relaxing stiff muscles and soothing the chill that had overtaken his body. It’s as if a soft, thick blanket, like the ones he sees but can never afford at the market, has been draped over him. He imagines letting the comfort lull him to sleep.
He shouldn’t. He really shouldn’t, but… “Tubbo?” he whispers, squinting in the darkness. Only soft breathing comes from his direction. Well, if Tubbo feels safe enough (even if he’s never been the sanest of people.) Tommy… hasn’t given them a reason to fear him.
They’re friends.
Ranboo puts all his trust in that.
+ some bits of art i would have completed, were i not so temporally challenged!
this is my piece for the mcyt g/t exchange! @leyfaire (tumblr wont let me tag you for some reason :'D,,)
i ended up writing a bit for this as well so that (plus some other drawings) are all under the cut! i hope you enjoy! 💛
tw: canon typical swearing, very brief mention of a past panic attack
He thinks he's haunted.
I can work with that.
Holding back laughter as he continued to listen in on the conversation, Tommy let his mind wander, settling in against the stack of books and papers.
He had gotten pretty lucky with this human. Forgetful, a little messy, very fun to fuck with. Recently he had taken to setting random items close to the edge of shelves and letting the human's footsteps do the work.
gummygunk
2087
snowghoul
tangentwithtanner
dededos