Please give us the a n g s t
I will. Keep in mind I’ve only seen one custody battle when I was really young, and even then I wasn’t really involved with it, so sorry if this seems really inaccurate, but then again when has anything this fandom been accurate?? Anyways.
One day while restocking shelves, Tubbo runs into his aunt that lives across the country. Of course, this makes him very happy at first because she was his dead mother’s sister, and he hadn’t heard from her in years. During his lunch break they head over to the sandwich shop to catch up, and the staff there don’t try and interact too much because even they can tell this is important
About twenty minutes in his aunt asks where they live because she tried visiting but somebody else lived in their house now. Then Tubbo’s like “what? You don’t know?” And proceeds to tell her that his parents died years ago, and how he just thought she couldn’t make it to the funeral and wasn’t able to take him in. Turns out nobody told his aunt about it, and the only people who were able to contact her died
This of course upsets her even more than if his parents just chose to ignore her calls and messages, and asks who was watching over him now, seeming a bit more upset when he told her his blood father. Between one moment and the next, his aunt was now close to crying and talking very loudly about how she should’ve been called and how she could’ve taken him in, and Tubbo’s just trying to reassure her as the staff of the sandwich shop watch in concern. Eventually she says “don’t worry, I’ll fix this” before leaving, confusing Tubbo very much and Charlie and Ted wish they got at least Tommy’s number as they watch Tubbo just sit there a bit dazed and also close to tears
Charlie helps him back to the grocery store and all of the staff notice something doesn’t seem right with Tubbo as he just skates around aimlessly, stuck in his own thoughts
About a week later at the house, Philza gets a call and nobody really thinks anything of it until they hear Philza’s voice slowly raise in volume and how anger seemed to seep into him. Nobody really can make out anything he’s saying until he shouts “HE’S HAPPY HERE! I’M SORRY MISS, BUT IT’S NOT HAPPENING. GOOD DAY.” And he hangs up. Everyone else is confused, but Tubbo feels the pieces click into place as Philza’s gaze lingers on him a bit too long at dinner
Another week passes before Philza and Mumza are angrily whispering to each other one night in the kitchen, with all four of the sons watching quietly outside the door. Tubbo feels his heart sink as he watches them look through a packet of legal documents and papers and whisper his aunt’s name. He quietly races back up the stairs, unaware of how his brothers watch him. He hides under his bed until morning
It’s later in the day when Philza pulls him aside and asks him some questions about his aunt, and after getting through that informs him about the custody situation and how they might have to go to court. Tubbo doesn’t cry. He doesn’t know why he would, because there’s no reason to, right??
They manage to keep the other three in the dark for a while before Philza tells them over dinner one day, and all of their expressions become scared. Nobody’s surprised how Tommy holds Tubbo after dinner, the other two joining in on the cuddle pile later on
The staff at the grocery store notice the way SBI are fidgety, how Philza seems tired and the boys are constantly close to tears. Meanwhile Tubbo seems distant, not really processing anything. It’s not until Philza tells Tubbo that they were going to court that Tubbo finally breaks down, whispering into his talkie a faint “B-Breakdown Budd-y..?” On top of the freezers before sobbing as Ranboo shows up and tries his best to help
When they do go to court they seem stiff. Techno, Wilbur and Tommy weren’t allowed to go on the first and second day, and nobody but those three would know how they did nothing but cry and nervously wait for them to get back. The rest of the days they do go, if only to vouch that Tubbo was happy and healthy with them and silently pleading they’d let Tubbo stay.
About a month in, they let Tubbo stay with his aunt across the country for a week or two, just to see how well his aunt would take care of him before deciding Tubbo’s fate. Tubbo cries and clings to Tommy for as long as he can before he’s forced into a car and can only watch with teary eyes as the house and his family get farther and farther away
It’s only then that the staff at the store are informed of what’s happening, and they’re all really sad and scared because Tubbo might be forced to move a country away from them, and their chaos suddenly decreases which worries the customers
Meanwhile during Tubbo’s stay at his aunt’s, she tries very hard to make him happy, but notices how he’s distant and sad and doesn’t really leave the house unless she makes him. He doesn’t even wear his rollerblades around the house like he used to when he was little
She of course makes him sit down and asks what’s wrong. Tubbo doesn’t even look up at her as his eyes water for the millionth time since he got there, saying quietly “this isn’t L’manburg. This isn’t the SMP. This isn’t my house on H’ardcorr Road. You’re not my mother or father. You’re not my dad or mum. You’re not Technoblade. You’re not Wilbur. You’re not Tommy. You are my aunt who lives miles away, who I haven’t spoken to in years. This is a town which isn’t my home. You are a person who isn’t my home.”
That’s when his aunt looks back on all this time, and really thinks about actions or expressions she had written off or thought was something different. She hadn’t seen Tubbo happy since she first arrived. But it wasn’t because of the family who took him in like she assumed. It was because she was going to take him away from them. Suddenly she sees why Philza and Mumza glare at her, sees why their sons can’t look at her face for too long before almost crying, sees why Tubbo seems so distant, and hesitant to really choose a side in it all
When they go back to L’manburg, she gives up on the case. Tells the court that she doesn’t think she’s ready to take in a child like she thought she was. Smiles over at the shocked parents on the other side as she says Tubbo was already happy where he was. They decide to leave everything as it was legally and financially, and she leaves after that session with a hug to Tubbo and a promise to call soon
When they get back home, it’s obvious the other three are happy to see him, but also are scared out of their minds. When Philza tells them that Tubbo’s aunt dropped the case and that Tubbo was staying they just hug Tubbo and cry a lot, and I mean a lot and stay cuddled on the couch. When they tell the rest of staff the next day they also are very happy and are just hugging him while crying to the point they need to close the store
The customers are relieved when the store opens again the next day and everything is back to normal. Or mostly normal, anyways