Kris

He had left you standing frozen in the living room, your shoulders tense as your throat and eyes burned with unshed tears. You had hoped, waited for him to come back, silent guilt on his face and a quiet apology exchanged between both of you. But when a minute passed, and then five, and then ten and there was still no sign of Tubbo’s return, you found yourself crumbling to the ground as a broken sob fell from your lips.

You couldn’t be sure just how long you had been on the floor for but by the time you had heard the front door open, you had fallen slack, your head resting on your folded arms against your knees, a dull ache spreading from your temples to your upper neck. You didn’t tense as the door clicked closed with a gentle call of “hey, I’m home”. It was Ranboo.

A concerned noise fell from his lips, you assumed he finally caught sight of your form against the couch. “Hey. Hey, what’s wrong?” His voice was soft as he quickly put down the bag over his shoulder and rushed over, dropping to kneel in front of you. “Y/N, what happened?”

He was met with silence at first, but you couldn’t tell if it was because you couldn’t find your voice or couldn’t find the words to say. That seemed to heighten his panic, large hands reaching out to tilt your head up, ignoring the sting that spread across his palms as skin met still wet cheeks. “Y/N?”

When your eyes were forced to meet his, a tightness spread through your chest at the worry clear on his face. With a shaky sigh, you finally found your voice. “Tubbo and I got into a fight and I- I don’t know.” Your voice wavered as the image of him slamming the door replayed in your mind. “I got- I got spooked? I don’t know, he’s never been that pissed at me before and he’s never stormed out like that without coming back and-” You struggled to catch your breath as tears began to gather again, your eyes burning as you tried to keep them from falling. “I don’t know what to do.”

Ranboo hadn’t tried to stop your rambling, being all too familiar with the need to just let your mind run its course. When you finally fell silent apart from shaky breaths, he slowly pulled you into his arms, letting your forehead fall against his shoulder and thin fingers tangled into your hair. “You don’t have to do anything,” he responded, giving a shake of his head. “I- I know that it feels like you do but it’s- It’s not really your job to. Tubbo will come back later when he’s blown off some steam and then we can talk about whatever the hell happened, okay?” You gave a silent nod, your arms encircling his waist as you sunk into his warm embrace.

An easy silence settled between the two of you as you sat on the floor, scarred fingers combing through unkempt hair and smaller hands curling and uncurling in the soft fabric of his shirt.

It wasn’t hard to see the rift that had formed between Karl, Sapnap, and yourself and Quackity. You wish you knew why it formed but you couldn’t think of a reason. One day you were all happy, bright smiles and warm embraces and rings set on your fingers to be a placeholder for a future promise. The next, Karl was forgetting and Sapnap was hurting and Quackity was nowhere to be found.

You didn’t know where your fourth had disappeared to until a passing conversation with Foolish. Most of the conversation left you. All you could remember was a mention of “Las Nevadas” and “Quackity”. You had quickly cut the conversation short, offering an apology to the totem before rushing off to pack your bag for the walk out to the other side of the SMP.

You didn’t say anything about this to Karl and Sapnap. Maybe you should have but all that was on your mind was seeing Quackity again and bringing him home.

The long walk seemed shorter than it really was. Maybe it was the nerves or the anxiety or the hope that things would go well. You would never really be able to pinpoint why exactly.

You didn’t stop until you were met with the sight of Las Nevadas, a sharp exhale falling from your lips. The city, the nation, was huge. It only made your anxiety skyrocket. Had you really been away from Q for so long that he managed to do all of this? No. No, you couldn’t let your nerves get the best of you now. You shook out your arms and hands, forcing yourself further into the nation, hoping to find some kind of sign of your partner.

“Quackity?” You called out, your grip on your bag tight as you walked alongside the large fountain that sat in the center of the road. “Q? Are you here?” Your eyes flickered around the area, ignoring anything that wasn’t a sign of him.

“Why are you here, Y/N?”

You quickly turned, your heart pounding as you took in the sound of his voice. He was alive. He was here. When your gaze landed on Quackity, tears immediately gathered, relief beyond words washing over you.

“I’m- I’m here for you,” you told him, your voice shaky. “We didn’t know where you went. We didn’t know what happened. I was so fucking worried something happened to you.” You choked back a cry as you took a step towards him. You were never really sure how you missed the hardened look on his face. The hurt and betrayal he must’ve felt at your words. “But I finally got a lead and I came here as soon as I could and fuck, I wish I was here sooner.”

“Then why weren’t you?” His question caused you to freeze.

“What?”

“Why weren’t you here sooner? It wasn’t like you couldn’t ask around. Like I was hiding from you,” he replied, his eyebrows drawn together and his voice monotone. “I’ve been here the whole fucking time, Y/N. You could’ve looked for me sooner.”

“I- I wanted to, angel, I did. But there’s been so much going on with Karl and Sap and I’m only one person,” you tried to explain. You knew it sounded pathetic, you did. But you were one person trying to help too many people. You could only do so much. “But I’m here now and I found you.” You continued your walk to him, unshed tears finally falling as your voice grew thick and your throat tightened. “I don’t want to pull you from this, I don’t. But- But please. Come home, Quackity. There’s been such an empty space without you and I can’t-”

An axe blade to your throat cut off your words, panic rushing through your body. You stilled, your eyes wide and hands shaking.

“Q-Quackity, please-”

“No. Shut the fuck up,” he snapped, his gaze burning through your skull. “Do you really think you can come looking for me after months and expect some sappy words are going to make me want to “come home”? That’s not how this shit works, Y/N. You don’t get to look for me and try to bring me back when it’s convenient. Not when I’ve been hurting and alone for months.” Though the axe didn’t do more than apply pressure, you didn’t dare speak. “I would rather lock myself in that goddamn vault with Dream and let him kill and revive me over and over and over again than go back with you. You betrayed me. You’re not walking back into my life now.”

Silence fell over the two of you which was quickly broken by a hiccuped sob from you as you slowly raised a hand to grip onto his axe, ignoring the way the blade cut into your palm. Quackity’s eyes flickered across your face before falling on your now bleeding hand.

“Leave, Y/N. Go.”

You didn’t hesitate to stumble back as he withdrew his axe, not sparing him another glance as you rushed off out of the country.

You missed the way his face fell and he had to force himself from crumbling to the ground as your form retreated.

As you rushed back home, the ring that sat on a chain around your neck began to feel like burning lead, a scorching reminder of what just broke. What you let fall apart.

It wasn’t something that he regretted and he knew that he never would regret it. He loved Shroud more than anything and he knew he could be a parent. Despite his young age, he knew how to take care of others. He had just underestimated how much work it took.

Things had been smooth for the most part as Shroud found their way into his family and they found a steady routine. Nothing was wrong. Until Tommy found Shroud knocking on his door in the middle of the night with a stuffy nose and tears in their eyes.

Now Tommy knew how to help people when they were sick but his knowledge only went as far as to what medication and food to give them. How did parents properly help their sick kids? In a fit of panic, he helped his child get their jacket on before scooping them into his arms and leaving their shared home.

The walk was quiet other than gentle words of comfort from the blond. Though he didn’t say where they were going, he knew exactly where to go.

Tommy didn’t stop until the two reached another small but comfortable home nestled not far from the remains of L’manberg. With a deep breath, he adjusted his hold on his child and knocked on the door.

When it swung open, he was met with your pajama-clad form, a tired look in your eyes. It was then when he realized just how late it was. How late he was intruding. He ignored the embarrassed flush that spread his face as your expression shifted from tired to worried.

“Toms? Are you okay? What’s wrong?” You questioned. Despite your urgency, you kept your voice low to avoid walking your daughter in the next room over.

“Shit, yeah, I’m sorry. I’m okay it’s just-” He took a moment to calm himself before continuing. “Shroud is sick and I- I don’t know how to help them.”

You visibly relaxed at his words. This was something that you could help with. “It’s okay, don’t worry.” Your voice was gentle as you ushered him in and to the couch. “Damon gets sick all the time. I know what to do by second nature.” Your voice faded as you walked into the bathrooms gathering medicine and a damp cloth, along with a glass of water. When you returned, you couldn’t help a brief smile at the sight of the teen sitting on the couch with Shroud on his lap. “Do they have a fever?”

Tommy quickly looked at you as you sat down beside him, shaking his head. “No, but their nose is all stuffy ‘n shit and they’ve been a little hot and they said their head hurts.” As he lifted off what they had told him, you nodded along, handing the rag to Tommy. Once he took it and held it to their forehead, you handed the bottle of medicine to him.

“Have them take this three times a day, okay? When they wake up, lunch, and before bed,” you instructed. “Sound good?”

He let out a short breath and nodded. “Yeah, yeah I’ve got it. Thank you,” he sighed. “That was simple. I’m sorry I bothered you I just- I didn’t know what to do. I haven’t had to parent like this yet.”

“It’s okay, really,” you replied, grabbing the cup of water from the table and gently guiding Shroud to take the medicine. “I know this type of thing is stressful. Don’t apologize for getting help with anything. I told you this already. I’m going to be here for you.”

Silence fell as Tommy readjusted his child in his hold and held them close to his chest. Their exhaust and the gentle beating of his heart led the child into a more peaceful sleep. The silence was broken by you.

“I know you didn’t have a good parental figure, not for a while.” Your words pulled his attention. “I’m more than happy to help, whether it’s for you or Shroud. I’ll be here, Tommy. You mean the world to me. You’re our family.” You raised your hand to cup his cheek. “You understand, kiddo?”

Instead of a nod, you received a tight, one-armed hug from the blond. When he finally spoke, his voice was straining with tears and more appreciation than he could express.