Chapter Text
Ranboo Beloved, an actor in training, but beyond that, he is part of the newspaper club. A club where the one and only ‘Technoblade Minecraft’ or ‘Blood God’ (a nickname he gained after he refused to cover any stories that weren’t gorey or horrifying in some way) is a member of. And you know what? He quite likes being in the same club as him… that was until the older asked him to deliver some papers to a place 10 minutes away.
He’s already swarmed with an ungodly amount of assignments, and instead of doing them like he should be doing, he is outside, in the blazing hot streets, looking for the flower shop Technoblade’s family owns just so he can deliver some stupid research papers.
Ranboo sighs as he finally found what he’s looking for. It’s a cute little shop; the outside has cream white walls with painted flowers here and there and is heavily decorated with potted plants that attach from the overhang. He wonders how none of them have been stolen yet.
The bell chimes as he enters the building. Upon first impression, the shop is extremely cozy; the shelves are wooden and fit the white walls and the cool green of the plants. That being said, every inch of the shop is covered in plants, from flowers to tiny terrariums.
“Hello?” a voice quizzically calls from what Ranboo assumes is the counter, and when his brown eyes lands on a person, his breath is knocked straight out of him.
There stood a blonde with blue eyes that reminded him of ice, yet the way he was looking at him has Ranboo feeling warmer than his dorm’s heater ever made him feel (which isn’t saying a lot but trust him when he says he felt his whole body warm up plenty ). The blonde wasn’t short, but he definitely wasn’t as tall as him. He’s sure that if they were ever to cuddle, his lanky body would completely engulf the other’s lithe frame. His cheeks looked soft, and his lips looked even softer; he wonders if they’re actually as soft as they looked.
“Oi, dickwad, didn’t you see the sign? It says I’m on break” It’s kinda a shame that he has a dirty mouth. Otherwise, he’d definitely continue ogling (maybe not such a shame now that he thinks about it)
“S-sorry, Technoblade told me to leave this here..” He timidly strides over to the counter to hand over the stack of papers he’s been holding. When the blonde reaches to take it, Ranboo notices how small the other’s hands look, or maybe it’s just small because his hands are massive (he ignores the mental image of the blonde’s hands in his..or at least tries to)
“Stupid Techno, not even visiting his favorite brother on his break, what the fuck does it take just to visit me, fuckin’ asshole” he mutters under his breath. Ranboo’s sure that he was not actually meant to hear that, but he did.
It’s quite a wonder how the two of them are brothers. While Techno is intimidating but only very occasionally swears, the blonde looks all soft but cusses like it’s his final day on the hell hole that is Earth.
“The fuck are you still doing here? It’s lunch for you as well, innit?” He asks, making the shooing motion with his hands
“Err- yes, I’ll be going now, thanks!” Ranboo says while rushing out the door, eager to leave so he can stop embarrassing himself in front of the cute blonde any longer.
When he walks back on the same path he used to travel there, Ranboo is no longer thinking about the blazing sun or how he was supposed to be doing his assignments that are due very soon, he is, instead, thinking of how he felt like melted ice cream under the ice blue eyes. Kinda ironic how the blue reminds him of ice when he felt nothing but warmth under that gaze.
---
The very next day, Techno sends him back to deliver more research papers. Ranboo doesn’t know whether he should thank the man or cuss him out, so he opts to do neither, just obediently grabbing the stack and stashing them in his backpack for later.
And alas, later came.
“Oh c’mon, fucker called me an idiot last night at dinner as well, what an asshole” The blonde complained, snatching the papers and roughly setting them down beside a vase of white lilacs
“Hey, aren’t you like- younger than Technoblade?” When the blonde nods, Ranboo continues, “Why’re you like, here instead of college or something?”
“Why? Got a problem with it, boob boy?” The blonde barked, a scowl present on his face “Yeah! I know your name, ranBOOB! See, I’d much prefer working in a flower shop than having a name like yours!”
“Wh- it’s Ranboo-- not RanBOOB!” Ranboo tries to retort, stopping himself from straight up bursting into laughter for the sake of his pride
“Sure, sure, I believe you !” The other nods, clearly being sarcastic
“No- listen-” before Ranboo could finish what he was gonna say, the bell chimed, and THE one and only Technoblade walked in.
Ranboo wants to cuss the Pinkett out, wants to tell him to fuck off, wants to whine about how close he was to finally having an entire conversation with the blonde, wants to yell about how going to the flower shop was basically useless coz he was getting the papers himself anyway, but like last time, he stays silent, just awkwardly standing there.
“H’ve you got the papers, Theseus?” He gruffly yawns out
“Techie!!” Ranboo barely manages to stop himself from cooing when the blonde (Theseus?) screams the nickname; he suddenly doesn’t mind Technoblade interrupting their conversation. “I told you not to fuckin’ call me that you bitch! Tommy, Tom-me not Thee-he-se-us or whatever!”
“And I tell you not to call me “Techie” yet here we are, give me the papers” He strides to the counter and holds out his hands, content in just ignoring Ranboo.
“Oh fuck off, admit that you like it already you big softie” Tommy (or is it Theseus? Ranboo is confused) scoffs as he practically slams the papers into the Pinkett’s waiting hands.
“See you at home, Theseus” Technoblade grins, glaring at Ranboo while waving as he leaves the place. Holy fucking shit. Did Technoblade know he was trying to woo his little brother? IS HE GOING TO MURDER HIM AND HIDE HIM IN A DITCH?! SURELY COVERING ABOUT GOREY AND HORRIFYING STORIES WILL TEACH YOU SOME THINGS, NO? RANBOO’S NOT READY TO DIE HE HASN’T PASSED HIS ASSIGNMENTS YET
“What a prick, he’s a wrong’un, innit” Tommy? Theseus? Pouts, crossing his arms. And although the other didn’t know it, he’d just saved Ranboo from a full on panic attack
“Uh yeah, he just told me to deliver the papers here but picked it up in front of me.”
“Yeah! What a bitch! An asshole! Oh hey, Ranboob-” “It’s Ranboo” “what’s the worst word you know?” He looks up at him expectedly. Somehow, his grin reminds Ranboo of the Cheshire cat, filled with mischief and tricks… but also not? It’s like there’s an edge of softness behind it as well
“Uh- well I- I shouldn't say ”
“Oh c’mon! Well whatever, lunch break’s about to finish, fuck off now please, I have a job to do.”
---
Ranboo doesn’t know what’s so special with the blonde; why is he so enamored with him? That’s a lie, he damn well knows why he’s interested, from the near golden locks Tommy (or Theseus) has atop his head to the incredibly charming (many would protest otherwise, but Ranboo isn’t quite like most, is he?) personality he has on full display.
He honest to god hopes that Technoblade hasn’t picked up on his little crush on the blonde; he doesn’t want to be the next Dream (a reference to that one fight the two had in the middle of the cafeteria after Dream called Techno’s brother “ kinda cute, ngl”- hold on, was Dream talking about Tommy?)
He sighs. Why does life have to be so complicated?
“Struggling to woo your crush ?” a voice calls from beside him; he stops in his tracks and turns so quickly he’s surprised he didn’t get a whiplash.
“Well, here’s a tip, buy Joe and Jon’s book “The Way to a Lady’s (or a Florist’s) Heart is Through Flowers” out on local bookshops near you! For only 69.69, you could have a-” This must be god finally giving him mercy, Ranboo thinks- it’s too much of a coincidence! Was the TV a fucking mind reader? This is perfect! He could woo Tommy without Technoblade knowing, and on the assumption that the Pinkett didn’t already know about it, he can practically fly under the radar until it’s too late for the other’s protective tendencies to fully kick in, after all, he wouldn’t want to beat up his brother’s boyfriend, now would he?
Ranboo’s face turns tomato red at the thought, fuck, he’s fallen, and he’s fallen hard
Later on, when he comes back to his dorm with a new book in his arms, well, that’s for him to know and for the florist to find out.
---
“The fuck? Blade’s sick, why’re you here?” The blonde snarls, and although his facial expression says otherwise, his voice sounds giddy and glad to see Ranboo there
“Uhm, I’m here to uhh- befriend you?” Ranboo answers, he didn’t plan on anything except buying purple lilacs (apparently, they meant “the beginning of love,” precisely what Ranboo was hoping for)
A beat of silence passes over them. Ranboo’s worried that he’d already said something that upset the other, and it hasn’t even been 5 minutes yet.
“Okayyyy...and how were you planning to do that, big man?”
Fuck. Ranboo doesn’t have a plan. But that doesn’t matter because he’s quite good at improvising (thanks to improv class that is)
“Wanna eat lunch together?”
The shorter stays silent for a moment or so before enthusiastically shouting a happy “sure!”
Ranboo is convinced that he’s experiencing love. No one has ever made him feel this warm and soft, and Tommy (the blonde finally introduced himself properly while they were eating together, claiming that Theseus is “my legal name but only Techie calls me that”) was practically a stranger!
Man, he really wishes the other wasn’t straight; it would suck if he was
“Boob, lunch’s about to end” Tommy says after stopping his whole spiel about dogs and how much he wants one abruptly.
“oh, I should probably head out, then” he replies awkwardly. Time passed so quickly, he didn't want to leave at all, such a shame that life is unfair and miserable
“bye! Oh, visit tomorrow again, would you? It gets boring and we had fun, innit?” Ranboo felt his face go red, holy shit- holy fucking shit- he just- FUCK YEAH! Wait, he needs to pull this off coolly; he can’t act too excited
“O-oh! I was already planning to, but alright! Wait- shit, uhh I was meant to buy a flower as well-”
“Oh sure, a bouquet or like- something for a vase?”
“houseplant, you guys do have purple lilacs, right?”
“yes- wait… purple lilacs? As houseplants?” Tommy asks, incredulous. Ranboo, seeing the other’s reaction, grows nervous. Was he too obvious? Are purple lilacs not good houseplants?
“oh that’s strange, they’re usually ordered for weddings,” He starts “oh oh oh! Did you know they meant first love or the beginning of love- shit I forgot which one” Ranboo sighs in relief internally, it would’ve been hard for him to come up with an excuse, but thankfully, Tommy got distracted
“no, I didn’t, that sounds interesting,” he replies while the other grabs a few lilacs, organizing them into a vase formation
“Here ya go. Take care, boob boy!!”
---
After that first day, Ranboo continues to come back to the cozy flower shop, not for the flowers but for the florist
The little routine continues every day, he goes to the flower shop as soon as lunch starts, and he stays there ‘till it ends.
Until…
“We’re closed” a new voice politely says (‘politely’ is a generous way to put it. Just imagine poorly contained anger trying to be hidden)
that doesn’t sound like Tommy? Ranboo thinks, and just like he thought, the person behind the counter wasn’t the blonde but instead, a tall brunette, not quite as tall as Ranboo himself but certainly taller than Tommy by a lot
“uhm, yes, I know- is Tommy here?”
The brunette’s facial expression turns from ‘I’m trying to look polite even though I’m pissed and I know that you know that I’m pissed’ to a full-on scowl; if looks can kill, then the other would definitely be charged with homicide.
“yes, what do you want from him?” he asks out, more like growls out, actually.
“well we uhh- we usually hang out at lunch….” Ranboo answers. He definitely hates the other guy already. Tommy would probably call the stranger a bitch if he was here. And you know what? Ranboo's inclined to agree
“yeah? Well fuck off, will you? He’s not having a good day and I’m not letting you make it worse, now go!”
Before he could even process the other’s words, another voice cuts in before him.
“Wilby? Who’re you talking to?” both his and the brunette’s eyes snap to the source of the sound, and the two of them instantly melt upon realizing it’s the blonde (for two entirely different reasons, of course)
“Nobody, sunshine. Go get our lunch, will you? Big brother’s preoccupied at the moment” the brunette calls out, his tone of voice doing a complete 360. Ranboo can’t believe someone can go from feral growling to gentle cooing in a matter of seconds.
Despite his brother’s dismissal, Tommy peeks his head out the little opening, his red-rimmed blue eyes landing on Ranboo.
“Ranboo!” the blonde happily calls out, his sunken expression falling off his face immediately upon seeing him.
“Hey, Tommy” Ranboo smiles back, ignoring the other’s teary eyes for the sake of the blonde’s pride.
“Who’s this?” The brunette asks, his displeasure very clear in his voice
“Didn’t you hear me earlier, Wilby? Are you getting too old?” Tommy teases, jabbing his side sharply
“Eurgh- hey you brat! That fucking hurt!” He groans
“Anyway! Ranboo, what do you have for lunch?” Tommy changes the topic quickly, trying to include Ranboo in their conversation. Thank god he won’t have to just awkwardly stand there the whole time; Tommy truly is a blessing.
“A burger, how about you?” He replies, grabbing the white chair in the corner that he sits on every time he visits just to find the corner devoid of any white chair
“Oh shit- Wil, do we have any other chairs?” Tommy asks, frantically looking around already
“No” ‘Wil or Wilby- probably Wilbur’ smugly says
“Oh shove off you ass, stop acting so smug.”
“I’m not acting smug-” “You literally are! Go look for some chair at the back, bitch” “What?! Why me?” “Who else?! Me?!” “yeah?? Go get a chair, Toms. He’s your guest, right?”
Tommy grumbles to himself, walking to the backroom bitterly.
“Soo..” Ranboo starts, clearly uneasy with the other’s presence
“Listen here, Ranboo. Both me AND Tech know the looks you’ve been giving Tommy, alright?” The other cut him off, giving him what has to be the coldest glare in the world. Ranboo is nothing but terrified.
“And I’m telling you now, if we hear that you’ve hurt him, it’s not gonna be pretty.”
Ranboo nods eagerly. He wasn’t planning on hurting Tommy, but god did it feel like he was caught red-handed.
They’re suddenly interrupted by the loud screech of a chair being dragged. And in no time, The blonde’s head peeks out by the doorframe,a plastic chair behind him.
The rest of lunch passed by just like that. Like an absolute disaster. And at the end of it, Ranboo was sure of two things:
Number one, He hates Wilbur. He hates him with a burning passion. The guy acts like Tommy is nothing but a hopeless baby who needs his protection; what a joke.
And number two, Wilbur is terrifying; every glare directed at him made him want to curl up into a ball and cry.
So, in short, Wilbur is horrible and scary, but Ranboo is willing to hang out with him if Tommy smiles and laughs just as brightly as he did that day.