VERSAILLES // Ranboo X Reader

14

You managed to get a few more hours of sleep after the sleepwalking debacle, but it was restless. Every clink of the chain would send you into a small panic, thinking that Ranboo would go back into that weird half-alive state he had been in, but after a while, you did manage to fall back asleep, at least for the few hours until the sun rose. 

When you woke again, it was because Arlow and Brigand were up and about, packing up camp. You rose from your bedroll, glancing over to see Ranboo, curled up on his side, back to you. 

"Ranboo?" You asked quietly. 

He stirred slightly, rolling over so that he could look at you. You could see a dark circle under his red eye - he must have also had a hard time falling asleep, or not gotten any sleep at all, after what had happened. "Hi."

"Hi." You repeated, a small smile coming to play on your lips. "Feeling better?"

Ranboo uncurled himself, sitting up instead. "Yeah." He said, rubbing at his eyes. "My knee hurts though."

"Sorry." You said, reaching forward to pat him on the knee. "Hopefully we wont have to do too much walking today."

With that, you poked your head out the front of the tent, smiling in greeting to Arlow and Brigand. Brigand nodded, and Arlow grinned back, raising a hand in a small wave. "Good morning!" They called. "And Ranboo, good morning!"

You tilted your head back to see Ranboo peering out over you. You didn't understand how someone so tall could be so quiet - but you supposed that was the enderman in him. 

"Get a good night's sleep?" Arlow asked. 

You could feel Ranboo tense behind you at that, and for a moment you contemplated telling Arlow and Brigand about the weird dream state Ranboo had been, and how he had been heading towards the horses. As a team, they would want to know - if Ranboo escaped, it could endanger the entire mission. He had maintained that he didn't have anything to do with the robbery, but you had no idea of whether that was true or not. 

On the other hand, things had just gotten comfortable between everyone. It wasn't like Ranboo had been actively trying to escape - you weren't quite sure what it had been, but you were positive that it wasn't him. And you had built up a trust between you - telling Arlow and Brigand might endanger that, even if it was well intentioned. 

It was between the group and the mission, or Ranboo, and for some reason, you found yourself leaning towards the latter. Maybe it was that he was so nice, or maybe it was that you pitied him, but either way, you just smiled at Arlow, nodding in affirmation. "Ready for another day or traveling!" You said. 

Ranboo looked down at you, curious. You were sure he had been expecting you to tell Arlow what had happened - hell, you had been expecting it yourself - but you found yourself unsure of how they would react. If they knew he had been trying to escape (conciously or not) the little family that was starting to form would dissolve quickly. After all, Ranboo was your charge. 

"That's the spirit!" Arlow grinned.

"Saved some breakfast for you both." Brigand said, nodding to where a few slices of bread had been set aside by the campfire. Your stomach rumbled at the sight of the food - romping around in the mud at midnight tended to work up an appetite.

You stepped out of the tent fully and headed over to the campfire, crossing your legs under you as you sat down. Ranboo did the same, and you handed him one of the slices of bread. He took it gingerly, long fingers brushing over yours.

Arlow and Brigand got back to work as you ate, rolling up their own bedrolls and beginning to dismantle the tents, packing everything back up to be loaded onto the horses. Arlow hummed as they worked - the same light tune that they had played around the fire. It made you smile - you were sure you would think of that night fondly for years to come.

"Why didn't you tell them?"

Ranboo said it softly so the others wouldn't hear, and you shifted closer to him, ripping of a chunk of bread to chew. "I didn't want them to get upset." You said. "Things are going great now, and I didn't want them to overreact."

Ranboo paused his eating to look you in the eyes - green and red connecting with yours. A soft sort of smile came over his face as he spoke, "I'm glad you're the one who offered to take the other end of the cuff."

"Why's that?" You asked, taking another bite of bread. 

"You're nice." He said. You could tell by the look on his face that he meant it, and you couldn't help but smile yourself. "Maybe too nice, since I am a prisoner and all that. I'm pretty sure you're supposed to be mean to me, actually."

You looked him over - taking in the soft curls of hair that fell over his face, his too long limbs that made his awkwardness stand out even more, the way he curled up into himself when he sat down or went to bed. "I don't think I could ever be mean to you." You said honestly. "It would just feel wrong."

Ranboo laughed then, and you finished off your bread, brushing off your trousers as you stood up. Ranboo downed the rest of his breakfast as well, pulling himself up next to you. 

"We should probably go roll up our bedrolls and get packed." You said, heading back towards the tent. 

"Right." Ranboo agreed, following along behind you. 

The chain swung back and forth between you as you walked, catching the early morning light. Watching the links of metal glitter between you, you couldn't help but think the same - out of all the convicted criminals in the world, you were happy you had gotten stuck with Ranboo.