Midnight Arson (Platonic! Ranboo x Tubbo)

Chapter 3: The Book

The rays of the early morning sun bled softly through the curtains of the cottage's first floor window, creating a tranquil atmosphere. Philza sat at the kitchen table, sipping at his coffee as his mind wandered. The pitter-patter of small piglin feet met his ears presently. The man turned in his chair to find his grandson, Michael, stood outside the guest room's closed door. The little piglin reached high above his head, swaying back and forth as he tried to grasp the doorknob. "Papa!...Papa!"

"Papa's sick, Michael. Let your father sleep."

The piglin pouted, his shoulders sagging in defeat. Michael didn't have to wait long- the forbidden door slowly opened to reveal the tall figure of a familiar black and white creature. Michael craned his neck upward and grinned, making grabby hands at the humanoid. "Papa!"

The enderman hybrid stared down at the child, his mind still foggy from sleep. Michael. Right. He had a son. Ranboo gave the piglin a small smile before he took the child up into his arms.

"Oh, good morning, Ranboo," Philza greeted. "How are you feeling?"

"Uhm, a little dizzy, but not bad," Ranboo replied. While he balanced Michael on his hip, the sentient walked over to the counter and poured himself a cup of coffee. "Waking up was weird, though. I don't remember how I got here."

Philza took another sip from his mug. "Ah, yeah. Techno walked you over."

Crash! "Papa!"

The creature's body flinched so hard in surprise that he had lost control of his hands for a moment. He had dropped his mug on the floor, spilling coffee all over. He'd nearly dropped Michael too, but thankfully, his instincts kicked in at the last minute. Michael squealed in delight, thinking it was some sort of game. "Uppies, Papa! Again!"

Ranboo didn't respond, eyes wide with terror. He had walked here. Did Philza mean he'd enderwalked? What else had he done last night?

"Eh, Michael, why don't you go play with your toys? Your dad and I will be along in a minute."

Ranboo slowly placed Michael back on the ground, and gave the boy an encouraging pat on the back to send him on his way. "Bye, Papa!" And the piglin was off, skipping happily towards his toy room.

Once the child was out of sight, Ranboo drew in a shaky breath. "Did I...Did I enderwalk, Phil?"

The other shook his head. "No. What I meant was Techno carried you over."

All the air in Ranboo's lungs left his body in a deep sigh of relief. Thank the gods. But when his eyes fell down to the mess he'd made, the relief instantly turned to guilt. "Oh, Phil. I'm- I'm so sorry about the mess-"

"Don't worry about it. I'll clean it later." The elder gestured to the empty seat across from him as he took another sip of his coffee. "Have a seat." Ranboo complied.

"So," Philza began, "Do you have any idea who started the fire?"