Cigarettes in the Snow

He's back already?

"Hey, Tubbo! I'm gonna go over to the hotel, do you wanna come with me?" Ranboo asked from upstairs.

"Oh...sure just give me a second!" Tubbo quickly took the cigarette from his mouth and pressed it firmly against the table. Ranboo would surely be able to smell the smoke, considering Tubbo was on his fifth cigarette since he had come downstairs. He took off his work gloves and goggles and placed them down on his desk. He knew he shouldn't have been smoking, considering he was working with a blowtorch, though Tubbo had always been one to take risks. He put some of his other tools away, grabbed his coat from the coat rack, and started up the ladder.

Tubbo opened the front door and greeted Ranboo outside. The breeze was chilling, just how he liked it. Ranboo's friendly smile quickly turned into a face of disgust as Tubbo got closer.

"Geez, you smell horrible."

"What can I say boss man, I'm workin' with explosives." Tubbo seemed a bit more cheerful than usual, and though Ranboo could see right through his lie, he chose to let it slide. He didn't want to pry, considering the morning they had.

—

They both walked towards the Bee&Boo Hotel, their hotel was supposed to rival Tommy's, but after his passing, it seemed Tommy's Hotel was now owned by Jack. Tubbo took a deep breath in, and out.

"This is good, I'm okay." Tubbo thought about Tommy. He felt..at peace. He would still need time to heal, but it was getting better. A small smile appeared on Tubbo's face.

"Hey, I'm going to go get some more wood really quick, I'll be back soon okay!"

"Oh, sure big man!" Tubbo watched as Ranboo made his way down the prime path to the nearby forest.

Though the breeze was picking up, Tubbo felt rather heated, he took off his Snowchester coat and placed it on the floor. His fluffy brown hair blew in the breeze, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath in. Tubbo quickly cracked his knuckles, put on his gloves, and grabbed one of Ranboo's pickaxes, he was ready to work. He climbed up the scaffolding and made his way onto the roof, filling in a layer of concrete. "I could use a smoke right about now." Tubbo pondered the idea, it was tempting, but he needed to focus on working. He pondered the idea again, and put down the pickaxe in his hand. He made his way down the roof and back inside to his coat, he knelt and scrummaged through one of the pockets. His hands met the pack of cigarettes and just as he was about to take them out he heard a familiar voice. A voice he didn't think he'd hear in a million years.

Tubbo jolted himself up and rushed his way outside the hotel. Tubbo's face went pale.

"H...H.." He could barely bring himself to speak, he slowly started backing away in utter disbelief.

"Hello?" The voice said.

Tubbo couldn't believe his eyes, there he was, standing, breathing, speaking, alive...
"I...I.." Tubbo stammered on his words, he could barely articulate. How could he be there /alive?/ How? It didn't make sense, this didn't make sense. This wasn't real. This couldn't be real. This wasn't possible.

"..You're not real.." Tubbo gasped for air, he felt like was about to pass out.

"The fuck do you mean..?" The voice responded, he looked concerned, displeased. It didn't matter how he looked he wasn't real, Tubbo was sure of it.

"...What.....what." Thoughts raced Tubbo's mind. This couldn't be possible. He's dreaming. He is dreaming. He must be, this was the only explanation for this. Was he seeing a ghost? No, no it couldn't be a ghost. He wasn't translucent in the slightest. So Tubbo was hallucinating. He must've been going insane from all the cigarette smoke, it didn't logically make sense but it was the only explanation, right? God Ranboo was right, he should've started, he didn't know he would begin seeing people as a side effect.