The Blinding Light of Sunrise - TNT Duo Dream SMP AU Fanfic

Chapter 14

"Hey. Hey Big Q. Wake up."

Quackity didn't want to leave the darkness of his closed eyes yet. He could feel the hard wood of the rowboat beneath him, the sun shining warmly on his body. His arms ached and his hands were blistered, he could feel them hurting beneath their wraps even in his semi-conscious state. The boat rocked gently on the calm river as Tubbo's oars cut through the water. He didn't want to wake up and take his turn at the oars, he wasn't ready to leave Wilbur behind. But he was already gone, melted away in the warmth of a day that felt colder for his absence. Tubbo's foot pushed against his shoulder.

"Big Q, we're here."

His eyes shot open and he dragged himself up to a sitting position. As he did, a cold wind blew over the snowy mountainside and across the river, causing him to shiver. He looked over to Tubbo who was shaking so hard with anticipation he could feel the whole f-ing boat vibrating. He was rowing fast, his eyes kept looking to a spot in the mountains Quackity couldn't quite see, a smile flitting across his face every few seconds.

Quackity rubbed his eye with his palm. "How long was I out?"

"Maybe five hours. I'm sorry, I would have woken you up sooner, but I just really wanted to get home." His eyes darted to the mountainside again.

Quackity sighed. It was so obvious what Tubbo actually wanted. "Alright, we'll go see your son first."

Tubbo's face lit up.

"Are there any wolves?"

Tubbo's face instantly fell. His ears perked up. They turned this way and that, twitching. Finally, they relaxed. "No."

"Good. Let's put in, then."

Quackity couldn't help but smile a little at Tubbo's eagerness as he brought the boat to shore. He barely even helped to heave it up before running off into the snow, up the mountain, leaving a trail of deep tracks behind him. Quackity jogged after him. As they reached the front of the cabin, Quackity saw a blur of pink in the window upstairs.

Tubbo threw open the door. "Michael!" he cried excitedly. He froze.

Quackity came up behind him. "Oh f-ck," he uttered. The first floor of the house was completely trashed. There was a green arrow painted on the wall pointing up that was smeared across its bottom like the painter had been dragged away. The same shade of green as enderman blood. It looked like someone had painted the arrow on with their fist.

Tubbo walked up to the arrow, transfixed. He ran his fingers down the wall beside it, tracing it. "Ranboo..." He turned and Quackity could see the large teardrops streaming from his eyes. He tried to wipe them with his sleeve, sniffling, clearly trying and failing to fight back the tears. "I don't know why I thought..." Tubbo swallowed hard.

Quackity wasn't quite sure what the f-ck he should do. He put a hand on Tubbo's shoulder. Before he knew it, he was being squeezed in a tight hug, his shoulder instantly damp from the crying.

"I thought... I thought it would still be our house, just like I left it a few days ago. I don't know why I was so stupid!" He suddenly pushed away from Quackity, standing with balled fists pressed palm-up into his eyes as tears rolled down their edges. "It's my fault! It's all my fault! He didn't want to do it, but I made him. He didn't want to! And now he's gone!"

Quackity's eyes narrowed with sudden suspicion. This was some new f-ing information. Something had happened. "He didn't want to do what?"

Tubbo wiped his sleeve across his eyes. "I-I-I... I figured out... about you and Wilbur... getting married..." he said, wetly. "And-and I... I wanted to break you up... Ranboo told me not to..."