The Lives We Save

One Night...

Tubbo looked up from the fidget he and Tommy were playing with as he heard a knock on the door. The shorter glanced at Ranboo, who shrugged lightly.

Tubbo sighed and got up. He opened the door to find a young woman standing there.

She smiled at him, "you must be our guests! I'm Niki, I was sent up to tell you that dinner is ready."

"Oh." Tubbo blinked at all the information thrown at him, "um, okay."

There was a small pause before Niki spoke up again, "So, we should probably get going..."

"Oh! Yeah! Right!" Tubbo seemed to unfreeze, turning to Tommy, "Tom's! It's time for dinner."

The blonde looked up. It was earlier that they usually ate dinner. Not by much, but enough to confuse Tommy.

"It's okay Tommy, it probably takes a while to find the dining room." Ranboo smiled at him, holding out his hand.

Tommy took his hand, still holding the fidget in his other. Niki had been waiting patiently by the door for them.

The boys followed Niki down white halls. The castle wasn't huge, but it was definitely big enough to get lost.

"Here we are." Niki smiled, "Phil, Wilbur, and Techno should be waiting for you."

"Okay." Tubbo nodded.

The shorter nervously glanced at Ranboo and Tommy. Tommy had gone back to popping the fidget again. Ranboo was watching Tubbo with a similar anxiety.

Tubbo pushed open the door. The room was surprisingly small. A table had been set out, already full of food. Phil had looked up as the door opened.

"Welcome to dinner." Phil smiled, "have a seat wherever."

The boys slowly shuffled in. Well, except Tommy, who once he saw Wilbur ran over and started sharing his fidget with the other.

Phil simply gave them a small smile before addressing the other two, "I hope you found the room to your liking."

"Yeah, it's fine." Tubbo shrugged.

"Thank you for letting us stay the night." Ranboo bowed his head slightly.

Phil chuckled, "there's no need to thank me. Just enjoy your meal tonight."

The boys nodded. Silently, everyone started piling food onto their plates. All three boys were nervous, only taking a little at first, but with a little encouragement they were all enjoying their meal.

The door opened and a woman with a long black dress walked in. The dress shimmered with purple in the candle light, with a symbol of wings on the back.

Phil's smiled brightly when he saw her, "Kristen! I thought you couldn't join us tonight!"

The woman chuckled, placing a kiss on Wilbur's head as she passed, "well I heard you invited some guest over and I wanted to meet them."

Phil stood and embraced his wife, "of course. This is Tommy, Tubbo, and Ranboo. Tommy is nonverbal."

"Well, I'm Kristen." She turned to the boys, "I'm Phil's wife and Wilbur and Techno's mom. It's nice to meet you three."

"It's nice to meet you too." Tubbo said, fidgeting with his hands.

"You-you're, um, really pretty." Ranboo told her, avoiding eye contact.

Kristen chuckled lightly, "thank you."

"We met them during our picnic today." Wilbur told her as she sat down.

"Oh that's fun." Kristen smiled, "are you three enjoying your stay here?"

Tubbo and Ranboo nodded. Tommy smiled, showing her the fidget.

Kristen laughed lightly, "so you like the pop-it."

"Is that's what it's called!?" Tubbo gasped.

Kristen nodded, "It's a fidget toy. It provides tactile and auditory stimulus."

Tubbo and Ranboo glanced at each other.

"What?" Tubbo asked.

Kristen hummed to herself, giving the boys a small smile, "well, tactile means feeling, so tactile stimulus is something that you feel. Auditory means sound, so auditory stimulus something that you hear. Stimulus is something that causes a reaction."

"So... Like, really soft things is tactile stimulus?" Tubbo asked.

"It can be." Kristen nodded, "or it can be something that feels bad."

"Like cornstarch." Wilbur shivered slightly.

Techno wrinkled his nose, "oh god, don't remind me."

"I... Don't get it..." Ranboo looked around the table, "what's so bad about cornstarch?"

"It's like, all squeaky and horrible." Tubbo huffed, "I hate it. So does Tommy. That's why we never got any."

Kristen chuckled, "that would be a bad stimulus."

The rest of dinner was spent with idle talk. Gradually Tubbo and Ranboo got more comfortable, offering jokes and quips along with the others.

Then dinner was over. Tubbo, Tommy, and Ranboo we're guided back to their room. They were tired, full from food that wormed them from the inside out. As the boys layed in their beds, Tubbo turned to Ranboo.

"Ranboo?"

"Hmm?"

Tubbo shifted slightly in the dark, "you know how Phil said we could stay longer?"

"Yeah." Ranboo whispered back.

"Do you think he meant it?" Tubbo asked.

Ranboo fell silent, "I hope so... Tommy loves it here... And I wouldn't be opposed..."

Tubbo rolled onto his back, "okay. Then if we're able, we'll stay."

"Really?" Ranboo asked.

Tubbo smiled softly, "really."