𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐘 𝐅𝐀𝐂𝐄. ranboo (complete)

𝐗𝐗𝐈𝐈𝐈. (THEO DOESN'T KNOW)

❝ PRETTY FACE ❞
Marth 29th, 2021

REAL LIFE — TECHNO!

THE SBI CALLS WERE FREQUENT, even though fans of the group very rarely got 4/4, and when they did it was usually crumbs of content, mere seconds of the four having fun before someone, usually Techno, had to leave — or, rather, left to torture the fans so they would demand more content. It was one of Techno's best hobbies.

Even so, when no one was streaming, you could often find the four of them in a call together — Wilbur writing songs, Tommy doing homework, Techno playing Minecraft on his alt account, Phil doing whatever the fuck old people did. A lot of the time, the four of them sat in silence other than the sound of Wilbur's guitar in the background, or Tommy typing away at his computer, or even Techno's rapid clicking as he PVPd with some random person on Bed Wars.

And sometimes the silence was interrupted, like the time that Phil told them that he and Kristin were buying a house together, their forever home; or when Wilbur announced that he was forming a band; once, Techno had told them about what had really happened that night he and Theo had run away, and it had ended in a few tears shed; and now it was Tommy's turn, apparently, as he stopped typing and looking up at his camera, knees pulled up to his chest as they usually were, and took a deep breath.

"I'm queer, you know."

Wilbur had been going over the melodies to a new song Lovejoy was working on, Phil had been working and Techno had been going over some plots for his SMP character to keep the lore fresh. No one had been expecting Tommy to speak up so suddenly, never mind about such a personal topic, but who were they to be anything but his second family?

Phil smiled softly. "That's great, mate, I'm proud of you." Tommy smiled back quickly, though he looked unsure, as if he had been expecting a different reaction. "Anything specific, or . . .?"

"Eh, no. No label yet," Tommy said with a shrug. "But I don't need one. I just know I like guys, and I think that's all that matters."

Techno smiled, giving a slight nod even though he wasn't to be seen through his camera. "And we'll support that no matter what," he promised.

"Are you going to tell anyone else?" Wilbur asked gently.

"My friends! Freddie, Eryn, Tubbo, obviously . . . uh, Ranboo, Theo. My parents already know and they're cool with it. I'm not gonna tell any fans, at least for a while, not until I'm fully comfortable with myself and can handle the reactions," Tommy admitted. Techno shuddered at the thought of how Twitter and TikTok would react — a mixture of disbelief and people saying they 'knew it,' which did more harm than it did any good.

"That's a good idea," Techno commented, nodding to himself. "I do the same thing."

A dead silence settled over the call, the other three looking into their cameras with wide eyes. Techno's brows furrowed, then raised as he realized why they were so confused.

"Wait, you do now that I'm unlabeled too, right?"

"NO!" Wilbur, Tommy, and Phil exclaimed in unison, shock evident in their voice. Techno chuckled, mostly to himself, at their reactions.

Questioning his sexuality had come long before Theo had come out, when he was 15 and a new boy had shown up a school. It hadn't gone anywhere — the kid was obscenely homophobic — but it was enough for Techno to figure out that he wasn't straight. He figured that it was obvious by now, but apparently not. He wondered who else didn't know.

"Hey, Techno," Wilbur said, "I have this brother—"

"Fuck that," Tommy interrupted. "Can I go to you for advice about boys?" he asked hopefully. Techno snorted at the idea.

"Just because I like guys doesn't mean I know how to date them." Tommy's expression fell. Techno sighed. "But fine. You can come to me if you need anything, you know that. Even stuff that isn't boy-related." Tommy smiled at him softly, a smile that he didn't usually wear when the camera was on him.

"Thank you," Tommy said quietly.

And that was that.

The four sunk back into their work, and Techno tried to figure out how to ask Theo if he knew that Techno wasn't straight either.

REAL LIFE — TOMMY!

TOMMY WONDERED ABOUT HIS CRUSH. He knew, logically, that he and Theo just wouldn't get together — even if Theo didn't have a crush on Ranboo, even if he miraculously had a crush on Tommy, they were too far apart to have a relationship that they would both feel content in. Theo was touch-starved and Tommy liked having a decent sleep schedule. It just wouldn't work out the way that Ranboo and Theo would work out.

But his heart didn't know logic. Every time he had to listen to Theo ramble about Ranboo, his chest felt tight; every time Ranboo talked about Theo, he felt a prick of envy for the taller American boy; every time Tubbo complained that Ranboo and Theo were too oblivious of their feelings toward each other, Tommy wanted to slam his fist into a wall to get him to shut up.

What was wrong with him?

Tommy had had crushes before. There were so many pretty girls that he liked in his classes growing up, even if he had never made a move; maybe at one point, before Theo, there had been a guy or two that should have made Tommy start having his identity crisis a lot sooner, but he had ignored the feelings until they were for one of his best friends.

He supposed it was true, then, what they said — queer people flocked together. Him, Freddie, Eryn, Theo — maybe Ranboo, and Tubbo was at least a little—

Not the point.

Part of Tommy wondered if he really had a crush on Theo, or if Theo was just the one that made him realize he liked guys as much as girls — or less than girls, but still liked.

(Tommy was still confused about his sexuality and he wasn't interested in putting a label on it just yet — and he knew he didn't need to. It shouldn't matter to anyone but himself what his sexuality was, even if some fans made it a point to figure it out for themselves.)

But was Theo a crush, or just a stepping stone? Did Tommy really like the idea of dating Theo — holding his hand, cuddling, whispered compliments to each other over Discord calls and, hopefully, one day, in-person — or did he just like the idea of dating?

Why was this so difficult to think about?

Maybe Tommy overrated when he said that he had a crush on Theo — an overreaction to his identity crisis that had been years in the making.

Or maybe he liked Theo a lot and he was trying to convince himself to step away before he got his heart broken even more than it already was.

It didn't matter either way — because what Theo didn't know wouldn't hurt him.