The ride to Rivendell was a long and—quite frankly—boring one. They'd be there in half the time if they could fly, but because one couldn't, none of them could (well, technically they could if one of them carried Tubbo, but he vetoed that real quick).

So, to pass the time, the children made up games and talked and annoyed the fuck out of Wilbur.

"You know, Tommy," Wilbur said after several hours of being annoyed to death, "I just realized that your birthday will happen while we're on the road."

Tommy thought about it for a moment. "Oh shit, you're right...my birthday's next week, innit?"

"Mmhmm!" Wilbur hummed. "Ah, my baby brother, all grown up." He put a hand on his chest and cried dramatically. "Just yesterday, you were in diapers being bottle-fed."

Tommy felt heat rise to his cheeks. "Wilbur..."

"Don't you remember what you used to call me and Techno when you were little?" Wilbur cooed, causing even more embarrassment from Tommy. "Remember when you used to call me 'Wilby'? Or when you used to call Techno 'TechTech'?"

"Staaaahhhhhp." Tommy groaned as he put his face in his hands. "You're being embarrassing."

Wilbur grinned mischievously. "I'm your older brother, what else am I supposed to do?"

"Be loving and supportive? And not embarrass me?" Tommy asked rhetorically.

Wilbur hummed. "Sorry Toms, but you can't have one without the other," Wilbur said with a grin. "It's rule number one in the big brother handbook."

Tommy groaned as Ranboo giggled.

"Are siblings always like that?" Ranboo asked Tubbo.

Tubbo hummed. "More or less. Depends on the sibling, really. Puffy is a more nurturing and motherly type of sibling, whereas Schlatt and Techno are the types of siblings who care but they wouldn't let anyone know that, and Wilbur is the kind of sibling that loves his family and isn't afraid to show it via embarrassment."

Ranboo hummed. "Must be nice to have siblings like them. Or, you know, at all."

Tubbo shrugged and made a noncommittal sound. "They can be overbearing sometimes. But, I guess that's the price with siblings. You may love each other but you also won't hesitate to embarrass the fuck out of the other."

Ranboo chuckled sadly. "Gods, you guys make me wish I had siblings."

"I mean, you have Sapnap." Tubbo pointed out. "You two are practically siblings, aren't you?"

Ranboo shrugged. "But that's different, isn't it?" He looked over at Tommy and Wilbur, where the older was constantly embarrassing the younger. "When you're born, your family members are some of the first few people you meet. An infant knows who their parents and siblings are the moments they hear their voices. I didn't even know my dad's identity until my mother died, let alone any siblings I might've had."

Tubbo frowned. "Hey," he said, his tone soft, "you don't have to be blood-related to be family. I call Tommy and his brothers my family, and I have a family of my own that I love so much and I'm not related to Tommy whatsoever. But I consider him my brother. Family doesn't always mean blood. Your family is people who love and accept and care for you, no matter who or what you are. You may be related to your dad by blood, but Sapnap is your family. I mean, hell, look at me and Tommy. We could also be considered your family."

A tear fell down Ranboo's cheek as he considered Tubbo's words.

"We'll stop here for the night." Wilbur's voice rang out. He had gotten off his horse nearby a clearing that was relatively close enough to the main path that it was still in eyesight.

The boys nodded as they rode up to Wilbur's horse, and then got off their horses and started walking into the clearing, where Wilbur was already starting to unpack and set up camp.

Tommy looked at Ranboo, concerned. "You okay?"

Ranboo nodded, a small smile on his lips. "Yeah...yeah, I'm fine."

Tommy nodded wordlessly as he walked over to his brother to help him start a fire.