Ranboo sat awkwardly on Tommy's bed as he watched Tommy and Tubbo wrestle. It was chaotic, and at one point Tommy smacked Tubbo in the face with his wing, but it was fun to watch.

A maid knocked on the door, before opening it. They peered in, let the boys know that dinner was ready, and left without another word.

"Do you think that Mother is back, yet?" Tommy asked Tubbo as he smoothed out his Royal outfit (Father doesn't like it when they look less than presentable at the dinner table). His outfit looked identical to Techno and Wilbur's, that is, it's simple compared to Father's, except he had a small green handkerchief tied above his left elbow. It was something Tubbo gave him when they were little. He had given Tubbo a red one as well, but who knows where he left it.

Tubbo hummed. "I doubt it. I mean, isn't the neighboring kingdom a week's fly away? And I imagine she'll have to be there for a while if it's a diplomatic thing, so..."

Tommy huffed. "I know, I just...I hardly get to see her anymore. I miss her..."

Ranboo frowned. "My mom died when I was about five, I think. I don't remember her much..."

Tubbo frowned. "My mom died due to complications with my birth, and my dad left the moment that Schlatt and Puffy were old enough to take care of me by themselves."

"They were about thirteen when he left, yeah?" Tommy stated more than asked, and Tubbo nodded. "Fuckin' hate that asshole, abandoning his teens to take care of a fuckin' four-year-old. What a prick."

The rest of their short walk to the dinner table was quiet.

~<•>~

Dinner was quiet, for the most part. The only real noises came from knives and forks scraping against the plates.

The dining hall was large and elegant. The table could fit fifty people, but everyone usually sat by each other unless there was a large gathering. There was a chandelier above the table, which was much larger and more ornate than the one in Father's office. There were also large wall sconces everywhere, so the room was lit up pretty well at night. Other than that, the room and walls were pretty bare.

Father cleared his throat. "So, um, Ranboo, was it?"

"Um, actually, I-it's Ranboo." The warbler corrected shyly. "Y'know, like prawn? B-but without the P?"

Father ignored the snorts coom his oldest, his youngest, and Tubbo. "Oh, my apologies, then. I'll try to correct myself, then."

"O-oh, you don't have to do that—"

"Nonsense." Father waved him off. "I want to make you comfortable, mate. Any friend of my son is a friend of mine."

Wilbur gaped at him. "Wha—but you hate Schlatt!"

Father ignored him. "Anyway, how'd you meet Tubbo? Because I certainly haven't heard about you until...today, actually."

"Um..." Ranboo looked at Tommy and Tubbo briefly before coming up with a half-lie. "I met Tubbo about a week ago, I think. He was at the market with his brother—who's a regular at the bar my dad owns—and his brother introduced him to me. We just...kinda clicked, I guess."

Father smiled warmly. "Well, I'm glad that Tubbo is making friends outside of Tommy. I don't know if you've noticed, but he's very much a wallflower, even when he's hanging out with Tommy."

"Yeah, but that's just because this prick doesn't know how to shut the fuck up for longer than two seconds," Tubbo grumbled.

Tommy gawked at him. "Excuse me! I'll let you know that there have been plenty of nights where you talked more than I did!"

Tubbo rolled his eyes. "Yeah, on the days your voice is dead. And, even then, you insist on talking until you physically can't anymore."

Tommy scoffed. "Well, I don't talk in my sleep, then."

Everyone (minus Ranboo and Tommy) burst out laughing.

"That's a huge fuckin' lie!" Wilbur laughed. "I have literally heard you say pick-up lines in your sleep!"

Tommy flushed. "Well, how else am I supposed to pick up girls?"

Techno snorted. "Even in your dreams, you can't get a girlfriend."

"Hey, now, that's not true!" Tommy exclaimed. "Just last night I had a dream where my girlfriend called me very loving things."

"Yeah, like 'creep' and 'dumbass'," Tubbo muttered.

Tommy gaped at his brothers and best friend, before looking at Father. "Daaaaaaaad, they're bullying me again!"

Father smirked. "I see no such thing."

Tommy gaped at the four of them. "BETRAYAL!" He looked at Ranboo, getting up. "C'mon, boob boy, you're my new best friend."

"...boob boy...?" Ranboo muttered but got up anyway.

"Oh, so you got upset because I 'replaced' you with Ranboo, and then you do the exact same thing!?" Tubbo exclaimed, feigning hurt. "The fuck is this double standard!?"

Tommy stuck his tongue out at him. "It's only okay when I do it because I'm a prince."

"Now that's low." Tubbo deadpanned. "Even for you."

The air in the room suddenly got tense, and Tommy, sensing the tenseness in the air, fucking bolted to his room and locked the door behind him.

He'll deal with Tubbo's wrath later.

~<•>~

"Do you guys...uh...always do this...?" Ranboo asked as he watched Tommy and Tubbo—who were now in pajamas—wrestle. Again. They did that a lot, Ranboo discovered.

Tommy looked at him as he was pinned to the floor by Tubbo, who sat on his back, pulling his arms uncomfortably. "You can leave if you want."

Ranboo shook his head. "No way. You guys are the first real friends I've had, and I'm not gonna throw you two away just because of your wrestling."

"Now that's just depressing," Tubbo said as Tommy managed to throw Tubbo off him and they started wrestling again.

Tommy looked at Ranboo. "Did you pack any pajamas? If not, I have some spare ones. They might be a little small on you, but it's better than nothing."

Ranboo looked at him shyly—or as shyly as he could with the mask and glasses. "You don't have to do that, Tommy."

Tommy shrugged—at this point, he and Tubbo laid beside each other, exhausted. "It's no big deal, really. Tubbo borrows my clothes all the time." He then looked at the shorter boy. "I still want that sweater back."

Tubbo grinned. "Not a chance."

"Aw, c'mon, man! That sweater was a hand-me-down from Wilbur! It's my favorite sweater!"

Tubbo giggled. "Maybe you should've thought about that before letting me borrow it."

Tommy rolled his eyes. "Borrowed, my ass."

"Actually..." Tubbo looked at Ranboo and studied him for a bit. "You're six-foot, right?"

Ranboo shrugged. "About, yeah."

Tubbo hummed, turning to Tommy. "Maybe you could convince Techno to let Ranboo borrow a shirt for the night? I mean, it'd hang off of him since Techno is bigger than Ranboo—no offense—but it'd fit better than your clothes would."

Tommy hummed. "If Techno would allow it. He's kinda possessive."

Tubbo shrugged. "It's just an idea."

"Guys, it's okay, really." Ranboo insisted. "I can just sleep in what I have on now."

Tubbo rolled his eyes. "As Tommy said, it's really no big deal, it's what friends do. And besides, I know you decided to dress nicely for the royal family—which I told you, you didn't have to do that—and I doubt that'd be even remotely comfortable to sleep in."

As the two older boys argued, Tommy rolled his eyes and headed to Techno's room. He knocked on the door, and was greeted with a muffled "come in".

He opened the door to see Techno—already in his pajamas (which was a pair of light blue fluffy pajama pants with little pig heads on them, and a long dusty red nightshirt)—reading some old book Tommy couldn't name. His hair was down and messy, and he was wearing his glasses—something he never wore during the day because it's not very warrior-like to be able to see, apparently. I mean, he wore contacts, but that's beside the point.

Techno looked at his brother, annoyed. "What do you want, Theseus?"

Tommy rolled his eyes at the nickname that he honestly didn't quite understand. "Ranboob needs something to sleep in and my shit is too small. Do you have any spare night shirts he could borrow?"

Techno cocked an eyebrow. "No pants...?"

Tommy rolled his eyes. "We're not that different in body type, I'm sure my pants would be sufficient. And even if it was too small, it's nothing that I and Tubbs haven't seen before, so—"

"Ew." Techno deadpanned as he searched his closet for a spare shirt. "What's with fourteen-year-old boys and being very gay with their friends?"

Tommy rolled his eyes. "We're not being gay, dickhead."

Techno rolled his eyes as he—quite literally—threw one of his nightshirts at Tommy. It was a baby blue color that was long enough where it should cover all it should and more. "That should be good."

Tommy smiled at his older brother before running out. "Thanks, Techno!"

Techno shook his head, rolling his eyes with a fond smile. "Gremlin didn't even close the door." He mumbled as he shut the bedroom door.

Tommy walked into his bedroom to see...essentially the same scene as when he left, with Tubbo and Ranboo bickering. Except for this time, it was something entirely different—something about Ranboo refusing to curse or whatever.

Tommy rolled his eyes as he threw the tall boy the shirt. "There." He then pointed at a door near his closet. "The bathroom's over there, bitch boy."

Ranboo rolled his eyes as he walked to the bathroom, shirt in hand.