Work Text:
Tubbo was alone in his factory. Sunny had asked to spend the night with Ramón and Empanada in a sleepover at Bagi's house. They were probably eating sweets or baking cookies for the New Year. Well, it doesn't matter that much; she was having fun, and he was here alone, lying on the floor of his factory.
It's not that he didn't want his daughter to spend time with her siblings, but having her always by his side had managed to keep him away from his lonely thoughts for weeks.
What are the others doing? They probably won't be reflecting on a cold floor with machinery sounds in the background. Everyone must be eating and celebrating, accompanied, watching fireworks, and chatting about mundane and cozy things.
From his position, he heard how the machinery belts carrying coal started to get clogged.. and then stopped moving. After a while, the lack of fuel shut down the system. He caught the sound of the trains coming to a stop, and then everything fell silent.
He would fix it later, yes, later. He stared at the ceiling of the place; the cold of the night seeped through the several broken windows and the grand entrance without a door. However, the boy couldn't be bothered to find something to warm himself; he closed his eyes and started breathing harder. The cold wind had made his nose stuffy—annoying—.
His hands and feet were also cold. His head was starting to feel uncomfortable on the pavement, but well, nothing he hadn't endured before. Anyway, he didn't have the need to move.
What would his godchildren be doing? Surely, they would all be in Chayanne's kitchen; he heard that Missa had returned. They were complete.
And Fit? Where could Fit be? He recalls Ramón and Sunny talking about a honeymoon between him and Pac. He doesn't know if it's true, but hopefully, they found some mistletoe along the way.
Mistletoe, of course, that plant for lovers. He would have loved to give Fred a bouquet of Amaryllis and mistletoe; he even looked up its meaning, "confidence to overcome a challenge." It was fitting for the last situation they were in, his rescue. But he hasn't heard anything from Fred since then; he can only imagine the bear locked in his office behind a huge pile of papers.
He told Bagi that they were just friends, but he doesn't know how sincere he was. Firstly because he doesn't want other residents to go around talking about his relationships; that's what got his lover kidnapped in the first place. Lastly, his little daughter was asking about 'that guy' she wanted to meet.
Tubbo doesn't know when he'll get Sunny and him to coincide, but in the meantime, he showed her their letterbox —empty—and told her about their dynamic; he showed her how he conveyed his feelings through paper, and he hopes he taught the little one something valuable. Well, he's almost sure he did because he later saw how- eh, what's that? Is he falling asleep? No, he can hear it, there are STEPS.
The boy sat up and quickly drew his sword, seeing how the figure entering the place was... a bear?... Fred!
"Fred? Is that you?" the bear started to approach him, and he sheathed his weapon.
Before Tubbo could get up, the bear knelt in front of him and handed him something; it was a bouquet with blue and yellow flowers.
"Oh? Hello! Thank you so much. What are you doing here? Aren't you like a busy bee?" Tubbo squeezed the bouquet while crossing his legs. He wanted to see the bear directly; he definitely looked better than the last time he saw him. His fur was clean, he was wearing a light blue Christmas sweater under his blue vest and a winter hat of the same color, along with gloves and a scarf.
After a few minutes, he handed him a book, "Dear Tubbo, I apologize for taking so long to come see you. I had to finish all the pending work since I was kidnapped... plus new work. I finally finished, and I decided to bring you this bouquet as an apology for the delay. It has hyacinths, bluebells, peonies, and olive branches. They mean forgiveness, humility, shyness, and peace."
"Oh, it's really pretty king. Thank you, don't worry for being gonzo for a while; I knew you were probably with a lot of stuff. I'm glad to finally see you." Tubbo said as he returned the book. Now it seemed that Fred was looking at him.
The bear picked up the book again and wrote, "Aren't you cold? It's snowing at the train station."
"Ah, yes. Don't worry; it's not that bad anyway. I'll find something later."
Needless to say, Fred was not satisfied with that answer, so he began to take off his gloves and put them in Tubbo's hands. Now he could feel how little his fingers moved —due to the stiffness— along with the warmth of the other; he hadn't realized he was THAT cold.
"Thanks, Fred. It wasn't necessary, really; I missed you. Can you bring it in boss? bring it in."
They both wrapped in a hug, and in a few seconds, it was only Fred hugging back while Tubbo sought warmth. His arms were pressed between both torsos, and his head was in the crack of the bear's neck.
They stayed like that for a while until they separated a bit, and Fred started writing. "Do you have something for the winter? Let's find something for you."
Tubbo obeyed this time, and he got up with the other, guiding him to the terminal, and in it, he looked for his clothes. He had a green wool sweater, decided to take it out and put it on top of the shirt he was wearing. Fred—still dissatisfied—unwrapped his own scarf and began to put it on the smaller one.
"Sunny gave me this sweater; I don't know where she got it, but I never got to wear it." Tubbo recounted while waiting for Fred to finish adjusting the scarf. "Thanks king, I feel better now. It's so nice to have you here."
The bear began writing again, "Anything for you... I think I like seeing you okay. The sweater your daughter gave you is nice; you look cozy."
"Haha, yeah. She's in a sleepover with Ramón and Em, but she wanted to meet you, actually."
Fred stayed still for a moment before writing again, "Have you talked to her about me? I... would also like to meet her; maybe next time we see each other we can..."
Tubbo was smiling as he read that; his two most important people with him. He could only hope that moment would come; maybe and just maybe he would not feel as alone as before.
"Fred, you wanna go for a walk? We can go to Starbobbys for some hot chocolate."
.
.
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