"--OH. Oh. Um."

Yeah. Isn't that just about the shape of it.

"Michael's a really sweet kid. I'm glad he's okay." 

"I am too. I, uh, I guess you saw why I don't tell people about him much. Sorry I wasn't there yesterday to help."

He shrugs. "I got him underground, Eret and Hannah distracted George and Sapnap, we were fine, it's— you don't need to apologize to me that your kid was in danger. I'm glad I could help." 

"Right. Yeah. Thank you, though, I really do appreciate it."

"You're welcome." 

Pause. 

"I, um— I don't usually expect people to keep things from their spouses." (That's only sort of true but it's true enough for this purpose.) "I, I don't know if that's the situation, or what the situation is, but— anything I tell you is fine to say to Tubbo, I don't, I'm not gonna ask you to hide stuff from him." 

I hide lots of things from Tubbo, it's fine, is probably not the right answer. Nor are... most of the ways Ranboo has to respond to that. Actually, the marriage itself is safe enough ground, it's not more information than Q already has from seeing Michael. "We got married, um, earlier this year, yeah. Tommy knows, so it's not, like, a secret or anything, but we don't really--advertise it?" Especially not around Wilbur and Quackity goes unsaid.

Yeah, it does. Wilbur asking are you friends and getting the answer yeah, I would say so is kind of funny in retrospect, though. 

"Congratulations, man." 

"Thanks, man, it means a lot."

"I— did mean it, about being sorry. Not, like, sorry for not wanting to deal with Wilbur anymore, but sorry for not warning you I was gonna do that, that was kind of shitty friend behavior." 

"Oh. Um. It's alright, man. I mean-- I think we'll be alright."

It has not exactly been subtle how often Ranboo lets— let— Q take point on handling Wilbur, but he doesn't say that.

"Yeah, I'm sure you will be. But it leaves you worse off and I wanted to let you know, I guess, that I didn't just— not care." 

"I--appreciate it?"

...yeah, this is not really a conversational path he wants to be down but he doesn't know how to rescue it so instead he is simply going to shut up and stop digging.

How about Ranboo just... moves this grass block a bit to the right.

Yeah, that's better.

"Wilbur will-- It'll work out, I think. And, uh, Tubbo and I. It'll be okay. I mean, Wilbur still has Tommy and me. And Michael's, Michael's safe, that's good."

...yeah, of course Ranboo and Tubbo are having issues. That was probably predictable from how they're on opposite sides of whatever symbolic burger war is going on between Wilbur and Quackity but Q didn't in fact predict it, so. 

"Yeah. Wilbur's got Tommy and Phil and you, and you and Tubbo can work things out." 

"Yeah." It is suddenly embarrassing the extent to which Ranboo doesn't know who Q has. "If you ever need anything, let me know?"

(Well, Q also doesn't really know who Q has anymore, so.) 

"I will. Thanks." 

"Yeah, of course!"

"I'll see you around, yeah?" 

"See you around!"

Back to Kinoko, then. He gets his guitar out of the enderchest— and his jacket and the elytra too, now that George seems to be asleep again; honestly he should really get his own enderchest— and practices for a bit, trying to remember or feel out the chords of literally any song he knows from home.

He's kind of avoiding Sapnap still but there's enough room to be in the public spaces of Kinoko without talking to Sapnap. He can make this work. And eventually it gets late enough to go to sleep. 

He dreams of Wilbur, touching him, kissing him. He dreams he says no and tries to push Wilbur away, and Wilbur says, do you want me to hurt Tubbo? because I can hurt Tubbo, and suddenly they are in Snowchester, in Michael's room, and Wilbur is placing down TNT while Michael plays with his chicken, and if Q tries to stop him Sapnap is there with a sword against his throat but if he kisses Wilbur gently and lets Wilbur touch him back and says I'm so sorry, I was just kidding, I swear, I would never leave you, they can be back in the arctic, safe, alone.

(They can be back in the arctic, safe, alone, or in a Capitol hotel room with soft carpet under their feet, the scene flickering between them, it isn't like it matters, and Wilbur can kiss him and push him into bed and q will nod and smile and kiss him gently back and wrap his arms around wilbur's neck and be so so patient and sweet and kind and say i'm so sorry and of course i didnt mean it and i'd never leave you i swear and i love you and i forgive you and yours and yours and yours because he can be good he knows how to be good you dont have to hurt tubbo he can be good hes a good little district slave he knows his place he knows he knows he wont ever

try to stop you

again)

He wakes up in Kinoko and it takes him a solid three minutes to remember where he is. To remember, more accurately, where he isn't. 

The morning passes quietly.

That afternoon:

Quackity whispers to Quackity_V68: meet me at the needle