Archive of Our Own ^beta

Zero

Wilbur Soot was in love. He was a simp and he was down bad and he was every other phrase anybody could possibly use to describe someone as hopelessly infatuated as he was. He was in love and he just so happened to be one of those lucky people who was loved in return, who gave all that existed within himself and had it returned tenfold. And he had been lucky since the beginning, to have been subtly flirted with by the person he loved since he first met them, his affections always requited even if he was unaware.

Yes, Wilbur Soot was in love, and it was why he was sitting across the table from Tom Simons in the private room of the fanciest restaurant he could find nearby the flat the two shared; it was why he was unable to wipe the smile off of his face as he made Tommy laugh; it was why he had his hand in his pocket, fiddling with the small box that rested there, preparing to pull it out whenever the time was right.

With the plates cleared from the table and a lull in the conversation, Wilbur had a feeling that the time was right.

“Tommy,” Wilbur said suddenly, voice much more serious than it was before. The blond was immediately meeting his eye, a bit of worry showing on his face.

“Yeah, Will?”

“I . . .” Wilbur let out a breath, trying to collect all of his thoughts. “Tommy, I’ve always felt a pull towards you, ever since we first talked over that Discord call all the way back during SMP Earth. There’s always been some type of magnetic field around you that I can’t help but be dragged in by, or it’s like you’re the sun and I’m a planet in your orbit, always yearning to get closer to your warmth. You’re my sunshine, my light on the cloudiest of days and the warmth during the winter. I . . . Toms, I couldn’t live without the sun.”

Tommy’s eyes were gleaming with adoration, but confusion was clear across his face. “Wilbur, what are you saying?”

“What I’m saying is that I could never go a day without you, love.” Wilbur got up from his chair and was quick to make his way to the other side of the table. Once there, he lowered himself down onto one knee while pulling out the small box from his pocket. He opened it up, presenting it to the blond. “I need you in my life and I don’t know what I’d do without you. Tom Simons, will you marry me?”
Tommy shot up from his chair, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape. “You’re fucking with me. I- Will, tell me you’re not fucking with me.”

Wilbur, a sheen of tears in his eyes, let out a wet chuckle. “I’m not fucking with you, sunshine. I’m serious when I say I always want you in my life, when I say I want to marry you. I . . . tell me what’s going through your mind.”

“I just-” Tommy cut himself off, desperately trying to wipe at his teary eyes. “Yes, Will! I don’t know how I could even say no. I want you in my life too, and I couldn’t survive without you either, and you know I suck at this whole sappiness thing, but yes!”

Wilbur’s smile became elated, as the brunet took Tommy’s hand and slid the silver band onto his ring finger. From there, he stood up and immediately brought the blond into his arms, Tommy leaning into the embrace easily. The two shared a kiss, falling right into place like two puzzle pieces from an old set, ones that had been put together again and again and had never stopped fitting perfectly. 

“Wait!” Wilbur paused, pulling back to reach into his pocket again. “I have one more thing for you.”

Tommy tilted his head in confusion as Wilbur pulled out a silver chain, the type used for necklaces, that had no charms or designs on it.

“I figured you’d want to keep the ring on most of the time, but that’s a bit hard when we’re bound to be recognized in public, so I figured I could get you a chain to put the band on to wear as a necklace under your shirt.”

Tommy buried his face into Wilbur’s shoulder. “That’s so perfect, Will. You put so much thought into this with this whole dinner and the necklace and I . . . you do so much for me.”

Wilbur set the chain back in his pocket and placed his hands on Tommy’s shoulders, pushing the blond away just a bit so he could look him in the eye. It was obvious he knew what was going through the younger man’s mind. “Toms, the whole point of this was that I wanted to give you the best proposal I could, so stop worrying about the fact that you’ve done nothing. I know that you love me because you do everything to show me in little ways; you don’t have to do any big gestures to prove that.”

Tommy nodded in understanding, a soft smile appearing on his face. A moment later, though, the grin turned slightly mischievous. “Well, I can always make it up to you as soon as we’re back home; I know a few ways to pay you back, after all.” Blue eyes flickered down to the older man’s lips.

Wilbur rolled his eyes, though he had to admit he didn’t mind what Tommy was proposing in the slightest. “You’re such a tease.”

“Hey, you’re the one who still wants to marry me!”

“That I do, sunshine. That I do.”

~

Tommy woke up to sunlight streaming through the window of his and Wilbur’s bedroom. He blinked blearily, attempting to get used to the light, and turned to find the other side of the bed empty. Before he had even a moment to feel upset or worried, the door creaked open and Wilbur came in, the man already dressed. 

“Hey, sunshine,” he greeted, walking over to the bed and sitting on the edge of the mattress. “I was just about to come wake you. I went and got us some pastries and coffee from the bakery down the street.”

Something undeniably fond made itself known in Tommy’s chest, a feeling so warm and gooey that it made him feel like he was melting. He pushed himself up from where he had been laying in order to sit beside his fiance𑁋 his fiance!𑁋 and give the brunet a short peck on the lips.

“Thank you, Will,” he mumbled, voice betraying his grogginess.

Wilbur stayed in the bedroom with Tommy as the blond got some clothes on𑁋 just a hoodie and some shorts, as they didn’t have anywhere they were planning on going that day𑁋 and grabbed his phone from the bedside table. Will took the younger man’s hand once he had dressed and pulled him to the kitchen, where paper coffee cups and bags of pastries were waiting on the counter for them, all still piping hot. The two ate their breakfast in a relative quiet, only breaking it to mutter softly to each other every few minutes. It was unfathomably domestic, a gentle meal between the two fiances while the late morning light filtered in, it was like they were in their own universe, and neither would have traded it for the world.

It was all broken by Tommy’s phone suddenly dinging. With a groan, the blond pulled out the device and went to check what notification he had received, hoping it was just something he could ignore for now. 

Tubbo: we still on for our stream tonite, boss man?

Tommy sighed and went to respond, but found himself hesitating as he caught sight of the ring on his left hand, the metal glinting in the sunlight. He was struck by a sudden realization that had him putting his phone down and looking over to his fiance.

“Hey, Will, I think we might have a small problem.”

Wilbur, concern flitting across his face, turned his full attention to the blond.

“How the fuck are we supposed to tell our friends we’re engaged when we never even told them we were dating?”

Will froze, eyes going wide. “Shit.”

One

Never let it be said that Tommy and Wilbur were good at problem solving. In fact, the two were rather shit at it, and they were both well aware of it. Their lack of ability in finding a solution became obvious when they decided that the problem of how to tell their friends would be something they would deal with later. For now, they supposed they would just pretend everything is the same and not say a word. Truly, a masterful answer to a genuine problem.

So, for the time being, they were just living their normal lives, which included being in a car with Jack Manifold, who had invited the couple to come vlog with him. Tommy and Wilbur shared a flat in London, so they had driven up north to stay with Jack in his hometown for a couple days. While they were there, they figured they could stop by Tommy’s old house, so he could pick up some things he’d left behind when he moved away from his parents. So, Wilbur was driving them and Tommy was in the passenger's seat, while Jack had been exiled to the back.

As soon as they had pulled up to the house and parked the car, Tommy’s mother was opening the front door and waving to them. Tommy got out of the car and smiled back at her, walking up to the front door to give her a hug.

“Hi, mum,” he greeted. “It’s good to see you.”

“I’m so glad you came to visit, even if it’s only for a few minutes,” she replied with a smile. “Is Will with you? I haven’t seen him since he drove all the way up here in the middle of the night to knock on my door and beg me and your father to let him propose to you.”

“I swear you’re more excited to see him than you are to see me sometimes,” Tommy joked. “But, yeah, he and Jack are in the car.”

“Well, why haven’t they gotten out?” she asked, almost affronted at the fact they hadn’t come to greet her yet. She turned to look at the car and cupped her hands around her mouth. “William Gold, get over here! I want to speak to my future son-in-law!”

“Oh my god,” Tommy mumbled, burying his flushed face into his hands.

“You too, Jack Manifold!” she called. “Don’t think you’re getting out of saying hello to me!”

Wilbur let out a loud laugh, obviously enjoying Tommy’s embarrassment, before opening the door and climbing out of the car. Jack scurried to follow suit, trying to hide the obvious confusion making itself known across his expression.

“Good to see you, Mrs. Simons,” Wilbur greeted as he walked up to the woman.

She brought the man into a quick hug before pulling back and leveling him with a very serious look. “None of that; you know you can just call me Emily!”

Wilbur nodded in acceptance of that, looking slightly intimidated by his fiance’s mother.

“And it’s wonderful to see you, Jack,” Emily said, turning to the other man. “Have you been doing well?”

“Uh, yeah, I’ve been good,” Jack replied, obviously startled by the attention suddenly on him. “You?”

“I’ve been doing brilliant,” she informed him with a beaming smile.

“I’m gonna go grab the boxes real quick,” Tommy cut in, sensing Jack’s discomfort. He turned to face his mum. “Please don’t embarrass me while I’m gone.”

“No promises.”

Tommy just let out a sigh and turned around to enter the house, quickly disappearing past the foyer. The moment he was out of earshot, Emily turned to Wilbur with a large smile on her face.

“He loved the proposal,” she told him immediately. “He wouldn’t stop gushing about it over the phone the next day and sent me just about a million pictures of the ring.”

Wilbur went slightly red, hand coming up to rub the back of his neck as his embarrassment showed clearly in his body language. “I- I’m glad! I was so nervous about the whole thing!”

Emily rolled her eyes. “You shouldn’t have been! I swear Tom would’ve said yes even if you asked him in the ugliest, most disgusting restaurant in the world, or if you proposed with a plastic ring.”

Wilbur chuckled at that, a soft smile appearing on his face.

“But, moving on,” Emily continued, “I’ve been meaning to tell you that I know a great wedding planner and I could send you her contact info! She could help you book a great venue and figure out all those little details that I’m sure you and Tom have no clue where to start on.”

Wilbur lit up at that. “That’s perfect! I’ve been searching around for a planner, but I’m just all nervous that they’re not gonna be a good one.”

“I’ll send you her contact info then!” Emily told him excitedly, a large smile on her face.

Just then, Tommy reemerged in the foyer with a couple of not-too-big boxes in his hands. “I have returned!” he announced over-dramatically before turning to Wilbur and Jack. “You guys ready to head out?”
Wilbur gave a confirmation and Jack just nodded mutely, the latter completely unsure of how to process the situation in front of him.

“I expect you and Wilbur back for dinner in the next few weeks,” Emily chided her son, giving him a stern look.

“Of course, mum. I’ll text you when we’re free.”

She nodded in acceptance and gave the blond a side hug before wishing the whole group a goodbye. The three stepped out of the front entrance and closed the door behind them, beginning to walk back to the car. Jack, however, was not having it.

“So is anybody gonna explain what the fuck just happened?” he piped up, undercurrents of confusion and anger in his voice. The two ahead of him stopped and turned to face their friend.

“Jack . . .” Tommy started, but trailed off, unsure of what to say.

“Why the actual fuck was your mom talking about a prosposal and referring to Wilbur as her ‘future son-in-law’ and suggesting a wedding planner?!” Jack interrogated them, unable to stop himself from raising his voice. “Because that makes it sound like you two are engaged or something, which would make no fucking sense because, last time I checked, you two were friends and nothing more!”

Wilbur let out a breath and dropped his head, shame raging through his chest and constricting his lungs. “Jack, we . . . Tommy and I have been dating for a few years now.”

“You- I- what?” 

Tommy nodded along to what Wilbur had said. “Wilbur proposed just a couple of weeks ago.”

“And you never told me?” All the anger had dissipated from Jack’s voice, and now it was just layered with sorrow, with dejection.

“Well, at first we didn’t tell anybody because I was sixteen,” Tommy explained, trying his best to rationalize the silence about the relationship, “and then a couple years passed and I was eighteen and it just . . . we didn’t know how to bring it up to anybody, so we kept it to ourselves.”

“I- oh . . .”

“If . . . if it makes you feel any better,” Wilbur piped up, “you were one of the first people we wanted to tell. We’ve been trying to figure out how we could even bring it up.”

“We wanted to tell you because-” Tommy took a deep breath, “-because I wanted to ask you to be one of my groomsmen.”

He froze. “Are you kidding?”

“Jack, you’re one of my closest friends,” Tommy told him, genuinity seeping into his voice. “Of course, I want you to be my groomsman.”

Jack took a deep breath and steeled himself, looking up to meet Tommy’s eyes. “I’ll be your groomsman on the condition that you don’t fucking hide shit like this from me again. Like, c’mon dude, what the actual fuck?”

Tommy smiled and let out a laugh. “Okay, I’ll tell you next time I get into a relationship with our friend who is eight years older than me.”

Jack rolled his eyes and flicked the blond on the forehead. “You know what I meant, dickhead.”

“We won’t hide any big shit from you again,” Wilbur promised, a grin on his face as well. 

“Now, let’s please get past this serious shit,” Tommy announced, “and let’s get vlogging!”
The other two men laughed and they piled into the car, Tommy putting the boxes into the trunk, before heading out to their vlogging location. Throughout the day, Jack couldn’t help but look over at Tommy and Wilbur𑁋 the way they teased each other, they way they were so physically affectionate, they way they shared glances like they could understand exactly what was running through the other’s head𑁋 and wonder how he had never noticed before.

Two

Tommy let out a sigh as he set down another heavy box that he had lugged up several flights of stairs. He was exhausted and the day had barely begun, seeing as they had only just lugged everything into the apartment and all the boxes still needed to be unpacked. He looked over to where his friends were adjusting a couch into the position they wanted and let his shoulders slump as he thought about how much more work there was to do.

He had agreed to help Tubbo and Ranboo move into their new apartment, but he hadn’t thought about how much work it was going to be. Of course, even if he had thought about what a long day of moving would entail, he still would have agreed to help, if only because he wanted to be the first person to be a guest in the new apartment. Plus, it was just nice to hang out with his friends. Of course, he still wanted to complain about how tired he was already, because he knew what type of day he could be having if he hadn’t come over to help out.

(“Stay in bed with me,” Wilbur had whined, lifting a hand out from under the covers to reach for Tommy. “We could have a quiet day in bed.”

“I can't,” Tommy had replied, pulling his shirt over his head and tugging it down. “I promised Tubbo and Ranboo that I would help them and it’d be shit of me to cancel on them now.”

Wilbur pouted, but Tommy was quick to make his way over and lean down to press a kiss to the man’s lips.

“Fine,” Wilbur conceded, “but I’m expecting lots of cuddles when you get home tonight since you had to leave so early this morning.”

Tommy had laughed softly. “Ah, of course. It would be so very rude of me to deprive you of cuddles tonight.”

Wilbur nodded resolutely. “It would.”

“I’ll see you tonight, Will. I love you.”

“I love you too, Toms.”)

“Tommy!” Tubbo called, breaking the blond out of his thoughts. “Could you bring that box with the dishes over here?”

“Sure thing, big man.” Tommy grabbed the box labeled with the words ‘Fragile contents!’ and carried it over to the kitchen as cautiously as he could, placing it on the counter and opening it up. He watched as Ranboo and Tubbo discussed which tableware would go in which cabinet, beginning to fill up all the empty storage spaces. All three of them chattered and joked around as they slowly emptied all the boxes that had contents belonging in the common areas of the house. A few hours had passed by the time the living room and kitchen were almost completely unpacked and some of the boxes were cleared.

“It’s looking good so far,” Tommy told the two, gazing around the rooms.

“It really is!” Tubbo exclaimed, seemingly excited for how well it was all coming together. “I’m really liking it!”

Ranboo nodded in agreement. “We should take a break for lunch. We could get some chinese food or something.”

Tubbo and Tommy both voiced their agreements and Ranboo pulled out his phone to order delivery. The three took a seat around the kitchen table𑁋 it had been a pain to lug in, as well as the chairs𑁋 and just took a moment to breathe, all tired from the heavy lifting and unpacking. They sat in silence for a few moments, enjoying the quiet rest.

It wasn’t long until the doorbell rang, signaling that the food had arrived. Tubbo stood to get it, thanking the delivery person and coming back to set down the large paper bag. He grabbed the paper plates and plastic utensils he and Ranboo had been using throughout the move, much too lazy to grab the actual ceramic plates, and set them on the table as well. The group was quick to pull out the food and begin eating, all too hungry and tired to make conversation.

Tommy paused in his eating to reach across the table and grab one of the eggrolls from the little bag they were in. As he did so, however, Tubbo looked down at his hand and couldn’t help but notice something.

There was a ring.

That was . . . strange, to say the least. He had never seen Tommy wear any rings, and the blond had never hinted that he wanted to, so it was a bit weird to see him suddenly wearing a simple silver band around his fourth finger. Tubbo, unable to help himself, grabbed Tommy’s wrist and pulled his hand closer to him, just observing the ring. The action obviously startled both Tommy and Ranboo, as the former let out a yelp at being grabbed and the latter stopped eating to level Tubbo with a confused look.

“Where did this ring come from?” Tubbo asked, looking up to meet Tommy’s eyes. “And since when did you wear rings?”

Tommy laughed nervously. “Oh- I- uh . . .”

Ranboo looked a little closer at what Tubbo was referring to and his eyes went wide in understanding. “Tommy, that’s on your ring finger; like, the finger where you generally wear engagement or wedding rings.”

Tommy averted his gaze from his friends, eyes wide and face slightly red. He could feel Tubbo and Ranboo’s eyes boring into his forehead as he desperately tried to think of what to say to them.

“It’s really not-” he started, but hesitated as Tubbo slid the ring off of his finger to get a better look at it. “Hey!”
“It has a ‘W’ and a ‘T’ engraved on the inside,” Tubbo noted, handing it over to Ranboo to let his boyfriend get a better look at it. Surprise flitted across Ranboo’s face as he noted that it did, infact, have said engraving on it. 

“Tommy,” Ranboo said, making the blond Brit look at him.

“Yeah?” Tommy asked sheepishly. Ranboo held out the ring to him and he quickly took it, sliding it back onto his finger.

“Please tell me that ring is not the type of ring I think it is.”

Tommy laughed nervously. “Depends on what type of ring you’re thinking of, big man.”

“Tommy,” Tubbo cut in with a stern tone, “is that a fucking engagement ring?”

“I . . . yeah . . . yeah, it’s an engagement ring, big man.”

Tubbo’s shoulders went slack and he stared at Tommy, completely and utterly dumbfounded, as if he couldn’t even process the information. Ranboo wasn’t in a much better state, the American looking as though he was having an existential crisis over the new information.

“You’re engaged? Who would you even-?!” Tubbo cut himself off, brain pausing as he remembered the engraving on the inside of the silver band. “Tell me that the person you’re engaged to isn’t who I think it is.”

Tommy sunk down into his seat, wishing the earth would just swallow him whole.

“Tom Simons, look me in the fucking eyes and tell me that the guy you had a minor crush on when you were fifteen fucking years old has not been dating you long enough to propose to you.” Tubbo’s voice was deadly calm in the way it only was when he was trying to control all of his negative emotions.

“I don’t know what you want me to tell you, Tubs,” Tommy muttered, fiddling with the ring on his finger.

Tubbo slammed his hands down on the wooden table and stood up from his chair. “You are fucking kidding me right now. You are playing a fucking prank.”

“I . . . I’m not playing a prank on you. I’ve been meaning to tell you about him for, fucking hell, years now, but-”

“Wait-” Ranboo piped up. “Who is he-”

“You’re engaged to Wilbur fucking Soot?!” Tubbo shouted, cutting Ranboo off, not that it mattered, as the American went dead silent as it was revealed to him who Tommy’s fiance was.

“Surprise?” Tommy tried, giving Tubbo an anxious smile.

Tubbo collapsed back down into his chair and buried his face into his hands. “I cannot fucking believe this.”

“Listen, I-”

“Hold up, let’s pause for a second,” Ranboo interrupted Tommy, turning to face the blond. “You’re engaged to who?”

Tommy ran a hand over his face, some mix of embarrassed and exasperated. “I’m engaged to Wilbur. He proposed a few weeks ago.”

“And when were you gonna fucking tell us?!” Tubbo exclaimed, raising his head to glare at Tommy.

“Soon?” he tried. “We haven't purposefully kept this from anyone, but the fact we were dating just sorta . . .  never came up?”

“Your excuse is that it never came up?” Ranboo questioned with a raised eyebrow, voice laced with incredulity. “And you’ve been dating for how long?”
“. . . Since I was sixteen.”

“Fuckin’ hell, man!” Tubbo shouted. “I am never forgiving you for this.”

“What if I asked you to be my best man?” Tommy offered, voice a bit lighter but obviously still anxious.

Tubbo paused and thought about it for a moment before sighing. “I will eventually forgive you for this, but only because being your best man gives me the chance to tell embarrassing stories about you at your wedding.”

“I should’ve expected nothing different,” Tommy sighed before turning his attention to Ranboo. “What do you say, big man? Wanna be a groomsman?”

“I . . . are you sure?” Ranboo replied nervously, but there was a small smile on his face.

“Of course, dude! You’ll be up there with Tubbo and Jack, and it’s not like you’ll have any responsibilities besides just standing there, so it’s no pressure.”

Ranboo nodded. “Yeah . . . that sounds good, man. Congrats, by the way, since I didn’t really get to say that.”

Tommy laughed. “Thanks, dude.”

After that, the room luckily fell back into easy conversation as they all finished up their food. Tubbo and Ranboo were happy to poke fun at Tommy about his relationship now that they were aware, and the blond didn’t seem to mind all that much. It wasn’t long until they were back to chatting and unpacking the boxes scattered around the room. It was all calm until Tubbo suddenly paused and shot around to look at Tommy.

“Wait a minute! Did Jack fucking Manifold know about your relationship before I did?!”

“Oh fuck.”

Three

The flat was almost completely quiet, except for the slight buzz of the fans running and some gentle footsteps echoing from the kitchen. Niki woke up slowly, blinking against the light filtering in through the curtains. It took her a moment to register where she was, never having woken up here before, but memories of the day before flashed through her mind. She had come to London the previous afternoon to see Tommy and Wilbur, who had picked her up from the train station and taken her back to their shared flat. They had gotten takeout for dinner and, not long after, she had fallen asleep in their guest room, much too tired to stay up for long.

Now a bit more awake and aware, Niki got out of the bed and grabbed her phone from where it was charging on the nightstand, giving a quick look at her notifications just to be sure she hadn’t missed anything important. She replied to a couple of texts she had received while asleep before slipping the device into the pocket of her pajama pants and making her way out of the guest room.

It seemed she wasn’t the first to get up that morning, as she heard noise coming from the kitchen. Curious, she began to walk down the hallway towards where the commotion was coming from, expecting to see one of the two she was staying with up and about, perhaps making coffee or tiredly throwing together breakfast. She rounded the corridor corner just to see the tailend of who appeared to be Wilbur heading towards the kitchen as well. She followed, but paused in the entrance to the common area of the flat, unsure why she was so hesitant. She listened to her gut feeling and peeked around the doorway, curious as to the reason she felt so strange about walking in.

Niki watched as Wilbur tiredly dragged himself into the kitchen, where Tommy was standing over a pan on the stovetop. The brunet came up behind the younger man and wrapped his arms around his waist, dropping his chin down onto golden curls.

Tommy gave a soft laugh. “Good morning.”

Wilbur only grumbled in return, not letting go of the blond. Niki couldn’t help the slight confusion that swirled up in her chest. She knew that Wilbur and Tommy had both always been rather affectionate people, no matter how much either of them tried to deny it, but this affection felt . . . different. It didn’t register in her head as the same platonic touch that Wilbur gave all of his friends.

“You tired?” Tommy asked with a teasing edge to his tone, turning the cooktop off and using a spatula to move the scrambled eggs onto a plate.

“A little bit,” Wilbur muttered into his hair.

Tommy turned around to be facing Wilbur, who moved his arms away to free the blond from his hold. The two just looked at each other for a moment, all tired smiles and drooping eyes.

“I’ve been researching a bunch of venues with the planner,” Wilbur told him, and Tommy’s eyes lit up in interest.

Niki didn’t like the uncertainty clogging up her throat. She didn’t like the fact that she felt so out of the loop. What type of venue was Wilbur talking about? Why would they need one? Why did Niki have not a single clue what they were referencing?

“Yeah?” Tommy prompted.

“There’s this really nice hotel with a gorgeous ballroom that I feel like you would really like. It would be perfect because then guests could just rent rooms in the hotel and already be there. The place is really hard to book, but I honestly think we could manage it,” Wilbur told him. “But, if we tour that one and you don’t like it, there’s also a couple venues that aren’t hotels and are specifically just for events, like I was looking one that used to be a warehouse but was refurbished into this really cool space with a sort of industrial vibe to it𑁋 lots of exposed pipes and high ceilings and such.”

Tommy seemed to drink all the words in with an eagerness Niki wouldn’t expect from him, but there was also a teasing glint in his eyes. “You know, for someone who was so ready to pawn this entire thing off on a planner, you sure are invested now.”

Wilbur rolled his eyes. “Can you blame me? I’m excited!”
“You’re so excited for me to take your last name that you’re willing to become invested in learning about event spaces?” Tommy joked.

Wilbur placed a hand over his heart as if offended and gave an affronted look. “Who said you’re taking my last name? What if I want yours?!”

Tommy raised an eyebrow, but was still smiling wide. “Wilbur, listen to me.”

“I’m listening,” Wilbur responded, face ridiculously serious.

“Just hear me out.” The blond paused for dramatic effect. “Look at me and consider: ‘Tom Gold.’”

Wilbur froze, just staring at Tommy for a second, before a wide grin broke out across his face. His eyes were filled with such a loving adoration that Niki had never seen the brunet direct at anybody before, not people she had seen him date in the past or even friends he considered close enough to be family.

“You’ve convinced me,” Wilbur declared, his smile so goofily wide and adoring that it was almost blinding. “‘Tom Gold’ is just too good to pass up.”

Tommy didn’t say anything back, but looked rather proud of himself. Wilbur’s expression softened a bit as he registered just how excited the blond seemed to be to take his last name. With a gentle hand, the brunet reached forward and gently pulled at the chain Tommy was wearing around his neck𑁋 a chain that Niki hadn’t even noticed before. She simply stared as the necklace was taken out from under the blond’s shirt, revealing a ring on the end of it. Wilbur held the ring gently in his hands and his gaze flickered up to Tommy, so fond and loving that Niki felt suffocated, because she was intruding on something so personal that it made her feel guilty.

Niki took a step back, planning on heading back to the guest room and waiting there for a bit until it felt like an appropriate time to return, but the hardwood floors let out a groan as she put pressure on them. She froze as Wilbur and Tommy both turned to her, their eyes wide like deer stuck in headlights. Suddenly, they were stuck in a staring contest, nobody quite sure of how to break the silence and speak about it first.

“How much did you hear?” Wilbur asked, dropping the end of the necklace that he had still been cradling in his hand. Of course, it didn’t really matter if she had only been there for the last few seconds, because it still would’ve been apparent what was going on.

“I . . . uh . . . the whole thing?” Niki admitted after a moment, an embarrassed flush rising to her cheeks. “Sorry.”

“It’s not your fault,” Tommy insisted, tucking his necklace back under the t-shirt he was wearing, which looked suspiciously like one Niki remembered as belonging to Wilbur.

“I’m happy for you guys,” she tried, noticing how the two looked slightly worried. “You’re very cute together.”

Tommy gave her a strained smile, and Wilbur tried to nod his thanks, but neither spoke up.

“Seriously,” Niki piped up again, “this honestly changes nothing. You guys are two of my close friends and, while I wish I had known before, I’m excited for you! And I’ll forgive you for not telling me before as long as I get to be at the wedding.”

Wilbur grinned at her. “You think we wouldn’t invite you? You have to be there𑁋 it wouldn’t be right if you weren’t!”

Niki felt all the discomfort and uncertainty from earlier leave her, only fondness as she began to ask the two about the wedding plans, both Tommy and Wilbur excited to ramble on about everything they were hoping to put together.

Four

George was honestly tired, which wasn’t so unusual for him. He wasn’t exactly the athletic type, and found that he got worn out very easily. Just one stream was enough to make him tired for the rest of the day, so doing more than that made him feel ready to sleep for a week. Unfortunately for him, he had been spending the day with Tommy, who seemed to be able to do a million things in a single day and not get exhausted until they were all finished. George’s saving grace was Wilbur, who seemed to be the only person able to get Tommy to slow down for a moment and rest.

They had come to visit George in Brighton and they managed to film a vlog, do three streams (one on each of their channels), and film several tiktok videos all in the span of one day, and he was exhausted. At the moment, they were all just sitting on the beach, watching the sun lower down towards the horizon, and George was relieved that it was all calm. Wilbur had disappeared for a moment to go grab them all some food, leaving him with Tommy, who was just scrolling through his phone and making small talk every once in a while.

In the silence, George had time to process the day, and he found that there were just a few strange things he didn’t quite understand. See, he had watched Tommy and Wilbur interact one stream, and he didn’t often see them in person, but there was something different between them that he had never really noticed before, something that felt awfully familiar.

It reminded him of the way Tubbo and Ranboo acted when they wanted to be open about their relationship, but Tubbo didn’t want to force Ranboo out of the closet. It reminded him of the way Karl, Sapnap, and Quackity act on stream when trying to pretend that they are all just friends who jokingly pretend to be dating. It reminded him of himself and Dream, when they were still trying to figure out how to let everyone know that their relationship wasn’t a joke without saying it outright. It felt like that almost too close platonic relationship, where something was just under the surface, where you would only see it if you were paying attention.

And maybe George was paying attention, but he was probably just overthinking it.

He was broken out of his thoughts by Wilbur returning with food, the man passing George and Tommy the burgers they had requested before sitting down with them. All three of them began to dig into their food, just quietly eating and not bothering too much with conversation.

The peace was interrupted when Wilbur’s phone began to ring. The brunet looked confused as he pulled the device out of his pocket to check who was calling him. Recognition flashed across his face as he saw the contact name and he looked up to the other two with him, but mostly to George.

“I’ve gotta take this real quickly. I’ll be right back.”

With that, Wilbur stood up and walked away, answering his phone and bringing it up to his ear as he did so. The last thing George was able to make out was the brunet asking how the person on the other end of the line was doing, but then he was too far away to hear what else was said. He was left in silence with Tommy, who seemed content to just eat his food and stare out at the waves crashing onto the shore. The sun was no longer visible, having lowered beneath the horizon, but it wasn’t quite completely dark yet, just bright enough to make out what was a few feet in front of you.

It was a few minutes before Wilbur returned, the brunet shoving his phone back into his pocket as he approached the two. He had wide eyes and a surprised expression, most definitely the result of what the conversation over the phone had been about. Both Tommy and George looked up to him with quizzical looks, but Wilbur was solely focused on Tommy, his face splitting into a wide grin as he made eye contact with the blond.

“We got the venue,” Wilbur said, as if that made any sense to George. It seemed Tommy understood what that meant, though, as the blond shot up from where he was on the ground to be level with the man.

“I thought it was all booked up for the dates we wanted!” Tommy’s tone was some mix of overjoyed and disbelieving.

“Someone cancelled their event and we were first on the waiting list, so we got the spot!” Wilbur told him excitedly, and George could make out his ecstatic expression even in the dark.

Tommy was suddenly racing forwards, crashing into Wilbur’s chest. The brunet caught him easily and the two leaned into each other, laughing in glee over something that George didn’t understand. He almost missed it in the dark, but he could see Tommy lean back from the embrace in order to give Wilbur a short kiss before collapsing back into his arms.

George wasn’t sure of what to say, or if he should say anything at all. Pieces were beginning to form in his mind, and it suddenly felt like perhaps it wasn’t his place to interrupt and ask questions, even if he wanted to. As Tommy and Wilbur sat back down, so very close to each other with their sides pressed against each other, and began to discuss something about a wedding that nobody had mentioned to George before, he wondered if he should speak up.

Instead, he remained quiet and finished his food. The moment was too fragile to break up, with his two friends lost in their own little world. Who was he to interrupt their own private universe?

Five

“I’ve been thinking-” Tommy started one night at dinner during a lull in the conversation.

“Don’t hurt yourself,” Wilbur interrupted, a teasing edge to his voice.

Tommy rolled his eyes, but continued on nonetheless. “I’ve been thinking about what our plans are for wedding rings.”

Wilbur paused for a moment, brows furrowing a bit. “I hadn’t even considered that. It completely slipped my mind.”

Tommy gave him a small grin, pulling out his phone and beginning to pull something up. “Well, lucky for you, I’ve been looking around and thinking about what types of rings we should get.”

Wilbur leaned forwards, interested in what the blond was going to suggest.

“I think we should maybe do something a little more exciting than just plain gold bands.” Tommy turned the phone around to show off a few pictures he had collected of gold wedding rings that had engravings on them. Wilbur looked closely at the photos, eyes lighting up and a small grin appearing on his face. After a moment, he leaned back and met Tommy’s gaze once more.

“I really like the floral engravings a couple of them had. Maybe we should go with something like that,” Wilbur offered.

Tommy smiled. “That’s exactly what I was thinking!”

~
Phil had honestly missed hanging out with Wilbur. It had been quite a while since the two had seen each other, both having been rather busy, and he had to admit that it was nice to see the younger man again. The brunet was always quite fun to be around, rather chaotic and silly when he was around people he was comfortable with, and so being with him was always considered to be an exciting day for Phil.

The two had decided to forgo vlogging for the day, deciding just to catch up and spend time together. After some deliberating on what they should do, they figured they would just get lunch and go shopping together, giving them the chance to get what they needed and also just fuck around for a bit. They were walking around and peeking through the windows of the shops they passed, just seeing what they had to offer and going in if they saw something interesting.

“I can’t believe you bought that thing,” Phil told Wilbur as they exited a store and began walking along the street again. 

“How could I not?” Wilbur laughed, shaking the bag a bit. “It’ll look so fucking stupid in my flat that I couldn’t resist it.”

Phil let out an exasperated sigh. “Where the fuck are you even going to put it?”

“On my coffee table,” Wilbur replied easily, as though he had already thought it out. “Imagine: you walk into my flat and are surprised by how it’s actually well decorated, but then𑁋 bam! There’s a giant, rubber-duck shaped vase with a succulent in it right in the center of the living room!”

“You are ridiculous,” Phil told him with a roll of his eyes, but decided to drop the topic, considering the purchase had already been made and there was no going back on it. “Anyways, how has your new flat been in general? I haven’t even gotten a chance to come and visit you, so I haven’t seen it yet! I should really come by some-”

Phil cut himself off as he looked beside him and realized Wilbur was no longer there. He froze in his tracks, staring at the spot where he should’ve been in complete and utter confusion. How the fuck had he lost his giant of a friend in a shopping center that wasn’t even that busy?! Phil turned back to see if Wilbur had stopped somewhere behind him and found that the brunet was practically pressed up against the glass window of one of the shops, staring at something in the display. He made his way over to the younger man, curious as to what had caught his attention. Phil was caught off guard when he realized that it was a jewelry shop.

“Will?” he questioned as the brunet pulled out his phone, took a photo of whatever he was looking at, and appeared to text it to someone. Without giving a response to Phil, Wilbur walked straight into the jewelry store, looking intently down at his phone. Phil scrambled after him.

“Welcome in. Can I help you with anything today?” an employee asked Wilbur, whose head shot up to look at them.

“Yes!” Wilbur answered immediately. “I- uh- the rings in the window, the gold ones with the engravings, are those available?”

Phil could feel his brows furrowing and face pinching with confusion. Why the fuck was Wilbur buying rings? Especially ones that appeared to be wedding rings?
“Yes, they are!” the employee answered. “What sizes are you looking for?”

Wilbur glanced down at his phone, face breaking out into a smile at something Phil couldn’t see, before he looked back up at the employee helping them and rattled off a couple of ring sizes. The worker told them that she’d be right back before disappearing to go and grab the rings. Once she was gone, Phil immediately turned to Wilbur, who had slipped his phone back into his pocket and was glancing around at the other jewelry in the display cases of the store.

“What the fuck, mate?” Phil asked, drawing the brunet’s attention to him.

“Hm?” Wilbur let out, startled as he turned to his friend. “Oh, sorry! I just saw these rings in the window and they were perfect and I had to see if they had them in stock.”
“Yeah, I gathered that, but why do-”

Phil was cut off by the employee returning and waving them over to a counter. Wilbur practically bounded over, a wide grin on his face as the employee took the rings out in the sizes he requested.

“Do these seem to be the right sizes?”

“These look exactly right!” Wilbur told the worker excitedly. “Do you guys happen to do engravings on the inside here?”

“We do!” she replied.

Wilbur’s smile only seemed to get brighter. “Perfect!”

Phil began to tune out the interaction, wondering if he was going into shock as he watched Wilbur, one of his close friends that he told practically everything to, buy wedding rings for a reason he couldn’t even begin to figure out. Because, surely, there was no way Wilbur needed wedding rings! He would know if one of his closest friends was getting married! He would’ve been told!

Phil followed numbly as Wilbur ordered the engraving, paid, and walked out of the store. He didn’t even know how he was supposed to bring it up, considering the brunet seemed fine saying nothing, but he knew he had to figure out what the fuck was going on. He placed a hand on Wilbur’s shoulder, making the younger man turn to him, and tried to convey his confusion through his expression.

“What the fuck is going on, mate?” Phil couldn’t stop himself from asking.

Wilbur paused, just seeming to comprehend that Phil had been there the whole time, a flush came across his cheeks, obviously embarrassed from the realization that he was going to have to explain what had just occurred. He let out a sigh and motioned for the older man to follow him. He headed over to one of the tables in the sitting area of the shopping center, taking a seat on one side while Phil sat opposite him.

“So, I’ve been meaning to tell you for a while𑁋 I’ve really been trying to figure out how to!𑁋 but . . . I’m engaged.” Wilbur was staring down at the table, not finding the strength to push past the embarrassment and look his friend in the eyes.

Phil let out an exasperated sigh, running a hand down his face. “I didn’t even know you were dating anybody.”

Wilbur let out a nervous chuckle. “Yeah . . . most people didn’t. The only people who have been up to date on this whole thing is my band.”

“You’ve told nobody but your band?!” Phil exclaimed incredulously. “Not even, like, Niki or Tommy or someone?”

“Well . . . here’s the funny thing about telling Tommy . . .” Wilbur half-mumbled, a hand coming up to rub at the back of his neck.

Phil’s eyes went wide and he just stared in shock at the brunet. “You’re joking.”

“I’m not.”

“You’re engaged to Tommy?” Phil questioned in a hushed tone. “Like, you’re being completely serious here?”

Wilbur only nodded.

Phil leaned back in his chair, rubbing tiredly at his eyes as he attempted to process the new information that had been given to him. He quickly found that there was no way to wrap his head around it, that it was just something he was going to have to accept, because figuring out all of Wilbur’s bullshit is impossible for any half sane person.

“I don’t even know what to say, Will. I mean, I’m happy for you, but𑁋 fucking hell, man𑁋 you can just tell me this shit, you know?” Phil took a deep breath. “If you need any help with wedding stuff, just let me know, okay? I’ve got a bit of experience with that.”

Wilbur smiled, finally meeting Phil’s eyes. “Thanks, man. It . . . it honestly means a lot to me.”

Phil couldn’t help but smile back.

Plus One

Tommy took a deep breath, looking up at his computer, which had Discord up and open to the Dream SMP server. Beside him, Wilbur was on his phone, looking at the exact same channel. The air in the room was thick as they both knew exactly what they were about to do, but they were both well aware that it had to be done, lest they accidentally reveal it to anybody else.

“Ready?” Wilbur asked.

Tommy let out a breath. “Ready.”

#general-chat

tommyinnit

@Everyone sorry for the tag but this is sorta important and i need everybody here for this

(everything is okay, dont worry, just got some news to share)

tubbo

IS THE NEWS UR ABT TO SHARE THE NEWS I THINK IT IS?????????

wilbur soot

yeah it is

jack manifold

oh thank fuck

philza 

FINALLY!!!

tommyinnit

all of u shut up and let us share our news

wilbur soot

so basically

[engagement.png: the image is one of Wilbur and Tommy smiling at the camera. Tommy’s hand is up and the back of it is facing the camera to show off the band around his ring finger]

techno

no way this means what i think it means

tommyinnit

it means wilbur and i are engaged :D

techno

bruhhhh

why was i not informed?

wilbur soot

tbf nobody was informed unless they found out by accident 

dream 

YOOOOO CONGRATS!!!

awesamdude

i was not expecting this to be the news

but i'm happy for you guys!!

captain puffy

OH MY GOSH

CONGRATS YOU TWO!!!

sapnap 

you two were together???

thats crazy

but congrats!!

ponk

YOOOO GOOD FOR YOU TWO!!

Wilbur shut off his phone and leaned over to grab Tommy’s hand as they watched a plethora of other congratulatory messages come in. The tension in the room had significantly lifted and it felt light again.

“That went well,” Wilbur mused, a smile on his face.

“They all seem excited,” Tommy noted. “How do you think they’ll react when they find out they’re invited to the wedding?”

Wilbur laughed. “It’ll be chaos.

~

As Tommy breathed in the ocean air, staring out from the balcony over the beach, he realized that he finally understood why Wilbur loved La Jolla so much. When the brunet had proposed the destination for their honeymoon, Tommy had agreed immediately, not because he knew anything about the city or was particularly itching to go there, but because he knew it was Wilbur’s dream place. He couldn’t say no to a few weeks in the city when his husband𑁋 his husband! 𑁋 looked so overjoyed at the thought of going there.

Now, however, he understood. La Jolla was gorgeous, with all of its blue water and calming beaches and bright sunshine. It felt like a little paradise, a peaceful escape for him𑁋 or perhaps that’s just what he felt like when he was with Wilbur.

They were on one of the outdoor couches, just resting together. Tommy was between Wilbur’s legs, back resting against the brunet’s chest and head tucked under his chin. They were both quiet, just existing together in a world that felt as though it housed them and them alone. Tommy fiddled with Wilbur’s left hand, messing with his fingers and twirling around the ring that matched his own. Wilbur held him close with his free arm, wrapped around the blond’s waist. Fainted, the ocean crashed into the shore and the seagull chirped in the background.

Soon, they would tell the world of their marriage. Soon, Tommy would let everyone know of his new last name. Soon, the two of them would wear their rings out in public all of the time in a proud display of their love.

For now, they stay together in their own little galaxy because they were in love. Because they were simps and down bad and every other phrase anybody could possibly use to describe someone as hopelessly infatuated they were.