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Their marriage started rough. They were barely friends, more acquaintances at the time, married out of convenience and a cheap and desperate play for affection on both ends. Tubbo saw marriage as a contract, now that he and Ranboo were together he had to be loved. It was how he coped with being alone. Ranboo saw marriage as a loose concept, more of a wish that would hopefully come true and marriage was an attempt to ensure that wish's success. It was how he coped with being alone.
It was rough. They had separate houses and lives, so they only spent a few hours a day together. They became closer as friends, but not by very much. Over time, however, they began to spend more free time together on walks just talking. Afterwards they'd go back to their separate homes, but the time they spent together grew longer and longer each day.
Eventually Ranboo started walking back with tubbo to his home after their walks. They would spend the rest of the day together, everyday. Talking, laughing, or just existing. Ranboo learned the chores and routines and each creak in the floorboards and the squeak in the faucet taps. Tubbo learned to not be so controlling over how the house got cared for, leaving responsibility to Ranboo. He felt less paranoid, not checking over his shoulder because he knew there was someone he trusted near him.
They learned to coexist together, they learned each other. Tubbo's favorite TV show episodes, Ranboo's favorite mug, the stain on the rug from when they spilled noodles on it, the bruise on Tubbo's hip from walking into a storage chest. Ranboo went from leaving in the afternoons to staying for dinner to going home long after the sun had set. They danced in the kitchen to a scrappy radio. They fought in the living room once that lasted a whole week before amends, and both of them decided that the week apart was terrible and that they'd never fight that badly ever again.
And one night, they lost track of time after dinner. It's midnight, and way too late for Ranboo to go home. They look at each other awkwardly, and tubbo offers for him to stay the night. They go through the motions of getting ready for bed, this time in the same house instead of miles apart. it's intimate in a new and strange way, like when a blister has just healed and the skin is a bit too tender and new. You curiously prod it but poking it too hard too fast will hurt.
After a vaguely uncomfortable conversation about how Ranboo would never fit on the couch laying down and Tubbo needed the built-in heating pads on the mattress for his scars, they conclude that they'd just share the bed. It was only for one night after all. Tubbo falls asleep quickly, but Ranboo spends at least an hour staring at his sleeping face. He's lying here next to Tubbo in his bed and in his house and it's weird and new but he's never felt more at home. That is the moment that Ranboo realizes that he loves Tubbo, and the title of "husband" takes on a new form. Something softer, sweeter.
Tubbo wakes up in Ranboo's arms and they both feel happier than ever. After that night, they both crave it again, subconsciously or not. Flimsy excuses pop up, whether it's Tubbo distracting Ranboo until it's too late at night or Ranboo claiming to forget his watch so they can't tell the time passing. Whatever it is, neither mention the blatant truth. The nights when Ranboo leaves his home cold and empty grow quickly, from a few times a month to four-to-five days a week. The clothes he wears slowly migrate into Tubbo's closet and one day, Ranboo's toothbrush is lying next to Tubbo's. Their shoes are both by the door, armor and coats on hooks in the hallway.
It's one of the rare days when Ranboo is at his other house for the night and Tubbo is left alone. He tries to fall asleep but all he can think about is how desperately he craves the other, he can hardly stand this separation. He doesn't know how he ever lived without Ranboo. He wants him here, he wants to be held by him, he wants to fall asleep and wake up with him. He wants to be loved by him, he loves him. And oh, isn't that a wonderful revelation to have at one in the morning and exhausted. That is the moment Tubbo realizes he loves Ranboo. He loves his husband.
Ranboo stops going to his house except for when he needs resources or an item. It is no longer Tubbo's house, it's their house. The days pass in a wonderful bliss, sweet nicknames bloom and inside jokes form. They go everywhere together, and people double take when they walk by. They see the questions in everyone's eyes, the server isn't blind. But they never mention it, content in their little bubble of unspoken love.
They both know better now. Marriage isn't a contract, or a flimsy wish. Marriage is your partner, the person who doesn't complete you but fits with you and adds to you. They compliment you in every way, they make the world better to live in. Marriage is about love.
Ranboo and Tubbo are in love with each other, and it is a wonderful thing.