TUBBO'S POV

Tubbo cracked an eyelid open in the darkness. The space around him was completely silent, and he sat up as quietly as possible. He slipped on a jacket to protect himself from the midnight cold, and slid out of bed, silent as a mouse. He tiptoed out of the room, exiting the building and stopping for a moment to take in L'Manberg- no, Manberg. There were no walls now; Schlatt had seen to it yesterday. They'd initially planned to burn the flag at sundown yesterday, but tearing down the walls had proved to be a longer process than expected, and now the burning of the previous flag had been scheduled to sunrise. The moon was still high in the sky, so Tubbo had plenty of time to execute his plan.

Speaking of his plan, Tubbo had no idea what to do next. He'd snuck out of the white house, where he'd taken up residence since he was the secretary of state, but now, where to find Tommy and Wilbur, and not to mention, he had not an inkling of an idea how he would be able to convince them that he was on their side. Tubbo was a good actor; too good. He stood frozen for a moment, gazing over the land in vain hopes of being able to spot either of the two exiled men, but nothing came out of it, as expected.

Tubbo huffed a breath into the icy, chilly air, and decided to just wander around the outskirts of Manberg, in hopes that he would be able to pick up a trail that either Tommy or Wilbur left behind. So he did, padding along as softly as possible in order not to attract attention or trouble. Once he started wandering deeper into the depths of the forest, he started to lose hope, until he heard a crack of a branch.

Tubbo whipped around, eyes wide, fists balled, ready to defend himself if the need be. But instead, a ragged, tired, and surprised Tommy stood in front of him. Tubbo stood, shocked, then ran forward and embraced his friend.

Tommy was even more surprised, judging by his complete lack of movement when Tubbo released him.

"Tommy, I-"

"Tubbo, I-"

The two began babbling at the same time, then they both stopped, waiting for the other, then they both began babbling again. The two burst into laughter, and for a moment, it felt like they were just two kids, carefree and young, hanging out with their best friend. But then, the weight of the situation rested on him, although lightened a little by the fact that Tommy still trusted him.

"Tommy, I'm willing to be your spy. What I did that day with Schlatt and everything, I was just acting, just so I could get the job and pass on information to you. I promise I'll be a good spy!" Tubbo rushed out in one breath. He then held his breath, waiting for Tommy's answer.

"Really?"

Tubbo was taken aback, a little hurt that his best friend didn't trust him enough to believe him the first time he told him.

Well, to be fair, it did seem like I was betraying him, back at the inauguration.

"Of course! Where's Wilbur?"

Tommy's frown deepened. "We'd planned to both come out and find you tonight, but Wilbur looked deathly tired, so I told him to stay and I came out by myself instead."

"Oh." Tubbo's face fell slightly. The pair stood in awkward, tense silence before Tommy broke it.

"Come on, come back to the base. You don't have anything scheduled or whatever, soon, do you?" Tommy watched Tubbo apprehensively.

"Well, I have to get back before any of the others wake up, especially Schlatt." Tubbo shuddered. "He's really scary, it's like he, he knows stuff. It's like he can read my mind, like he's always watching me."

"Must be one hell of a job, putting a front around Schlatt. He's gone crazy, I reckon." Tommy winced. "Come on, let's head back, there's still a little time to discuss some stuff before you have to go back to L'Manberg."

"It's Manberg now." Tubbo corrected him gently. Tommy shook his head firmly.

"As long as I'm still alive, it's still L'Manberg."

Tubbo bit his lip, but didn't argue further. The pair walked back to their new base, which Tommy informed Tubbo that they had dubbed 'Pogtopia'. Tubbo raised an eyebrow at the tiny dirt shack, but his mouth fell open once Tommy led him down to the large ravine.

"Woah, that's so lucky, discovering a ravine just underneath your dirt shack. I bet you could dig holes in the walls as little rooms and bases, and you could decorate the ceiling with chains and lanterns and stuff." Tubbo gushed. "That's so cool!"

Tommy smiled, and for a second, he didn't look like he was fifty years older than he actually was, with his dirty, matted hair and face, the dark circles underneath his eyes, and the torn and frayed edges of his uniform.

But his face fell back into that tired, grim, weary expression quickly, and the pair sat down near one of the small fire pits Wilbur and Tommy had built for warmth and talked. Halfway through their conversation, Wilbur stumbled in, and almost punched Tubbo in the face before he recognized him.

Wilbur did look terrible, Tommy wasn't kidding when Wilbur looked 'deathly tired'. His under-eye bags were even worse than Tommy's, even though they'd only been exiled for not even twenty-four hours, and his hair and eyes seemed dull. He did seem to perk up at Tubbo's appearance, but after a few minutes of talk, Wilbur fell asleep, leaning against the wall of the rocky ravine and muttering indiscernible things underneath his breath. Tommy gave Wilbur a tired and worried glance, but Tubbo laid a hand on Tommy's shoulder, trying his best to communicate that it would all be okay.

Who knows if it'll all be okay.

Soon, the sky started to become gray, and Tommy and Tubbo rushed to put out the fire and exchange hurried goodbyes before Tubbo made his way back to the White House.

When Tubbo arrived, Schlatt was leaning casually against the entrance, with a cigarette between his fingers, scanning Tubbo's appearance with an unusually sharp eye.

"So, Tubbo, where have you been?"

Tubbo fumbled for an excuse for a minute. "I thought I heard something, so I went out to investigate. I got caught up, I guess, and didn't realize the time."

Schlatt's body language screamed a sarcastic 'uh-huh', but he didn't question further, merely moving to let Tubbo in. Still, he felt Schlatt's piercing gaze on his back as he disappeared upstairs to prepare for the day's events.