For Wilbur a normal morning was waking up alone in his bed, slowly adjusting his eyes to the bright rays that the sun produced. His mornings were lonely, and usually, Wilbur was ok with that. He’d get up eventually, make some coffee, eat something, and then start his average day. But for Wilbur, this wasn’t a normal morning. Wilbur was currently holding Quackity in his arms, eyes wide open as the other snored quietly. He didn’t know what to do, too afraid to move. He knew he needed to get up though, and soon.

So with a nervous tightness in his body he slowly unwrapped his arm from around the other, slowly shimmying away from the other. He eventually got away from Quackity, sitting up from the bed with a relieved sigh. He looked over towards the sleeping Quackity, his brown eyes drooping at the man. Wilbur turned away from the other man, forcing himself up off the bed and towards the door. Once he quietly closed his door he made his way down to the kitchen, ready to make something for breakfast. 

Wilbur wasn’t one to cook usually,y but since Quackity was here he thought he should. Especially because of what happened last night, something the brunette felt guilty for. So here he was, mixing up pancake batter as he waited for the coffee to be ready. It didn’t take Wilbur long to finish breakfast, a huge plate of pancakes sitting on the counter near the stove as he sipped on his coffee.

His once sleepy brown eyes were now more aware of his surroundings. It didn’t take long after breakfast was done for the raven-haired male to appear from the hallway sleepily. Quackity and Wilbur made eye contact, Wilbur scared that the other would remember what had happened the other night and they would have to talk about it. He really didn’t want to do that. He hated having to talk about issues, something he dedicated to ignoring for as long as he could.

Lucky for him, if Quackity did remember the other night, he said nothing about it. He sat down on one of the bar stools, flopping his head down onto his folded arms as he absent mindedly stared at the pancakes mere inches away from him. 

Wilbur didn’t know what to do at first, afraid that he’d anger the other or that their conversation would somehow morph into what had happened that night. So, as one who is trying to ignore that anything is wrong would do, Wilbur looked away and began taking huge gulps of coffee instead. He knew Quackity was staring at him, he could feel the man's beautiful blue eyes bore into his back as he looked toward the kitchen window.

“Wilbur…” His voice was soft, almost scared to bring attention to himself again. The brunette looked over towards Quackity though, bracing for whatever was to come. “Last night… I’m, sorry.” The raven looked genuine, almost sad as he spoke. His eyes met Wilbur’s once again, tears brimming the edges. He looked broken as he stared at Wilbur, as if hoping he wouldn’t be angry at him for what had happened that night. Wilbur’s heart squeezed. 

“Quackity…” Wilbur sat his cup of coffee down, a soft smile lifting the edges of his lips. “It’s alright. You… weren’t in the right mindset, ok?” He paused, watching the other's sad head nod before sighing. “I know it was just because you were drunk, it's ok.” He saw the hurt in Quackity’s eyes, how his lips wobbled as if he wanted to say something, yet nothing came out. Wilbur forced himself to ignore this, his own brown eyes saddened by his words. It was the sad truth though. Quackity was to get married, to live forever after with Karl and Sapnap. There were no true romantic feelings reciprocated, even if he wished there were. “Let’s just pretend it never happened, ok?” The words hurt, he wanted to snatch them from the air as soon as he said them.

He wished that it could have been something, that that simple act, hearing Quackity say ‘I love you’ in the most genuine way, would be something more than him being intoxicated and unable to think straight. He can wish, but it will never be true. Quackity was quiet for a long time, his eyes looking distant before he slowly nodded, pulling off a warm smile as their eyes once again met. 

“Yeah, if that’s what you think is best.” And so, the two went back to how it was. The silly jokes and easy conversations. It's all the two were meant to have, and Wilbur has come to this conclusion as soon as Quackity announced his engagement to their friend group. 

It was never meant to be. 

They ended up watching TV after breakfast, making fun of old classical movies they hadn’t seen in years. It was a tradition when the two were together, something that had just formed when Quackity was crashing at Wilbur’s place after his ugly breakup with his past relationship, something Quackity hates being brought up. When Quackity did leave in the afternoon Wilbur was left in the quiet house with his thoughts. He sat in the living room long after Quackity left, his mind racing with images of the night before.

He hated how his face heated up, how he wished that something more had come from that moment. But it would have only made things worse, at least for Quackity. They had the same friends, two of which he was to marry five months. He can only imagine how the two would react if they learned of the other night, surly hunt Wilbur down and skin him alive- at least Sapnap would.  He sighed, scrubbing his face to get rid of his thoughts before he stood from the couch. 

He had a book to work on, he didn’t have time to think of what could have been. Walking down the hall he made it to his office, opening the door and walking towards his desk. His Laptop was waiting there for him, shut and waiting to be used. He had just opened the laptop when a ding came from his phone. He took it out of his pocket, seeing it was a message from Niki. Wilbur opened the message, his eyes reading it with even more questions. 

Niki: Do you have plans tonight? 

Did she want to hang out? She was usually busy on Tuesdays though, running her own bakery and all. She tended to work in her bakery on Tuesdays, helping the staff and taking notes of what supplies needed restocking. Had she taken the day off and wanted to spend her time with him? Quickly he began to write back. 

No I am not. :Wilbur

Niki: Well that's great! 

And why is that? :Wilbur

Niki: You see… I have this friend, and I think that it might be a nice idea if you went and spent some time with her…

Wilbur paused for a long moment, his eyes reading over this message multiple times before coming to a conclusion. 

Are you trying to set me up with someone? :Wilbur

Niki: Yes. 

What the fuck no! :Wilbur

He had very little time to process what was happening before he was getting a call, Niki’s name flashing on the screen. He answered it, putting her on speaker right after. “What the actual hell Niki!” 

“Wilbur-” 

“I don’t need to go on a date ok? I am very happy with my life at the moment!” 

“Wilbur-!” 

“What possessed you to do that? Did you already tell this poor woman that I would go on a date with her?” 

“WILBUR!” The brunette fell silent, jaw slapping shut at the girl's tone. “Your miserable!” 

“No, I’m not.” Wilbur shot back, slight anger flaring up in his chest. 

“Yes, you are!” There was a slight chuckle in her voice, as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Your miserable Wilbur! You look so sad, Wil, all the time! Especially when you see our friends so happy with their significant other!” Wilbur stayed silent, leaning back in his chair as he listened to Niki talk. “Your sad, and I’m not the only one that has noticed, Wil.” A pause. “I think it would be good for you, and if this doesn’t work out, I encourage you to start looking for someone.” Wilbur’s bros scrunched at her words. 

“You act as if I’m going to this one.” 

“Oh, you are.” Her voice held cold threats, and a chuckle. Wilbur frowned deeper, knowing he had no way out of this. 

“Fine…” he sighed out, defeated and too tired to argue further with the determined women. “What time, and where?” Niki seemed satisfied enough, happily answering the other's question. 

“It’s at six thirty, and Apple Bees, keeping it casual.” Niki said. “Her name is Sally Waters, and I think you're gonna like her!” Sally Waters? He hummed, head falling back as he looked towards the plain ceiling above him. 

“Sounds great.” He grumbled out. 

“Promise you’ll try, Will.” Niki’s voice was soft. Wilbur paused, brown eyes clouding over as he thought. He had no chance with Quackity, the one he’s loved for so long becoming a husband in only months. Even so, his heart broke at the thought of trying to move on. “Plus, I think she’d be good for you, maybe you’ll stop being so fucking sad.” Wil laughed, a smile playing on his lips. 

“Yes, yes, I’ll try Niki, I promise.” Maybe, even if it does hurt, it’s time to forget about the unrequited love he had for Quackity, and move on. 

“Thank you. Now. I gotta go, but I’ll call you tomorrow to hear how it went!” 

“Okay, bye Niki.” 

“Bye!” With that the call ended, Wilbur once again stuck in silence and his own thoughts. It didn’t take long for that to end, another call interrupting the quiet that was Wilbur’s office. He looked down, seeing Tommy’s high school calling him. Tommy Minecraft, Wilbur’s little brother. He was a handful and the literal definition of a gremlin child. He scrunched his brows together again, wondering why the school was calling him. He answered, bringing the phone to his ear as he answered. “Hello?” 

“Hi Wilby…” Now Wilbur knew what was happening. He sat up, an more angry expression resting on his face. 

“What the hell did you do this time Tommy.” he hissed out. 

“I um… I broke someone’s nose…” Wilbur blinked, shock filtering through him before he reacted. 

“Tommy what the hell!” A sigh came from the other end. 

“Can you come pick me up?” 

— ~ —

S

o now Wilbur sat in his car, hands tight around his steering wheel as he angrily watched the road. Tommy sat in the passenger seat, legs pulled up to his chest as he pressed his forehead to them. “If it makes you feel better, he deserved it.” Tommy grumbled out. Wilbur laughed, eyes growing in disbelief. 

“Dad is going to flip out, Tommy. How are you going to tell him you aren’t allowed to go to school for a week?” 

“I don’t know…” 

“Tommy, you can’t just fight everyone that says something mean to you! You’re gonna get kicked out of this high school just like the other if you keep it up!” Tommy stayed quiet at Wilbur’s words. “God sometimes Tommy, I don’t think you think before you act!” Angry blue eyes turned to Wilbur, his fingers digging into his legs as he gritted his teeth. 

“I WAS PROTECTING RANBOO!” Wilbur fell silent, mouth slightly ajar as he took the words in. With a loud sigh Wilbur pulled into a parking lot, parking his car before facing his little brother. It was only now he noticed the tears that slipped down his face. Tommy was rushinly brushing them away, avoiding eye contact with the other brother. 

“What happened?” It was a long pause, the blond finally turning to look at Wilbur. 

“Some kid, a bully of Ranboo’s, was making fun of him.” He started out, shifting to face the brunette as he talked. “I had told them to fuck off at first, but things escalated. They… they ripped Ranboo’s mask off, Wil. They ripped his mask off and caused Ranboo to go into a panic attack.” Ranboo was a close friend of Tommy’s, meeting when they were eleven and had been friends with him ever since. Ranboo was very dysphoric when it came to his face, to the point the poor kid would cover it with masks in public and even in his own home. It made sense why Tommy would be so angry. Tommy’s face screamed anger, his fists balling as he continued explaining what happened. “They were laughing at him! And- and then I punched the one that took his mask, square in the face. I ripped the mask out of his hand and cursed him out, and then the principal showed up.” He growled out. ‘They didn’t punish them, only me! It’s not fair Wil!” 

Wilbur frowned at Tommy’s gushing tears, pulling the teen into a side hug as he cried. “It’s ok Tommy… I’ll call the school, demand they do something about these kids ok?” Tommy nodded, letting himself fall into Wilbur’s side. “I’m sorry I yelled at you. What you did was still wrong, but I understand why you did it now.” Wilbur smiled, watching as Tommy sat up again and wiped his tears away. “Now, let’s get home and explain what happened to dad, yeah?” Tommy once again nodded, looking back towards Wilbur. He paused though, eyes lingering just a little lower than his face. 

“Wil…?” Wilbur raised a brow. 

“Yes?” 

“Why do you have bruises on your neck?” Tommy looked up towards his older brother's face with questioning eyes. Wilbur was shocked, looking into the rearview mirror and towards his neck. Staring back at him was very prominent bruises, his face heating up as he forced his turtleneck further up his neck. 

“Oh, um… they’re nothing!” Tommy raised a brow, not believing the other. Wilbur shakily smiled, quickly taking the car out of park to get back on the road. “Now, let’s get home!” 

“Sure, Wil…”

Well, note to self, I need concealer before I go home…