Ranboo had something that he would take to the grave. It wasn't that it was bad- he's not saying it's bad. It's just...unexpected. Embarrassing, if you will. In the whole wide world of secrets that Ranboo could be blessed with, his secret is this.

He doesn't like the ocean. He's a pirate- former pirate? Adventurer? Man on the ocean? Whatever- and he's terrified of water. Ironic, he's sure.

He came to this conclusion not even two steps onto this ship for the very first time, but he never mentioned it. His sister, Niki, needed this. Needed the crew, needed a better life. Wherever Niki went, Ranboo went. Vice versa. So who was he to take that from her?

So he kept it a secret. He never mentioned how the thought of the deep dark ocean made him want to cry, and he definitely never mentioned how he wanted to hide every time a storm hit. Actually, wanted probably isn't the right word. He did hide. Most times. But no one ever noticed, so it was never a big deal.

And then he met Tommy, his good friend, the only one around his age on the ship, and it got a bit easier. He never said anything to Tommy, never mentioned anything that would give the blonde a reason to believe he may not want to be there, but sometimes Ranboo got the feeling that he just knew anyway. Whether it be a knowing glance when the ship swayed a bit too much in the wind or a comforting pat on the back- something to ground him when he was scared, Tommy seemed to just know. And that was fine. Perfect, actually! Someone who could help him out a little bit, without the embarrassment of explaining it- saying it out loud.

And then, of course, Tommy left. Well, not left, left, but he wasn't on the ship. Sure they visited the kingdom, and sure it was great when he was on solid ground, but Tommy's comforting presence on the bed opposite from him on those nights where Ranboo curled up, not happy, in his too-short blankets was gone. And with that, so was his rock. He liked to believe Tommy and him were best friends, even if they argued a lot. Even if Tommy made jokes about him, or rolled his eyes when the black and white-haired boy opened his mouth. They were friends. And Ranboo hadn't realised how much Tommy being gone would truly affect him. He'd never admit it to Tommy, however. That boy did not need his ego to be inflated, thank you very much.

He wished- desperately, helplessly wished, that he could have stayed behind too. But that wasn't an option. He had Niki to think about. He couldn't let these selfish thoughts get in the way of Niki living her best life. So he didn't speak about it. He never spoke about it. And that fact, he knew, would never change.

- - - - - - - - -

Ranboo loved it when they got to go to Lmanberg. What with Dream and his tendencies of mother henning his crew, they often went back to visit, which left Ranboo smiling with joy as he stood in front of the big open doors of the castle. He trudged inside with a messenger bag swung loosely on his shoulder, Niki walking up behind him while she chatted with Fundy. There was no occasion for this visit, there usually wasn't, but something about this day felt special. Then again, Ranboo usually got that feeling when they stopped by.

"Boo!" Ranboo was cut out of his thoughts by an energized voice yelling his name, and he turned suddenly to the side to see Tommy running (literally running) down the corridor, Tubbo's hand clutched in his as he dragged the brunette towards him.

"Tommy! Hello-" Ranboo started to say, smile growing on his face, but was cut off by Tommy barrelling into him. He let out an 'oof' noise as he was knocked back a bit, but returned the hug with a tight squeeze and awkward pat on the back. Tommy pulled away, and Tubbo moved forward, ripping his hand from Tommy's (who rolled his eyes), and gave Ranboo a hug as well, albeit with a lot more care. Ranboo was obviously closer with Tommy, what with years of living together, but Tubbo had eased his way into some of Ranboo's favourite people so quickly it gave him whiplash. He'd only see Tubbo while he was visiting, and he didn't see him as often as Tommy, but they'd become good friends. He always felt a little bit awkward around him when it was just the two of them, however, without Tommy as that middle ground. But he did really really love Tubbo. Good thing Tommy was clingy as all hell and liked to be around them both all the time, otherwise Ranboo might not have known what to do. Ah, good ol' social anxiety at its finest.

"Ranboo, good to see you." Tubbo said with a grin as he pulled away from the hug. Ranboo beamed back at him, while Tommy swung an arm around both of their shoulders. This caused his back to squish uncomfortably into his side, but it didn't bother him like it usually would.

"Alright, boys!" Tommy began, boisterous voice already taking up the silence, "who's ready for a sleepover?" Tubbo smiled and let out a loud laugh, while Ranboo did an awkward 'woo' and half-hearted jazz hands. 

He let Tommy pull them towards the stairs as they climbed up to Tubbo's (insanely huge) room. While there was certainly enough space for them to have their own rooms times ten, they always ended up staying in Tubbo's room. He had the room, and it certainly didn't feel like a sleepover if they were all over the place, but he still felt guilty for taking away Tubbo's privacy. Fortunately for him, Tommy had seemed to sense that on one of his previous stays and had informed him that it did not matter, that Tubbo loved to have them both there, and that even though the blonde had his own room, he often ended up sleeping in Tubbo's anyway. That had definitely eased Ranboo's thoughts then, so he let it ease his thoughts now.

The multi-chrome haired teen let out a happy sigh as he flopped back onto Tubbo's huge fluffy bed, earning a laugh out of the brunette. He shrugged his shoulder bag off of him and placed it down on the duvet next to him, while Tommy pottered around trying to find something in one of the cupboards.

Ranboo sat himself up and leaned back on his hands, tilting his head in confusion at Tommy, who was down on his knees with the front half of his body hidden in a cupboard. He glanced at Tubbo, who just laughed, and sat next to him.

A muffled 'aha!' was heard from the blonde, who quickly retracted himself from the cupboard, but banged his head on the frame. He let out a yelp and fell backwards with an 'oof' onto the shiny floor.

Tubbo and Ranboo burst into laughter at the boy, who grumbled with annoyance and rubbed his head. The blue-eyed boy looked over at them and scowled at their giggles.

"Yeah yeah, dickheads, little help?" he rolled his eyes good-naturedly, and Ranboo huffed, but got up to help him anyway. 

He made his way over to Tommy who was picking himself up and looked at what had been dropped when he'd unceremoniously crippled over. An assortment of snacks in a tote bag sat on the floor, and Ranboo raised an eyebrow, picking it up.

He opened it more and inspected it, seeing all sorts of treats he'd never even heard of.

"You know Tommy," he began, "I half expected you to be hiding dirty magazines or something, not trying to un-stash lollies." he snickered, Tubbo letting out an abrupt laugh behind him from the edge of the bed.

Tommy snatched the bag away from Ranboo and held it close to his chest, lifting his chin in defiance.

"I'll have you know, Ranboob, I do not own any of these 'dirty magazines' you speak of. In fact, I have never even thought of them! I respect women, I love them. I do not look at them. And for you to think I would ever own something like that is a harsh judgement on my personality and I do not condone it." Tommy replied in a matter-of-fact tone, causing Ranboo to raise an eyebrow.

"Not what I heard from George, but anyway." Ranboo muttered, and Tommy gasped in fake annoyance. "What's Gogy been telling you? Whatever it is I assure you it is not true. He is a wrongen, and I do not ass-oc-i-ate with him." he huffed, causing Tubbo to snort. 

"Pretty sure you adore George, Tommy. Weren't you just saying he was like a brother to you?" The brunette teased, and Tommy scowled at him. "No. I have no idea where you got this information." Ranboo rolled his eyes at their antics as they argued and walked back over to the bed, sitting cross-legged on it as he watched Tommy dump the lollies into a pile in between them all, still talking on his point of hating George. As if Tommy could ever hate George, the teen thought, but did not say anything.

The boys happily munched on their lollies in mostly silence, just listening to the sound of waves crashing below from Tubbo's open windows. This was so much better than the ship. A few words were exchanged occasionally, but not much was said until Tubbo let out a heavy sigh and threw a wrapper into his bin.

"So..." Tubbo started, exchanging a glance with Tommy and looking almost guilty. Ranboo raised an eyebrow up at him in suspicion but did not say anything, allowing the boy to speak.

"Remember how this visit was supposed to just be hanging out, nothing serious?" Tubbo asked, and Ranboo hummed. "Yeah..?" he replied, squinting his eyes, and Tubbo let out a nervous laugh.

He looked over at Tommy, who raised an eyebrow at him to go on, obviously knowing what this was about, and Tubbo bit his lip. Tommy rolled his eyes and turned to Ranboo.

"Quackity's holding a ball tonight. We have to socialise." He stated bluntly, and Ranboo blinked for a moment, processing his words, before groaning with annoyance and flopping onto his back.

"I know you don't love them," Tubbo began, raising his hands, "but we'll enjoy ourselves!" He urged. Ranboo leaned up on his elbows and fixed Tubbo with a deadpan stare. The brunette half-smiled and said "it will be fun. I promise. You'll see."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

It was not fun. It was a few hours into the ball, and Ranboo was not enjoying a second of it. Tubbo was a dirty little liar.

Look. Ranboo loved wearing a suit. Honestly, he almost preferred it over his normal clothes. But that wasn't the point. The point was, it was hot and stuffy, and for some reason, people he didn't know kept talking to him. Could they not see he was physically and emotionally suffering over here? Apparently not, because he had just finished listening to some random woman (what was her name? Jess?) ranting about something so lame Ranboo couldn't even remember what it was. He'd had to stand there, apple juice in a champagne glass, as this woman just kept talking. And he was polite, of course he was, so he had to actually stay there and listen! Thank Exdee she'd walked off to get some food a few minutes ago, otherwise he didn't know how much longer he could've handled it for. Tubbo and Tommy were in deep shit for putting him through this later.

Looking around, the black and white-haired boy could see George and Dream chatting to some probably important person from who knows where, and Quackity laughing loudly at something Sapnap and Karl had been talking about, but he couldn't find someone who wasn't already busy to hang out with that he actually liked. There were so many people here that most of his crew was blending in, leaving him awkwardly standing there next to a newly added dolphin fountain.

Ranboo felt a tap on his back, and turned around, his shoulders sagging in relief. Tubbo and Tommy.

"Finally," he hissed, "where have you been?"  but Tubbo did not answer, instead he grabbed the cuff of Ranboo's suit and started dragging him off, Tommy by his side.

They left the main ballroom and went through a few corridors, before taking his arm from Tubbo's clutches, because he could walk fine on his own, thank you very much.

"Where are we going?" he asked, looking around and letting out a confused laugh that sounded more like a huff.

"Just wait." Tubbo said firmly and kept walking. Ranboo looked at Tommy, who just shrugged, just as unaware as him, and sighed. Oh well. May as well just follow the shorter teen.

Soon they started going down hallways and areas Ranboo hadn't explored yet and eventually walked outside to some of the huge outdoors ground, stopping in front of a wooden arch door that had huge hedges circling an area around it, so tall Ranboo himself couldn't see over. Scratched on the door, probably with some sharp stone or knife, was the word 'Tubbo'. Ranboo raised an eyebrow, and Tommy stayed uncharacteristically silent as Tubbo opened the latch on the door and swung it open. The two other teens were ushered in as the door was shut behind them.

Ranboo's jaw dropped in awe. While the outside of the hedge wasn't much to see, as unassuming as it was, it actually had what looked to be like a secret garden inside. Ranboo looked at Tommy once more and saw the boy with wide eyes, gazing over the rows of flowers and plants of all sorts. It looked like a little paradise. A small stream with smooth rocks took over a part of the lush grass, leading to a pond that was occupied by three beautiful koi fish. Soft glowing lanterns were attached to the inside of the hedges and on some of the cobble frames, giving the area a warmly lit look to it. The night sky was littered with stars that reflected off the water, bouncing around the fish. Lastly, there was a huge tree, Ranboo couldn't be sure which type, but it had a solid frame with hanging vines and leaves dropping from its beauty. Underneath was a large sturdy bench that looked more like a wooden bed.

"Tubbo..." Tommy whispered from beside him, and Ranboo snapped out of his analysis of the garden, looking over at the prince who was smiling, almost shy as he stood in front of them.

"This is my special place," Tubbo began, "I always sat here when I was stressed or needed somewhere to be by myself. Only some of the staff and Quackity knew about it." he explained, and Ranboo nodded, signalling the brunette to go on. He did.

"I never really wanted to share it with anyone else. Quackity never comes in unless it's important. I didn't really like the idea of anyone else knowing about it," he admitted, "but then Tommy started living here, and I wanted to show it to you, I really did, but I couldn't. It didn't feel ready, like something was missing." Tubbo laughed awkwardly, "then Ranboo, you started staying over, and I finally realised it was you that was missing. I couldn't share it with Tommy without you, I just only figured that out. You guys are my absolute best friends and if you want, I'd like you to share this place with me. It'll be our hideout, I guess." the boy finished, and Ranboo could swear he was close to tears.

Tommy rushed in to hug Tubbo, who laughed and hugged him back just as tight. Ranboo didn't know quite what to do, but then Tubbo opened up his other arm and looked at the teen with a raised eyebrow, and Ranboo smiled, stepping forward and joining the hug. It lasted a good few seconds, and when they parted, they were all grinning.

Tommy turned around and tapped one of the flowers sprouting from a plant. 

"Love what you've done with the place, Tubbs." he informed the brunette, who snorted. "Yeah, thanks, Tommy."

Soon, they'd migrated over to sit under the tree on the large bench, smiling and laughing at each other's jokes as they enjoyed the peaceful night and the sounds of music from the ballroom in the castle.

"Tubbo." Ranboo murmured, and both the other teens turned to look at him. Tubbo tilted his head as a 'yes?' and Ranboo awkwardly smiled.

"When you said I was what was missing, you really meant it?" he asked, and Tubbo paused for a moment, obviously surprised, before grinning.

"Course I meant it, big man." The way he said it was with such an incredulous tone like it was crazy for Ranboo to doubt him. And at that moment, Ranboo had decided.

"I think I'm going to stay here. Move-in. To, uh, to the castle." he said firmly and watched Tubbo's eyes widen and Tommy splutter with surprise.

"Unless you don't want me to of course," he backtracked as neither of them responded, waving his hands self-consciously, "because that's fine too, I just thought-" "Shut up you big idiot," Tubbo laughed, cutting him off, "of course you can stay. I'd love for you to stay. I was just surprised, that's all." Ranboo let out a relieved sigh, as Tommy laughed his signature laugh.

"Been waiting a while on you to get over yourself and stay, boober." The blonde teased, causing Ranboo to roll his eyes. And of course, Tommy was right. He had to get over his fears of being unwanted and actually make the decision, the obvious decision, that this was where he wanted to be. And he did. Niki would be okay. She'd visit, he knew his sister would. He was just making excuses, using her as a barrier to protect himself. But he knew that now, and he was proud of himself for realising it. 

That sounded like something a therapist would say. Good on him.

They all sat in comfortable silence, backs pressed to the bench before Tommy opened his mouth and began to speak.

"I believe, boys, that we deserve a group name." he stated, and Ranboo tilted his head. "A group name?" he echoed, and Tommy nodded firmly, blonde curls bouncing slightly. They pondered it for a moment before Tubbo let out a gasp. The two other teens turned to look at him in the middle as he gave the wooden bench underneath them a strong pat.

"The Bench Trio."

And if the scratched word 'Tubbo' on the garden door was changed to 'Tubbo, Tommy and Ranboo's place' with 'The Bench Trio' carved in capital letters hanging above it, then nobody had to know.

x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x

Hello friends!! I started writing this like immediately after the last one-shot and then completely forgot about it. Whoops. Anyways, here it is though. This strays a little differently from being in Dream's or George's pov, but I decided the bench trio needed a little love and attention with my writing.

Okay so I remember reading a comment asking for "bench trio and a secret spot" but I can't find who requested it? If it was you comment here :] 

Hope you all enjoyed it, I had fun writing this one!! (Can you tell I don't write Ranboo and Tubbo much?)

-Milo

(22/12/21)

Co-posted on ao3