hiyaaa
enjoy!
tw: unsafe binding, swearing, eating, vague descriptions of injuries ( please tell me if any are missing or wrong, stay safe <3 )
16 hours. He had been wearing his binder for 16 hours straight. But it was okay, he and Tubbo had to be up at 9 to catch the train up to Brighton, he could just set his alarm for earlier so he wouldn't have to sleep with his binder on. It would be fine. Ranboo was lying on the couch, trying to ignore the irritation under his binder. He knew he had to stream, he had promised. So he forced himself over to his PC to set up the stream. Luckily it was a chill stream so he didn't have to put much effort in.
The stream went well although it rendered Ranboo exhausted, having not slept in about 24 hours. He brushed his teeth and changed into some sweatpants, it becoming harder and harder to keep his eyes open. He knew he had to stay awake at least until Tubbo fell asleep so he could take his binder off. But as soon as he flopped onto the couch, his eyes felt even heavier. He tried to fight it, tried to stay awake, but his body was so exhausted he eventually had to give in.
He woke to sunlight blaring through the thin blinds right onto his pillow. Immediately he was aware of the stabbing pain in his chest. Fuck. He sat up a bit too quickly, hissing and clutching the side of his ribs. It was 7am. Why did he have to fall asleep with his gods damned binder on? Why did he let himself do it? Well, today was going to be interesting. He still felt exhausted, his ribs were already fucked so he didn't think there was any point taking his binder off now. Ranboo allowed himself to lie back down, painfully, and drifted into a light sleep.
Tubbo was shaking Ranboo's shoulder, unaware of the extreme pain it was causing his friend.
"Ranboo, dude, come on, get up, we need to get the train." Ranboo groaned in response, showing he was awake, so Tubbo went off to have a quick shower, allowing Ranboo to wake up properly. As he heard the shower start, he attempted to sit up, a shooting pain in his ribs making it difficult. When he finally managed to get into a sitting position, he stared blankly at the floor, breathing shallow. It hurt to take deep breaths, he'd just have to deal with it and hope that no one noticed. Ranboo tried his best to adjust himself and his binder to get comfortable but he quickly realized that it was practically impossible after wearing a binder for 30 hours. 30 hours was nothing compared to how much he would be forced to wear it for the next four months. He'd be fine, he is fine. What would he do if someone asked him what was wrong? What would he do if he passed out? It had happened before, what's to say it wouldn't happen again? What if-
Ranboo pulled himself from his thoughts and got up to grab some breakfast before they left. Although he could feel the hunger clawing at his stomach, he knew he wouldn't be able to keep down much because of his nerves, so just grabbed an apple and began eating. It didn't take long for Tubbo to be finished with his shower and Ranboo could go in. He grabbed his towel, toiletries bag and a change of clothes, including a new binder hidden inside his new hoodie, and locked the bathroom door behind him. Cranking the water to the hottest temperature, Ranboo pulled off his oversized hoodie and t-shirt. He stared at the mirror for a few seconds before pulling off his binder. It hurt a lot but it was off, even if it was only for a few minutes. He sighed, feeling a sharp pain in his sternum as he inhaled. Ranboo hopped into the shower, allowing the water to burn his skin. He sat down on the floor and wiped the water from his eyes. He was excited, of course he was, he was meeting his friends he had known for months that day, but he wouldn't help but be terrified. Terrified that they'd figure out. They wouldn't, right? Not if he played his cards right. If he he said the right things and acted the right way, no one would question him. He'd take an ibuprofen and paracetamol, he'd be fine. They would have no reason to question him. Ranboo glanced at his phone and realized he needed to get dressed so they wouldn't be late for their train. Quickly turning the water off, he dried himself off and stared at his ribs for a few moments. There were red lines where his binder had rubbed on his skin and purple bruises beginning to form.
It's fine, he thought. It's not that bad, right? Right. He was fine.
After taking one last breath, Ranboo pulled his clean black binder over his head and adjusted it until it sat as comfortably as it could. There was slight improvement in his ability to move after being free from the cage, even if it was minimal, it was improvement. He finished getting dressed, brushed his teeth and fixed his horrendous bed head before walking out to see Tubbo scrolling through his phone on the couch.
"You nearly ready, big man?" A small rush of euphoria flew through Ranboo at the statement.
"Yup, just need to put on shoes." Tubbo nodded and Ranboo went digging through his suitcase for a pair of trainers. He soon found some converse and slipped them on before kicking Tubbo lightly on the shins to tell him he was ready. Tubbo glared up at him playfully before standing and grabbing his backpack, handing Ranboo his, which the latter thanked him for. Tubbo then called out to his mom, telling her they were leaving, and then the pair slipped out of the front door and down the street to the train station. It didn't take long for them to arrive at the station and get their tickets checked. All they had to do now was wait for the train to arrive. Low and behold, in a few minutes, the train was pulling in and the two clambered on, taking their seats. They both took out their phones and began listening to music. Could you blame them? Two introverts were about to have to spend the day with seven other people, let them be.
Ranboo was looking out of the window when he heard Tubbo snicker from opposite him. He turned his head and saw the other pointing his phone toward him. Ranboo huffed and rolled his eyes under his glasses.
"You enjoying the view, Ranboo?" Tubbo asked, still filming him.
"England."
"Well done, you know what country we're in. Good to know the American school system didn't fail you entirely." Snorting, Ranboo flipped off Tubbo, making the other laugh and put away the camera after filming a shot of the English countryside.
"Are you excited?" Ranboo paused for a second.
"Yeah, kinda nervous though."
"Why would you be nervous?"
"Dunno, just a lot of people all at once, so don't be surprised if I'm pretty quiet." Tubbo nodded. The rest of the train ride went by pretty smoothly but by the end of it Ranboo's binder was beginning to feel uncomfortable. He needed to adjust it but couldn't. They stopped at Brighton Station and got off the train. Ranboo checked his phone. 11:03. They were meeting the others at half past by the pier. They had time.
"I'm just gonna go to the bathroom real quick, be back in a sec," Ranboo told Tubbo.
"I'll come with you, I should not have drunk that entire bottle of water right before we left." Ranboo laughed and the two walked over to the men's bathroom. Once Ranboo was in the stall, he was able to properly adjust his binder. It was much more comfortable. He quickly peed and washed his hands before waiting outside for Tubbo, who came through the doors soon after.
"You ready to head to the pier?" Tubbo asked him. Ranboo nodded enthusiastically and they set off. As they walked through the British city, Ranboo admired how different it was from America. The air was pretty warm but not unbearable. It took the two about 20 minutes to arrive at the pier. They still had a few minutes before the others would start arriving so they just stood around, talking, Tubbo telling Ranboo the history of the city. Ranboo loved being near the beach again, it reminded him of his Nan.
"Tubbo! Ranboo! What's up, boys?" Ranboo and Tubbo turned around at the familiar voice and saw Tommy striding toward them. Grins spread across all three of their faces.
"Tommy!" Tubbo called. As Tommy came up to them he looked up at Ranboo in slight shock.
"You're really tall," he laughed.
"Well it is kinda my brand," Ranboo replied, looking down on the younger. From that point on, conversation flowed naturally as the rest of them arrived. Well all of them except Wilbur. But Wilbur was notoriously late to everything.
At 11:49, Wilbur finally arrived to cheers from the rest of them.
"Took you long enough, Jesus," Tommy commented, he had been getting impatient.
"Shut the fuck up, prick, I got held up. Anyway, hi, Ranboo. Great to meet you in person, man. How do you like the UK so far?"
"Likewise," Ranboo replied. "It's pretty nice so far, just waiting for the rain." The group then set off to a cafe somewhere in Brighton for lunch. Wilbur and Tommy were in the front, Jack and Niki behind them, then Scott, Tubbo and George and finally Ranboo and Phil bringing up the rear. Ranboo was talking to Phil about America and similarities and differences he had noticed already, Phil comparing to what Kristin had noticed. The conversation carried them all the way to the cafe where they were having lunch. Ranboo was glad when they arrived, his back was really starting to hurt, not to mention it was slowly becoming more and more painful to breathe. He had forgotten to take the pain meds before they left so the pain was in full swing. The nine of them crowded around two tables outside the front of the cafe and took their seats, Ranboo placing himself in an easy seat if he had to escape to the bathroom for a while to allow himself to breathe. Tubbo was sitting next to him so Ranboo nudged him slightly.
"What's up?"
"Do you have any pain meds?" Ranboo muttered, trying to have no one notice. Tubbo looked at him in slight confusion.
"Yeah, I do? Why, what's wrong?"
"Headache," Ranboo lied. Tubbo seemed to take his story and passed Ranboo two ibuprofen which the latter took gratefully. He knew it would be about 20 minutes until they kicked in but he could make it through the meal. Hopefully.
The waitress took their orders and walked away to prepare their drinks and Niki began talking to Ranboo.
"So how are you, Ranboo?"
"I'm pretty good, thank you. How're you doing?"
"To be honest, I'm pretty tired. I stayed up way too late last night talking to my mom in Berlin, even though the time difference is only an hour." Ranboo's conversation continued with Niki and it was very pleasant, they ended up talking about editing techniques and old film and VHS taping. It didn't take long for the food to arrive and they all dug in, Ranboo taking off his mask and glasses. Tommy pulled out his phone to record for his vlog so Ranboo scooted to the side as to not have extra work for his editors to blur out his face. Scott was talking to Tubbo and Ranboo listened in.
"So, when did you arrive Ranboo?" Scott asked, directing his gaze toward the taller teen.
"33 and a half hours ago," Ranboo said immediately, not thinking about how weird that would sound. Tubbo stared at him in confusion, Ranboo also sensing Niki's gaze on him.
"You've been counting the hours?" Tubbo asked, laughing slightly. Ranboo forced himself to laugh along with him, hoping they didn't notice how forced it sounded. Although his laughing caused more pain to shoot through his ribs.
"You alright, mate?" Phil asked. Ranboo swallowed thickly and nodded.
"Yeah...yeah I'm fine. I'm just gonna go to the bathroom, be right back." He rose to his feet and hurried to the bathrooms, feeling someone's eyes on him the whole way. Hurriedly locking the stall door with trembling hands, Ranboo collapsed. Who was he kidding? He couldn't keep up this act if simply laughing caused him extreme pain. His eyes began to sting.
hi chat!!
i hope you're doing well!
you are valid and loved, never forget that <3
remember to take care of yourself because you deserve it
Love ya'll <3
feedback is welcome and appreciated,