Chapter Text
It has been a few hours since the incident. Thanks to Tommy’s horrible sleeping schedule, he was wide awake and very much alone. The boy looks at the clock sitting on the coffee table. It was an hour after midnight. Tommy looks up from the window, the light emanating from the moon stops at his face, creating a Tommy shaped shadow behind him.
The night was so beautiful.
Tommy looks over the two sleeping forms laying on his couch– one on the couch and one leaning at the foot of the couch, an old wrinkled blanket was strung over them. It had been a few hours since the incident with Jack. Right after the outburst, Tommy had unconsciously allowed Tubbo to sleep by his side that night. Still, the imagery of the gaping wound continues to invade his mind even though he was already quite used to it. What was odd though, was the lack of help Jack had when he entered his base.
Usually, when one gets injured or fatally wounded, a helper or an ally would spot them right away and help escort them to Tommy or bring Tommy them when they do not have the strength to make the journey.
Jack arrived alone.
Maybe he was just one of those cases when the people available just weren't feeling hospitable enough to haul him to his house. It was possible.
The people living at Tommy’s territory weren’t exactly obligated to help others. The rule was to not hurt others.
They had the right to leave people to die if they felt like it. And Tommy was alright with that, he can live with it.
After all, vigilantes and villains should know better to be more cautious during patrol hours, maybe bring a partner along just in case. They live in the lower districts, they know the consequences of catching the attention of a hero.
If they somehow brought no one into the scene and had gotten injured because of it. That was their fault. It was their responsibility. If they really need help, they either crawl up to Tommy’s doorstep on their own or catch the attention of a merciful saint to bring them to Tommy. Those too weak or unfortunate to do any of those things were usually the ones who die alone in the streets of the slums.
Actually receiving help is usually dependant on the fact that if people are feeling helpful or not, or if Tommy was out taking a walk.
Tommy can't really control the people in his grounds. It was an imperfect system. Very flawed, but it was the best he could do.
The fact that Jack arrived at his doorstep alone was odd enough. Theseus’s base was basically surrounded by powered rogues and normal civilians, with that many people, one was bound to give in and bring him to safety, especially with a wound that bad. Maybe the saints were just asleep and are at rest that night. However, he knew Jack, that idiot was smart enough not to charge at heroes without his partner by his side. They were a duo, a package set.
Then that begs the question: Where was his partner?
The two were as thick as thieves. He expected to see his partner in crime, Niha, to be by his side when he had barged into him and Tubbo’s dinner.
Something must have happened to her.
The fact that no other person had helped him when he crawled into his base was bizarre on its own, but paired with the absence of his partner was too much of a coincidence to not think that something was up. The two unlikely scenarios quickly made him suspicious.
Something was definitely up and that something was probably tied with Tubbo, he thought.
Honestly, Tubbo himself was a whole other hassle to deal with, but Tommy decides to put it aside. He likes the soup.
But for now, he leaves them to sleep. They would probably prefer to sort it out the next day after a full night’s rest.
Tommy eyes the soup from earlier, left in the hands of the freezing breeze, making the soup cold. Tommy’s stomach growls. Tubbo’s voice from earlier consumes Tommy’s mind. He takes a step towards the dining table and proceeds to touch the spoon. He hesitates for a moment before letting his hands take control of his body. He eats.
And damn does it taste good.
It was cold but that hadn’t stopped Tommy from fully devouring the whole thing, his hunger getting the best of him. He left not a single drop of soup in the bowl. It was delicious.
A swirl of emotions he didn’t recognise exploded within Tommy. His mind was blank, but Tubbo’s words were ever so prominent. Before he knew it, a tear trailed down his cheek.
Tubbo promised him a lot of things. Every single one of them was impossible in its own right. In all of Tommy’s life, he had been giving in a world that never gives back. Even if they did do something in return, most of them were mainly paying back their debt.
Tubbo, a complete stranger- someone from a world he was thrown away from. Tubbo had lived a life that everyone dreamed of, yet he threw it all away like it was nothing.
Tommy knows not a single thing about him; his life, his interests, his friends, yet he has trust that Tubbo will make things right. He ran away from luxury to save someone who might as well be dead.
Throughout his life, Tommy had met all kinds of people. All with motivations of their own, hope that it could come true. And throughout his life, Tommy had seen them all fail. Tommy never really had hope of his own, only to help others out to some extent (he was no mother hen).
With Tubbo, maybe it was alright to have at least a little bit of hope.
Once finished, he washes his bowl and used medical supplies with questionable clean water in a large tub. Not wanting to waste a single drop.
It was difficult washing with one hand, but he made it work.
Eventually his drowsiness had caught up to him, his previous adrenaline faded away. His eyes felt heavy, and his arms waved from side to side as he crashed on Tubbo’s luggage. It was probably the most comfortable thing in the small house other than the couch, which was occupied by Jack and Tubbo. He stole one last glance at the other two dozing at the couch before he himself gives in in the sweet embrace of sleep
Poke.
Tommy grumbles as he turns away from the mysterious movement. Not today, he thought. He was so hungry.
Poke. Poke. Po-
Irritation claws its way into his subconscious as he smacks away the third poke. He peeks his right eye open, a small slit of light enters his eye. It was either morning or afternoon, but Tommy doesn’t have the capacity to care. He just wants to sleep. Events from the day before were like a fever dream, liquid, forgettable. He does not want to remember any of it. He was so tired.
Poke. Poke. Poke. SMACK !
“AAGH!” The boy screams as he finally jolts awake, in front of him were two people laughing their asses off at his misery.
“Oh man! You should have seen your face!” Jack barked, barely containing his laughter.
“Priceless! Priceless!” Tubbo laughs, as he wipes away a stray tear off his face.
Tommy watches in disarray as the two continue to cackle at his humiliation. The apartment looked bright; it was already daytime. Their laughter filled up the entire room.
“I FUCKING SAVED YOU AND THIS IS THE THANKS I GET?” Tommy screeches, he could almost feel his ears glow red.
“I just can’t help myself! The opportunity was there, so I took–!” Jack laughed before he transitioned into a fit of coughs, he held his abdomen with his hands.
“To be fair, you kinda did drool on my luggage.” Tubbo deadpans, a smile creeping up his face.
Tommy turned around and felt his ears heat up. There was, in fact, drool on Tubbo’s luggage.
Jack’s laughter dies down to a single smile. “As fun as this was,” Jack says, “I really have to leave, thanks Theseus.”
“Wait!” Tommy exclaims, hastily standing up from the pile of bags, “what happened to Niki?”
The villain freezes up. The atmosphere tensed. It was quiet, the two teenagers waiting for the buzz cut’s answer. After a few moments, he turned around stiffly, something unrecognizable on his face. “She found a job at a bakery in the middle districts.”
At that, Tommy’s eyes widened. A job? That was like a once in a lifetime opportunity.
”Really?” He smiles, “good for her!”
“It’s not what you think!” Jack snapped, his eyes were glistening, “she- she’s no longer my partner. She works for The Syndicate now.”
Silence.
Tubbo laughs nervously. “The what?”
Tommy answers him. “The Syndicate- the biggest and most powerful territory in the lower districts, they cover almost a quarter of the lower districts. Their main is literally the entirety of Pogtopia.”
“Pogtopia?” Tubbo questions
“Pogtopia? You know, the largest district in the lower districts?” Tommy said.
Tubbo shook his head. “Never heard of it, they never taught us names of the lower districts in Geography class. And books always mentions the lower districts as that: ‘Lower Districts’”
Tommy frowns. Huh.
“Alright, enough praising those dickheads,” Jack groans. “Anyways, I am happy for her, I really am, but…”
Jack scowls, not finishing his sentence. “I have to go, goodbye Theseus.”
He steps out the door and then he’s gone.
“Do you think he’ll be, ok?” Tubbo says, worry evident on his face. “Every single footage with him in it always had Niha by his side. They're basically inseparable.”
“Don’t know, but it’s Jack, he can get over this,” Tommy shrugs. “He’s not really the type to hold grudges.”
Somehow Tubbo doubts that statement.
“Well, now that we're on the topic of grudges," Tubbo says, "Theseus, you interested–”
“Tommy.” The blond corrects, he looks at Tubbo straight in the eyes. “My name is Tommy.”
Tubbo looked bewildered for a moment. His mouth was agape with shock before it stretched into a wide grin.
“Well, Tommy," he held out a hand, "want to go cause some mass destruction?”
Before that moment, Tommy truly had no one by his side. He did not have the tight relationship that Niki and Jack had nor did he have a close friendship with anyone else. Most of which were allies, people who only sees him as the healer of the slums, someone they could depend on.
But with Tubbo, Tommy feels like he could truly let go. Tubbo had hope, a feeling that Tommy had lost a long time ago. Tommy needed him and he just knew that Tubbo needed him as well.
As long as they're together, Tommy feels like he could conquer the world.
From then on, it was Tommy and Tubbo against the world.