Chapter Text
A long hallway stretched as far as his vision could see. The winding of a clock seemed to be getting faster and faster. His head was starting to spin as he heard the distant crackling of something aflame. Smoke seemed to fill his nostrils, as he found it hard to breath. A single leaf fell in front of him as he slowly reached out to it. A flash of pain rained its terror on his hand as he screamed, as if the leaf was working to burn him. He felt himself shaking and the leaf fell off. and as he glanced as his hand, he jerked awake.
Tommy didn't notice the distinct concern in his multi-colored friend's face, as all he could think about was what the leaf burned into his hand. A.F. The letters he's had engraved on his hand since he was seven. Ablazed Fury, or otherwise known as the fire villain of the infamous group, The Dream Team. He sighed at the thought of the team of villains, reeking havoc on the city Tommy resided in. Finally, Tommy realized that he was in the arms of the one and only Ranboo. Feigning disgust, he threw Ranboo off him and rolled off the blood stained mattress.
"Woah, Boob boy!" Tommy smirked, "Personal space buddy. Don't know where those grimey hands have been. Don't want to be catching various diseases, big man."
"How many times have I told you not to call me that?" Ranboo questioned jokingly, "Also I'm not the grimey one, that's always been you."
"Hey!"
The two boys smiled at each other and stood up. Glancing around Tommy stared at the place he called home. Now it wasn't really a house or an apartment. People don't just give children random houses because they feel bad. No, the boys lived in a run down office building, they decided to call their own. The city was in the process of tearing it down when they just stopped and forgot about it. There was no lights in the building and very few working electrical sockets. Half the windows were shattered and air conditioning was non-existent. There were mice and bugs crawling all over the place, but the boys didn't mind because they stayed away from their stuff. One of the nicest places was the small garden that Tubbo liked to take care of. It somehow had the richest soil and it grew the food the boys so needed.
"Tommy!" Tubbo (Tommy and Ranboo's other roommate/brother) shouted from across the building.
"YA!"
"Come here! I think I finished it!"
Tommy sprinted across the room and found Tubbo by his massive computer. The boys were in extreme poverty, however because they are inhabiting a office building they ended up with a lot of tech for Tubbo to tinker with. Tubbo's computer monitor was actually just a TV that people would of used for important meetings.
Standing by a desk was the boy in question he had a device in his hand. Tubbo had a big grin on his face as he held it out for Tommy to see.
"Tommy, Tommy, look I finally figured it out!" Tubbo joyously exclaimed. "You don't have to wear that faulty one anymore."
Tommy grabbed the device out of Tubbo's hand and glanced down, smiling. "Thank you Tubbo, you don't realize how much I appreciate this."
"Ya, ya. put in on, I want to see if it actually works!"
Tommy stared at the device in hesitation. Slowly, he reached up towards his ear and took out the much to little hearing aid. What accompanied that was the deafening silence, not even the rush of the wind made it past. Gently, Tommy took the new one and slotted it right in his ear. Immediately, sound rushed back to him making him dizzy. It was so much crisp and he could actually hear the sound of the leaking pipe by the door of the building. The look of wonder never left Tommy's face and he hugged Tubbo tight.
"It's perfect Tubbs!" Tommy said putting him at an arms distance, "Everything sounds more pog!"
"So it works?" Tubbo questioned, hopefully.
"Of course it works, you're Tubbo Underscore for crying out loud!"
Tubbo and Tommy both adorned the biggest grin. Even though their circumstances were nasty, they always found a way to cheer everyone up.
Tommy looked around in happiness. Home Sweat Home. He laughed to himself and stared at the sign they had on their wall. The sign said, Home Sweat Home in big sloppy letters. It was made by Tubbo when they were 11ish. Tubbo's dyslexia had him write the word sweat instead of sweet and its become an inside joke ever since. The clock on the wall ticked slowly, 7:30. Work at Puff Pastries and Niki Cakes starts at 8 for Tommy and it was at least a 20 minute walk from the office building.
"Welp, bye boys!" Tommy said putting on a red hoodie over his wings, "Can't be late for work! I'll see you later. I'll make sure to go to the grocery store, have fun at work, Ranboob."
"Don't call me that... bye Tommy." Ranboo replied smiling.
Tommy sprinted out of the door, tucking the last of the feathers under his hoodie, so it couldn't be seen. A smile wide on his face as he briskly walked down the street. He arrived at the small bakery and walked through the front door. A bell sounded as Niki looked up from the register and smiled. There were a few people already sitting down in the quaint shop, nibbling on the fluffy pastries. "Niki!"
"Tommy!" Niki replied, "You ready for work?"
"You know I am!"
Tommy put on the work issued apron and took Niki's place, behind the register. Niki chuckled and went to the back to start baking. The bell sounded as a man in as a well known man stepped inside the shop. It was Charged. His green hoodie complemented his green and white speckled skin. He was wearing a civilian version of his hero suit, however, he was still wearing his famous gas mask. Tommy tried to push down his excitement as Charged approached the blonde boy.
" 'ello and welcome to Puff Pastries and Niki Cakes, what would you like?" Tommy asked, trying his hardest to be professional.
"Hi sir, I would like a and dozen chocolate muffins and a loaf of banana bread, please." Charged said, he spoke with with a kind voice and the corners of his eyes crinkled, signaling a smile was on his face.
"Of course sir, that will be $13.74." He handed Tommy the money, as if he knew the exact amount already. "Thank you that will be right up. NIKI DO WE HAVE BANANA BREAD IN THE OVEN?"
"Ya, it will be ready in 10 minutes," she said coming around to the till. "Oh, hi S-Charged, how has your day been?"
"Hi, Niki!" Charged replied. "How have you and Puffy been. I haven't seen you guys in a while."
"You know him, Niki!" Tommy said, without thinking. "That is so cool! He even mentioned Puffy. Were you guys like old buddies? What was young Charged like. He is one of the coolest heroes out there and he is right in front of us. And now I'm learning that you know him!"
"Yes Tommy, I know Charged." Niki responded with a smile. She placed her hand on Tommy's shoulder, which caused Tommy to be brought back the the present. His face turned bright red, as he tried to suppress a chirp from escaping his closed lips. "Him and I were old buddies and he stops by the shop sometimes."
A beep was heard from the back room and Tommy jumped in shock. "I'm going to get the banana bread, bye." Tommy scurried away into the back room where it was lined with stoves and counters. He approached the beeping machine as his wings twitched underneath his hoodie in irritation. He quickly took out the banana bread, turned off the oven, and sighed in relief. His bird brain didn't like the noises and the irritation in his wings slowly calmed down. He took the bread out of the pan and packaged it in the little box with the logo of the shop. Picking up the box, Tommy made his way back to the two adults and set the box on the counter. He grabbed a box of already made chocolate muffins and those joined the banana bread, on the table.
"Why thank you Tommy, I'll see you later for the dinner with Puffy." Charged said, although that last part he acted like he was unsure of himself. "Bye you two!"
Charged left the building, the baked goods in hand. Tommy sighed in relief, but froze when he turned around to see a smirking Niki. "Shut up, we don't talk of this." Niki laughed as she went back to the back.
The rest of the work day went smoothly without any hitches. It hit 4 o'clock and Tommy started to make his way to the corner store. The closest store to the office was a store called A Demons Lemons and it was one of Ranboo's favorite stores. Inside the store Tommy got some non-perishables such as, beans and ramen. He also got stuff like apples and spaghetti because of Ranboo. It was a pretty normal trip to the store and a nice walk home. He barged into the house to see a sight he did not want to see.
"Tubbo???" Tucked into a pile of blankets was the ram hybrid and he turned around with an evil smile on his face.
"Tommy, do you have a death wish?"