Chapter Text
Tommy scanned the crowds bustling around from stall to stall through the alleyway. Purpled was leaning against the wall pretending not to look, but Tommy knew he was watching the crowd just as intently as Tommy, looking for easy pickings. Festivals were always the most dangerous yet most lucrative times for them to try and steal from people. With all the movement, no one noticed a kid bumping into them and slipping their hand into a pocket, taking what they could. Well- no one but the guards. They were what made a great time for stealing so dangerous.
Stationed at every corner during festivals, this Autumn Festival was no exception. They loved to take poor and forgettable people like Tommy and lock them up, never to be seen again. The Emperor and his two sons especially loved to punish thieves no matter their circumstances. The only ones they showed mercy to were children, and even then, no one knew what they did with those kids. They drop off the face of the Earth as far as Tommy could tell. Anyone he knew who got caught never was seen again. The only reprieve those who knew them had was not seeing them strung up in the city center as a warning, bodies rotting with flies buzzing around.
“See anyone interesting?” Purpled murmured, body tense as his eyes flicked over the crowd.
“Maybe,” Tommy mumbled back, not taking his eyes off his target for a second.
His Current target was two men together, which usually wasn’t the best idea, but they seemed rich. Rich and stupid, given how flippantly they showed off their wealth in the lower sector. They probably came to experience the “excitement” of the festival, to get the authentic experience since no one knew how to throw a party like the peasants. It was the only time they really got to enjoy life under the thumb of the Empire, and they went all out.
One of the men was a no go for Tommy. While his long pink hair may trick some people into thinking he was soft, Tommy knew better. Under his loose clothes, he looked built to fight, paired with a stony facial expression and keen eyes. His facial features were set in stone, only changing to snort sometimes when his friend said something funny. His friend, on the other hand, was a good target. The brunette was tall and lanky, making him easy to keep track of in the bustling crowd. Plus, he was constantly running into people, clearly unused to moving amongst others. He wouldn't even notice one more person running into him. This was as perfect an opportunity as Tommy was gonna get. It might be easier to steal from someone else who was alone but Tommy knew almost everyone else in the marketplace was only slightly better off than himself. They were never outwardly cruel, so Tommy tried to return the courtesy when he could, like not robbing them on a day of celebration.
The rich bitches were his best bet, and it seemed Purpled knew exactly what Tommy was thinking. He raised an eyebrow, sending a questioning glance Tommy's way when the boy turned to face him with a grin on his face.
“Really? I know the tall one seems like an easy hit, but his friend might be dangerous. He looks like a knight,” Purpled pushed himself off the wall to observe the two a bit closer, peeking out of the alleyway.
“Well, they also look well off. We need food, they have money, and they’re clearly distracted by all the stalls selling their bullshit. They’re as good as I think we’ll get today unless you want to wait and risk getting nothing.” Tommy leveled Purpled with a glare, his empty stomach making him a little more cranky.
Purpled raised his hands in mock surrender and smirked. “Fine, fine. I’ll be on the lookout. Just be safe, got it? If you get in trouble, I’m in trouble,” Purpled grumbled out. Tommy could hear what he really meant though; If you get in trouble I’ll be all alone and I don’t want anything to happen to you.
“Fuck you, I’m always fine. I bet I’ll come back ten times richer,” Tommy declared, slinking out of the alley and merging into the crowd. I’ll be careful and I’ll see you soon, promise.
Tommy blended into the crowd easily. At twelve years old, he was small for his age and hardly dirtier than anyone else in these parts with the clothes he wore. They were even alright in this weather despite being thin. Still, with the brutal Antarctic winter just around the corner, he definitely needed warmer ones. And hopefully, these rich assholes were the solution to his problem.
Tommy used to have an issue with keeping a low profile, although he had found a solution to that a few years ago. Blonde hair, like Tommy’s, was rare. When he was younger, his hair came in handy. He was cute, and people took pity on him, but as he got older, it made him a target. Blonde hair was rarer in the Empire, given the climate. The Emperor himself was one of the few people known for his “golden” hair, so resembling the Emperor in any way was not a good thing if you wanted to stay under the radar as Tommy did, especially if you didn’t want to get sold in some underground slave market (Tommy also didn’t want to resemble the Emperor in any way. He was a prick and Tommy was decidedly not). So Tommy let his hair get dirty. Nobody would look twice at a brunette street rat.
He moved with the crowd, slipping around big groups and exchanging pleasantries with anyone who smiled at him. He had to keep up appearances with the guards watching everyone, so hiding his intentions was key. Purpled would distract them if things went sideways, but Tommy would prefer it not to come to that. Purpled was fast and quite skilled in quick escapes after causing disruptions, but it was a last resort.
The sheer quantity of people was a bit overwhelming. A weird sound tried to crawl its way out of Tommy's throat as he weaved between the people, but he swallowed it down. He couldn't be drawing any attention to himself, not now. The unnatural sounds he made when he was overwhelmed had been present for as long as he could remember, but he'd learned to control them now. Being a hybrid wasn't really bad in the Empire— hell, the Emperor and his two sons were Avians— but it drew plenty of attention and made it more difficult to keep up his lackluster looks. He didn't even know what kind of hybrid he was. Whatever ancestor that passed it down to him was probably generations ago, and Tommy's family certainly didn't stick around to tell him. Dickheads.
The two men Tommy had his eyes on were chatting with a baker at her stall, the brunette haggling the prices from what Tommy could see. As his friend hit him on the head and apologized to the woman, Tommy took that as his opportunity. While the brunette argued with his friend, Tommy walked behind him, slightly pressing against his back as if the crowd was pushing them together. He subtly slipped his hand into the man’s coat pocket before grabbing the wallet he felt and disappearing into the crowd, completely undetected. The men continued to argue none the wiser to what had just happened, or so he thought. Tommy missed the eyes that followed his movements, never once losing sight of him.
~
Tommy met back up with Purpled near a bakery they frequented when they had money. The owner, Niki, was always nice and wouldn’t kick them out, even if they didn’t buy anything. It was also a discreet place to meet up, away from any prying guard’s eyes. The two boys found their normal booth tucked in the back and sat down.
Tommy slyly slid the wallet over to Purpled, who glanced between the two with mildly impressed eyes.
"So you didn't mess it up after all."
Tommy's smug grin fell as he scoffed, rolling his eyes. "'Course I didn't. It was easy as pie to slip the wallet of off that tall fucker."
Purpled nodded his head absently as he opened the wallet and flipped through it, quietly counting it. Tommy didn't miss the way his eyes lit up, despite the ever-present scowl he wore.
"Man, they were loaded." Purpled whistled as he pocketed a good chunk of the cash, leaving just a bit behind. It was their normal process. Leaving some money behind and ditching the wallet in a random alleyway close to where they stole it lessened suspicions of it getting stolen and made people think they just lost it.
After finishing up their baked goods (a muffin for Tommy and a bagel for Purpled), the boys got rid of the wallet and visited a booth selling clothes. They bought a winter coat that was cheap enough to leave a little money for tomorrow (although not enough for another coat sadly). Aware that it was getting late and the guards were starting to eye Purpled and Tommy, the boys made their way back home, and by home, Tommy meant an abandoned building.
On the outskirts of town, you could find all sorts of partially demolished buildings. Supposedly, a few years ago the Essempi Kingdom waged war against the Antarctic Empire and, of course, lost. The closest they got to winning was when they pushed into L’Manberg and burned some buildings down on the outskirts of the lower districts, Pogtopia being hit the hardest. The governement never even bothered to replace or repair the remaining houses, leaving them in ruins. Tommy didn’t really know why they fought or burned the buildings, it was years before he was even born, but he did know it created perfectly free living arrangements for people like them.
As they settled into their shared bed, Tommy allowed himself the comfort of making one of his weird sounds, knowing Purpled wouldn’t judge him, and then dragged Purpled to cuddle with him despite his half-hearted protests, feeling content with how the day went.
“You are such a clingy bastard,” Purpled huffed, but he didn’t pull away, knowing Tommy needed to give into his instincts sometimes or risk going crazy (Purpled never said it, but Tommy bet he needed the comfort that cuddling brought Tommy too, although both would deny it if anyone ever suggested such a crazy thing).
“Since the Autumn Festival’s over now, what are we doing tomorrow for money?” Tommy asked. It was Purpled’s turn to steal next. Tommy needed to know ahead of time what he was planning.
“Well, I think we take a bit of a break, instead of risking getting caught tomorrow by guards doing clean-up duty.” He paused briefly, considering something, “we should head to Punz. You know he sometimes slips me some free food along with information about guard shifts to find better places to stake out later this week.” Tommy let go of him with a frown. Ugh, Punz the guard. Worst idea ever.
“You know I don’t trust that Punz. I think he’s a wrong-un,” Tommy bluntly stated, crossing his arms over his chest. Purpled rolled his eyes.
“We’ve known him for a year, Tommy. If he was gonna turn us in he would have already,” Purpled stated matter of factly, ignoring how Tommy’s frown only grew more pronounced.
“I think he’s playing the long game.”
Purpled narrowed his eyes at Tommy, slight annoyance on his face. Tommy returned it with a hardened glare. They were at a standstill, trying to make the other break.
Finally, a smirk fell across Purpled's face.
“And I think you’re just jealous that I have other friends besides you while you only have me!”
Tommy gasped indignantly. “Shut up! I am NOT jealous you bitch! Take it back!” He shouted, flailing his arms wildly at Purpled.
“Can’t take back the truth Tommy, sorry!” Purpled laughed between breaths as Tommy kept trying to hit him, failing each time.
“I am a MASSIVE man Purpled, that’s the only universal truth, you just suck!” Tommy proclaimed.
He knew Punz was slightly trustworthy by now, but nobody who worked with the Empire was ever truly trustworthy. And as much as Purpled pretended otherwise, even he knew that Punz might one day stab them in the back if it was profitable enough.
Tommy relaxed into their shared bed (really just a few blankets and a pillow arranged on the floor), feeling content. Their sleeping arrangements were always less than Tommy wanted, but it was enough to keep them alive. That was all that mattered, even if a part of his brain screamed that it wasn’t good enough for him and Purpled. Maybe he could invest in a new blanket for their bed. Winter was predicted to be a heavily snow-filled one, and Winters in the Antarctic Empire were deadly. They tended to last from late October to usually May in a normal season. Tommy didn’t want to focus too much on the future, though. It was daunting, and right now, he just wanted to sleep with the knowledge that today had been a good day. Tommy fell asleep with dreamland dragging him under and Purpled’s warm body pressed against his.
…
Tommy was running but he didn’t know from what. He could see three sets of eyes watching him, and no matter how far he sprinted, he couldn’t get away. His only hope was the darkness in front of him, a place that seemed scary but called to him, welcomed him.
As quick as he could Tommy ran into the dark mist, letting it envelop his body as screeches called for him to come back. Instantly Tommy felt warm, safe.
He paused and spun around, unable to see anything in the mass of darkness. He knew he should be terrified, he had no idea where he was or how he got here, but there was a presence here, something comforting.
“Hello?” Tommy called out, his voice echoing in the space, seeming to carry on forever.
He could hear whispers, quiet things that hurt his ears to try and understand, but the whispers felt curious.
“Where am I? Why am I here?” Tommy asked, still going unanswered. The whispers seemed to grow louder as the shadows around him moved, something big getting closer. It looked like a billowing dress made of stars, twinkling purple and providing the only light and color to the otherwise shrouded place Tommy was in.
“What the fuck…” Tommy whispered out quietly, hearing a slight giggle in response that made him jump.
“It’s not time to see you yet young one, go eat something my darling,” Was all Tommy heard before suddenly he was flung out of the mist, hurled back towards the hungry eyes he had run from with a scream-
Tommy woke up harshly, finding it hard to breathe. Purpled was hitting his back as Tommy practically choked on a cough.
“Ugh Tom, we gotta find you a doctor for that cough. It keeps waking you up,” Purpled said as Tommy slowly regained his breath. Tommy offered him a shaky smile.
“Oh yeah a doctor, right? With what money? I probably just have some long cold Purpled. Anyway, it wasn't what woke me up. I think I was having a crazy dream-,” Tommy started to say before pausing, “... I don’t actually remember what it was about,” Tommy sheepishly finished, Purpled snorting at him.
“Well, whatever it was it's gonna have to wait. It's time for us to go find Punz and hope he has some food for us or else we have to spend all the money you earned us yesterday,” Purpled held out a hand for Tommy who took it and was pulled up to stand.
With a shake of his hair that caused Purpled to wrinkle his nose in disgust as dust clouded around his head, the boys made their way out of their home, ready to do something Tommy hated to do: beg Punz for help.
~
Punz was patrolling around his usual haunt, the shittiest district where all the crimes and dirty deals were done, Nevadas. It had the most bars and was the best place for information. Despite being a guard, the people generally liked Punz since he didn’t interfere with business. Once a different guard was stationed in Nevadas and he was almost beaten to death for trying to bust illegal magic dealings. Since then, only Punz got this patrol even if he did nothing to uphold the law.
Purpled walked right up to him with a hop in his step, Tommy scowled when Punz smiled at Purpled, patting his shoulder. It made something inside Tommy want to claw his face off, but he restrained. He could be civilized if it got him food.
“Hey kiddo, I see you got your shadow as per usual,” Punz said with a smirk as he looked at Tommy. Fucking shithead, if he was gonna start things Tommy wasn’t gonna let him get away with it.
“How's being a lowlife asshole who everyone hates, Punz?” Tommy asked innocently.
“How’s being a beggar who can’t afford to get new clothes? I swear I saw you in that outfit last week,” Punz snarked right back.
“Well you are getting old, I bet your eyesight is starting to go!”
“Well at least I know I’ll live long enough to get old, who knows with you?”
“Okay!” Purpled called out loudly, holding his hands up between the two before they could actually start fighting, “We didn’t come here for a fight.”
“Could’ve fooled me,” Punz scoffed, but Purpled sent him a glare and that shut him up. Tommy didn’t know why Purpled liked Punz, but at least the affection was mutual.
“We were hoping you would have some food for us. Maybe a job?” Purpled asked in a quiet voice, his cheeks coloring slightly in embarrassment from having to ask.
“Ah, sorry kid, none today. You know the ‘rebellion,’” Punz said with air quotes and a roll of his eyes, “is always willing to give food to street kids who do a bit of work for them though,” Punz suggested, already knowing the boy’s answers.
The rebellion was bullshit. No one could stand up to the Emperor, and it was foolish to think otherwise. He was fucking immortal for Prime’s sake, supposedly having the favor of the gods. No one in the land had magic like his, and no one stood a chance. The rebellion was just a delusion held by people to give them hope. Tommy and Purpled weren’t stupid enough or starry-eyed enough to believe in it. They had lived a tough life and no peasants quietly meeting in dark street corners and pubs would change that.
Punz could tell by how their faces dropped that his suggestion was a shit one and he rubbed his chin as he thought some more before suddenly snapping his fingers.
“I heard Hannah needed some hands with hauling mulch and other stuff she ordered. If you get to her shop early enough, she might let you help. You know she has a soft spot for you two,” Punz suggested. It was a good one, Tommy had to begrudgingly admit.
“Thanks, man,” Purpled said, getting a fond smile thrown at him that had Tommy gagging. Purpled rolled his eyes at Tommy for his dramatics.
“We gotta go Punz, but I’ll see you in two days for training, okay?” Purpled said, grabbing Tommy’s hand and pulling him away as he flipped Punz off.
“Yeah, see you then Purpled. Just maybe leave your rabid dog at home!”
“Dickhead!” Tommy shouted back, ignoring the looks people on the streets gave him as Purpled tugged him away.
“Prime, why can’t you ever just get along with him?” Purpled asked tiredly.
“He wants to steal you from me. He’s all mememe I’m gonna train Purpled and take him in and leave Tommy all alone! I just don’t trust him,” Tommy said passionately.
“You know I’d never leave you for him, and honestly, I’m the one who asked for him to train me. It's for our safety, and maybe if you weren't so set on hating the guy, you could get skilled too. It would probably come in handy one day.”
“I am already a Big Man and don’t need any help. Just look at my muscles!” Tommy said, showing off his guns to Purpled who raised his eyebrow at them.
“Yeah, muscles, right. Let's go hope those ‘muscles’ of yours convince Hannah to give us a job for the day so we can get free food,” Purpled said, tugging at Tommy who followed him down the streets of L’Manberg. Tommy paused as the sensation of being watched fell over him. The air prickled, causing the hairs on his neck to stand on end as he shot a look around. He found nothing, and at Purpled’s insistent tugging, he moved on. If someone wanted to rob him, they wouldn’t find a thing.
~
Hannah was still in need of a few helping hands, so after she fed them some slightly stale bread for payment with a promise of more food later, the boys got to work, hauling inventory and helping to arrange flowers. Well- Tommy helped with a flower arrangement. Purpled sucked at the delicate tasks, but Tommy found them peaceful and rewarding. It was one of the few things he got to do that wasn’t aggressive or against the law. Tommy didn’t really understand the flower meanings but Hannah said his bouquets were always crafted with the meanings in mind, so he accepted it. He did what was pretty, no matter how chaotic his flower arrangements sometimes looked.
With all the work done and it hitting midday, Purpled and Tommy left Hannah’s with sandwiches and they decided to eat in the run-down park in the old Pogtopia district.
The trees were the only part of the park that looked nice. The benches were old, and the fountain no longer worked, but it was about as peaceful of a place the boys could find near their home. Other kids like them milled about, playing games among themselves to pass the time and pretend they were just normal children.
Tommy and Purpled sometimes joined in, but given that they were older kids at the ages of twelve and thirteen respectively, it was not as fun as it used to be.
Instead, the two watched the kids play tag, running and hitting each other with carefree laughter. One of the young girls of five, who Tommy was pretty sure was named Clementine, desperately tried to dart out of the way of being tagged, but tripped over a rusted pipe laying on the ground and fell, instantly breaking into tears that had the other kids around her panicking.
“Ugh, hold this and don’t eat it,” Tommy said, offering his sandwich to Purpled before pushing himself up and walking over to Clementine, still wailing, clutching her scraped-up knee. At least she didn’t get impaled by the pipe or get any rust into a bleeding wound. Then she would actually be in danger. As it was, she was just being dramatic, as all five year olds were.
“Hey Clem, I saw you took a bit of a fall,” Tommy started, crouching down to her level. Clementine didn’t acknowledge him, just continuing to cry.
“Hmm, should I amputate it?” Tommy asked playfully, Clementine stopping in her crying to hiccup slightly and look at him, face wet with tears.
“W-what?” She asked shakily, ready to start crying again but momentarily forgetting her pain in favor of listening to Tommy.
“Well, if it hurts so bad, we might just have to cut it off! You could become like a pirate, one-legged and everything!” Tommy said in an exaggeratedly excited tone, earning a fearful look from Clementine.
“No! I’m fine! It doesn’t even hurt that much!” She said, scrunching up her face and wiping away her tears as she glared at Tommy.
“Really?” Tommy asked, a voice full of wonder. Clementine nodded back. “Wow Clem, you’re seriously brave. I bet you could even get back up and keep playing with how brave you are!”
Clementine puffed out her chest and showed Tommy a bright, gapped-tooth smile. “I can! I’m the bravest!” Tommy smiled as she got back up and quickly ran away, tagging one of her friends while they stood still thinking she was still hurt and laughing as he then took off after her, yelling about her tagging him being unfair.
Tommy stood back up, brushing off his knees, before making his way back to Purpled who held out his sandwich with suspiciously one less bite to it.
He was lucky Tommy loved him and wouldn’t call him out on it.
“The kid okay?” Purpled asked, pretending not to care, but Tommy could see how his eyes followed her as she ran, making sure she didn’t fall again.
“Yeah, just a scraped-up knee and some bruised pride. Nothing a threat to cut off a limb can’t solve,” Tommy said, chuckling.
“Where did you even learn to say that? I swear it always works on the younger kids,” Purpled said, biting into his own sandwich.
Tommy munched on his while trying to think. “You know,” Tommy said, swallowing, “I don’t actually know. I think a woman once said it to me but I don’t really remember her. It was from before I met you so I had to be really young. It just stuck with me I guess.”
“I think so, given it's how we met, you at four years old asked me if I wanted to cut off my hand after I scraped it on a brick wall.”
“You were such a crybaby back then,” Tommy said with a laugh as Purpled playfully hit his shoulder.
“Lies and slander. No one would believe you,” Purpled said. Tommy would retort but he knew it was true. To everyone but Tommy and sometimes Punz, Purpled put up a strong front. Everyone thought he was cold as ice, and he was, to anyone he didn’t trust. With Tommy, Purpled had always been more vulnerable though. They knew each other and weren’t scared to show who they really were to each other, even if they hid it under millions of jokes about hating each other with play fighting. They were brothers in all the ways that mattered.
~
With the sun setting and an afternoon of Purpled successfully stealing a little bit to tide them over from two people who seemed to be visiting the Empire, complaining the whole time about having to do it, the boys made their way back home, instantly collapsing onto their makeshift bed in exhaustion.
“Tomorrow we need to go wash off a bit and clean our clothes,” Purpled said. Tommy gave him a grunt in reply, too tired for words. At least they had money to bribe the one landlord nearby who let them use his washroom. He didn’t give them access to anything nice but they did get some cleanish water to wipe down in and rinse out their few sets of clothes once a week.
Purpled snorted before cuddling up with Tommy. Tommy was so relaxed and ready to just pass out that he didn’t even realize he heard footsteps approaching the boys until he heard someone chuckling. Tommy instantly tensed and sprang up, staring ahead as Purpled did the same, subtly reaching for his knife.
Fuck, what was the use of good hearing if Tommy didn’t use it when it was important?
Tommy and Purpled both faltered in shock for a second at who was in their home. In front of them were the two men they had stolen from the day before. How… fuck, it didn’t matter how they got here (Tommy had thought he felt eyes on him today), what mattered was that they were here in Tommy’s home and Purpled and him were fully unprepared to deal with them.
Tommy and Purpled both side-eyed each other, clearly thinking the same thing.
They were in deep fucking shit.