Chapter Text
“Hey.” Tommy says, to the person currently in his backyard.
“Hey.” They answer slowly, sitting up from where they've just- dropped out of the sky, apparently. This is Tommy’s life now, huh.
“You’re in my backyard.” He says, and they nod, looking halfway ready to bolt.
“That I am?” The way they say it, it sounds more like a question. They glance towards the woods bordering Tommy’s house.
“That’s rude, you know. Just dropping- literally - into someone’s home unannounced.” Tommy informs them. It seems like something they should know.
They shift slightly, looking pained. “I can go?” They offer, and no-can-do, they’ve just dropped into Tommy’s house, the least he can do is be a good host. Plus, the wards he’s put around to keep anyone bad out haven’t let out any alarms- unless they’re broken, in which case he’ll have to fix them.
Either way, he’ll do the nice thing. “Nah, come on in, you look like you’ve, uh,” He eyes them up and down, taking note of their burnt clothes and messy appearance. “Been through some shit.”
“Oh, uh, yeah.” They glance down at their clothes, wincing. “You could say that.”
“Right.”Tommy busies himself with pulling the stranger up and pushing them towards the house. “Let’s get you inside.”
And so, Tommy meets Ranboo.
He lets them stay, once he learns they don’t have anywhere else to go. He doesn’t regret it, either- they’re way too nice for their own good, but still sarcastic and fun to be around. They seem to think they owe Tommy some kind of ‘debt’ for saving them and letting them stay at his house. Tommy thinks that’s bullshit.
Still, they settle into a sort of routine. Tommy’s been living in his little cottage in the woods long enough that he can show Ranboo the works, how to farm, cook, take care of the animals- really everything he knows how to do.
Tommy hadn’t lived with someone for so long he’d almost forgotten what it was like- forgotten how nice it was to find notes stuck on the fridge left for him, or freshly picked alliums left on the table for him to find.
They don’t tell him about that day they fell into his backyard, and he doesn't press- he doesn’t need to know, and they deserve their privacy.
And life is good.
"Tommy!" Ranboo hollers from outside. "What the heck did you do ?"
Tommymy grins, mischievous but genuine. “You’ll have to find out!” He yells back cheerily, sticking his head out the window.
He doesn’t hear it, but he can feel Ranboo groaning. He can imagine the look they always get on their face when he does things like this, tired and resigned (but undoubtedly fond).
Tommy turns away from the window, and goes back to whipping cream. He’d found a recipe for a berries-and-cream dish somewhere - but he couldn’t remember what it was from, so he was attempting to go by memory. (By the way, had he mentioned how hard it was to )
“ Tommy, ” Ranboo sighs from outside.They’d probably found what he’d done. “For the last time, as sweet as it is-”
Tommy bites his tongue to keep himself from smiling as they finish. “ Please stop filling up the garden with alliums.”
“Alright, sure, Ran,” He hums, putting as much effort in as he can to sound as uninterested as possible.
He bursts into peals of laughter when Ranboo throws an allium at him through the window.
*
“Do you ever want to talk?” Tommy asks softly, staring up at the stars. ”About- what happened? How you ended up here?”
Ranboo hums next to him. They’re both pressed against the grass and each other, looking at the sky. “I don’t know.” They answer, voice wavering.
Tommy glances at them, reaching out to grab their hand. “That’s okay, Ran, you don’t need to.”
They sit in silence as a cool breeze blows by, the clouds moving off of the moon. Tommy looks over to Ranboo, who seems to almost glow in the moonlight.
Tommy hesitates, before asking another question. “You don’t have to answer this either, but- why don’t you want to?”
Ranboo turns to the side, facing away from him. “You’ll hate me.” They say matter-of-factly, with a tinge of sadness coloring their voice.
Gaping at them, Tommy hastily refutes that. “ No, Ran, I could never ,” He stresses. “I promise, I’ll never hate you.”
Ranboo doesn’t respond.
*
They don’t talk about it after that, besides the fact that Tommy starts telling Ranboo he cares about them more. Because jesus christ , apparently he really needed to start doing that a whole ton more than he had.
Still, something always seems a little bit off. And Tommy still can’t shake that feeling when the worst thing so far happens.
“Ran!” Tommy calls. “I forgot to get Henry in the pen, can you please get him? I’m trying to herd the sheep in.”
He hears a faint “Got it!” from the cows, and resumes his work. It had started thunderstorming a little bit earlier, and he hadn’t realized he’d left all the animals grazing until he had looked outside to see them all, huddled together.
He shoves Friend, the last one, into the pen, rolling his eyes when they nose at his hand, snuffling for treats. He pulls out one anyway- he can never resist his favorite sheep- and feeds them as they ‘baa’ happily.
He hears Ranboo let out a yell of frustration somewhere in the distance, and covers his mouth, laughing. Henry could be a bit of an asshole at times.
Dusting his hands off, he makes his way back to the house. He’s got a little bit to go until he's there- he groans internally at how soaked he’s going to be when he gets inside.
He isn't even halfway when the lightning strikes.
He doesn’t expect it- how could he? There wasn’t a single reason he should have, he didn’t even have an umbrella to attract it.
He feels it before it hits him, his hair standing so on end it’s straight vertical. He hears a terrified “Tommy!”-
And then it collides into him.
He goes shock-still, static filling his body. White-hot pain blares through him, jolting electricity being shot through every part of him.
Then a hand grabs his arm, and it’s gone. He feels it travel through him again, but this time- it’s like it’s being siphoned out of him, draining out into the person next to him- the person next to him . Ranboo .
He tries to yank his arm out of their grasp- he doesn’t know what they’re feeling, but if it’s anywhere close to what he felt, he doesn’t want them to- but he’s already exhausted from being struck, and he doesn’t manage anything more than a slight twitch.
He doesn’t register it’s over until the world spins around him, and he’s falling.
*
“Oh gosh, oh gosh, oh gosh,” Someone whispers. Tommy’s lying somewhere comfortable- he assumes it’s his bed- and he feels like he’s drifting, almost. Just on the edge of consciousness, but not quite there yet.
“Oh gosh.” The person repeats, and vaguely he registers that it’s Ranboo. The sounds of pacing start. “Come on Ranboo, couldn’t you have gotten there a little bit faster? Or better yet, not lost your temper in the first place. Now he’s-”
The footsteps approach him, and he can feel Ranboo gently brush a hand through his hair.
“He’ll wake up,” They say, but it’s uncertain, fearful. “He will.”
Tommy wants to reassure them, grab their hand and tell them he’ll be okay, but he can’t do anything besides slip back into the fog of sleep.
*
Tommy wakes the second time to the smell of something burning.
He shifts- he can move!- and opens his eyes.
The curtains in his room are open, sunlight streaming in. A cool weight is against his back- and he can only assume it’s Ranboo, who tends to curl around him like a cat.
Tommy hums, low in his throat and groggy, reaching down to intertwine his fingers with Ranboo’s.
The other jolts , ripping their hand out of his grasp and sitting up. They freeze when they catch sight of him, pupils blown wide. It’d be almost comical if they didn’t look so utterly, completely scared .
“Oh my god.” Ranboo says. “Oh my god.”
And then Tommy’s being jerked forward, pressed tight against them. “Oh my god,” They say again, sounding close to tears. “ Tommy- ”
“Hey, Ran.” Tommy responds softly, bringing a hand up to wipe away the stray tears on Ranboo’s face. “I’m okay.”
“You’re okay.” Ranboo repeats, a promise of sorts. “You’re okay, Ender Tommy, I thought you were going to- to-” They stumble over their words, and Tommy takes a shaky breath.
“It’s okay.” He reassures. “I’m right here.”
“Tommy,” Ranboo’s voice catches. “I’m sorry.”
Tommy gives him a small shove and a faux glare. “Hey, no apologies on my watch. You weren’t the one who decided ‘Hey, let’s strike this dude with lightning! That sounds fun!’”
He tries to make it lighthearted, a joke, but Ranboo pales. “Well… what if I was? ”
Tommy pauses. He’s sure Ranboo hadn’t- or at least, not willingly- but he might as well try and see their reasoning. “Were you?”
“I- Tommy-” Ranboo struggles with his words, frustrated. “ Yeah, Toms, I did, I’m-”
“A really sweet person who would never hurt someone else willingly? Yeah, that’s what I thought.” Tommy states plainly. “I know for a fact you wouldn’t do anything to harm me purposefully , and you obviously feel bad about it.”
“No, you don’t understand .” They grumble eventually.
“Well then help me understand ! You would never-” Tommy tries to start, cut off by Ranboo.
“Yes, I would , and I did , you just don’t get it.”
“I think I do!”
“Well maybe you shouldn’t try to-”
“What? Help you when you’re obviously struggling?”
“I don’t need help.”
“Don’t try to pull that bullshit-”
“ Tommy, I’m magic ! ” Ranboo slams his hands down, sending a full-body shudder through Tommy. He can feel it now, the current of something that feels like light- could almost be compared to his recent escapade with lightning- moving through him.
Tommy sucks in a breath as it travels through his scars, alighting them with phantom pains, and Ranboo tenses, looking horrified at his flinch.
“I didn’t-” They scramble back, voice breaking. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to, I swear-”
“Hey, no, Ran, it’s okay,” Tommy tries to soothe, reaching out for their hand. They don’t let him grab it, moving it quickly away like he’d burn them.
Or like they’d burn him.
Still, he reaches out again, and this time, their hands latch onto each other.
They sit in silence for a moment.
“I’m sorry.” Ranboo whispers again eventually, cradling Tommy’s hand close to their chest. “I shouldn’t have- you didn’t deserve that. I was angry. I shouldn’t have- I should never hurt you.”
“Oh.” Tommy says. “Um. I forgive you? It wasn’t your fault, really.”
Ranboo sighs, and pulls Tommy into a hug. “Please don’t let me hurt you again.” They plead, pressing their forehead to the top of his head.
“You won’t.” Tommy promises, certain.
“Okay.” Ranboo sounds uncertain, but doesn’t refute it. “Okay.”
*
“Ran,” Tommy soothes, rubbing a hand up and down Ranboo’s back. “Shh, hey, it’s okay.”
Ranboo’s been hyperventilating, panicking from a nightmare for the past hour or so. Tommy kept trying to calm them down, but every time he moved even a centimeter away from them, they would panic, thinking he was gone.
Ranboo hugged him a little harder, pulling Tommy further into their lap as if they were trying to glue him to them.
They were saying something, some of it too garbled to understand and some in what sounded like a different language.
“⌇⍙⟒⟒⏁ ⏃⌰⌰⟟⎍⋔, I can’t lose you, please,” They plead, pressing their face onto the top of his head.
“You won’t, it’s okay, Ran.”
Ranboo continues to ramble a few sentences out
They stay like that for a long while, long enough that Tommy drifts off to sleep multiple times, head tucked into Ranboo’s chest. He doesn’t think Ranboo’s slept at all, though- or even blinked, far too focused on watching him like he’d disappear the second they looked away.
Eventually, the sun rises and they both have to move, to get ready for the day. Tommy starts to pull away from Ranboo, only for them to whine and drag him back.
“ Boo ,” Tommy sighs, voice dripping with affection. “Come on, we’ve got to go do things.”
Ranboo shakes his head, nuzzling back into Tommy’s hair.
“You could come with me?” Tommy offers. “Come on, Ran, please?”
Ranboo sighs, but something on their face tells Tommy they’ve relented. “⍜⋏⌰⊬ ⎎⍜⍀ ⊬⍜⎍, ⏃⌰⌰⟟⎍⋔.”
They stand, and bring Tommy with them, leaving him clutching at their arms for dear life as they scoop him up. “Not,” Tommy gasps out, “Like that.”
Ranboo hums, seeming pleased with themself anyway. “Yes, like this.” They reply smugly, because of course they do.
“Ran,” Tommy groans. “Come on , you’re so fuckin’ clingy, man.”
Ranboo just smiles.
(They do stop blaming themself as much, eventually. Even if it takes Tommy yelling at them a million times to get through their head.
And when Tommy asks about their magic next, they don’t cower away, sure they’re going to hurt him. They even make him a star, a brightly glowing ball that can fit in his pocket. And he loves it, of course he does.
(But he can’t say he doesn't love his friend more.))