Chapter Text
Tommy leapt from building to building, climbing onto rooves and hopping across windowsills. It would've been exhilarating, if not for the fact that he was being followed by the literal NUMBER 7 HERO, Pyro.
A man of charisma and strength, Pyro had earned his spot as a hero of L'manburg. He was a blazeborn, a species from the nether gifted with Pyrokinesis and natural fire resistance. This made the man a very dangerous hero, both to the city's villains and vigilantes. He seemed like a nice enough guy, always willing to make conversation with Tommy while trying to apprehend him. Not a real supporter of the whole "mortal enemies" dynamic most heroes and vigilantes had going on.
"Theseus, dude wait for one second" Pyro called out, exhaustion evident in his voice, one hand clutching his side as he paused for a moment.
"NEVER BITCH" Theseus, ever graceful, replied.
Theseus turns to face the array of buildings in front of him, flipping off the raven-haired hero as he resumed his silent sprint across district 87. Though the two often fought long and brutal battles, they bickered like good friends having a spat.
Theseus ran into a familiar alley, seeing a familiar vigilante, Bumble, battling Pyro's friend, 404. He skidded to a stop beside Ender, realising that the entire chase had been a setup. Ender seemed to realise that he was there too, offering a small wave in greeting to the other vigilante.
"Oi fuck you Pyro, I thought we had something going there man" Theseus yelled, while Bumble and 404 resumed their fight after the short disruption.
"Sorry man, part of the job description. Sure you understand" Pyro offered in return, before rushing Theseus with flames dancing up his arms.
The two began trading hits, dancing around the other battle. The pair were evenly matched, especially after Theseus had borrowed Pyro's power for himself. The alley was bathed in bright orange light, forcing Bumble and 404 to have to stop their dance to escape the growing heat. Fire licked at the buildings surrounding the alleyway. Theseus already knew that this was getting way out of hand, but it's not like he could stop the fight without getting arrested.
Oh man, the media was gonna love this. He can imagine the headline already- "Masked vigilante Theseus burns down apartment block". Fuck. Tubbo was gonna have his head too. He'd been gone for hours.
Theseus vaguely noticed 404 and Bumble leaving the fight, seemingly agreeing that killing each other could wait a few days, and went their separate ways.
Even Pyro seemed phased by the sheer amount of fire surrounding them as the fight went on. Both parties were tiring, and neither would be able to keep this pace for much longer.
"Theseus can we just fucking end this? I've got a date tonight and I don't wanna be late." Pyro finally voices.
Tommy would be more than happy to; his roommates are probably worried sick.
"Alright, until we meet again, you bastard," Tommy says, relieved.
The two bolt from the alley in opposite directions, Tommy relinquishing Pyro's the fire he borrowed. Suddenly, Tommy begins feeling the waves of searing heat the raging fire created. He missed the fire resistance that the blazeborn had.
The young vigilante slipped through the backstreets of his city, finally coming to a stop in another alley. Man, there's so many alleys. He carefully pulled off his black gas mask, revelling in the clean air the action bought. Next, he removed his black & red hoodie, flipping it inside out to reveal a plain grey one in its place. He decided to keep the black cargo pants since they weren't a dead giveaway that he was a vigilante.
After checking his hair in a shop window to make sure it was (relatively) neat, he headed off down the street to his shared apartment block. It had to be nearly 2 in the morning, and it was pitch black outside. Other than the few people returning from graveyard shifts, the streets were mostly empty. The sounds of his footsteps echoed through the buildings, startling some crows that were perched atop a powerline.
Shadows stretched across the buildings, blanketing the district in darkness.
Soon enough, Tommy reached his building. He pushed open the doors and began making his way up the stairs to the 3rd floor. Before he could even open the door to his shitty apartment, his roommate, Tubbo, swung it open.
"TOMMY WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN" Tubbo cried out. Ah yes, he didn’t know Tommy was a vigilante.
"CALM DOWN TUBS! I couldn't sleep so I decided to take a walk. I'm sorry if I scared you man" Tommy replied. He hated lying to his best friend, but there wasn't much else he could do.
"AT 2:30 IN THE MORNING?" Tubbo all but screamed. "Tommy, something could've happened to you".
"I'm really sorry…"
"It's fine I guess, but leave a note or something next time. Scared me half to death."
"Of course, really, really sorry.
The pair walked inside together, Tubbo practically dragging Tommy along, as if afraid he'd lose him on the way through the door.
Their shitty apartment was tiny, cramped, and dirty. The living room only filled with a small, stained couch, and an old Tv sitting on a milk crate. It wasn't fancy, but it was home (even if Tubbo thinks that it was the cause of Tommy getting bronchitis that one time).
The two boys slid down onto the couch, exhaustion racking Tommy's bones, and Tubbo collapsing in relief. Tubbo reached forward and grabbed the Tv remote. Despite the time, they both knew that neither of them would be falling asleep any time soon. Tubbo clicked the on button and the Tv screen flashed to life.
"Famed hero Pyro seen battling rising vigilante Theseus in district 87 this evening. The battle resulted in serious collateral damage to surrounding homes and businesses. Pyro has failed to apprehend the vigilante, instead, Theseus fled the scene…" The reporter read, the smouldering alley in the background behind them.
“Oh fucking hell…” Tommy whispered to himself. Of course the media made it seem like he ‘fled’, not at all like Pyro had been the one who wanted to leave. Of course they mentioned the ‘serious collateral damage’. It was only, what, two buildings? Probably both abandoned anyway. Most of 87 seemed to be.
“You okay there? You seem out of it boss man.” Tubbo asked.
“Yeah, yeah. Fine Tubs.” He paused. “Kinda creeps me out y’know? That stuff like that can just happen.”
“Yeah I get it, creeps me out too.”
And just like that, their short conversation ends, and the pair slip back into comfortable silence. It isn’t long until Tommy falls asleep leaning against Tubbo’s shoulder, the comforting hum of the Tv fading out into the background.
It isn’t much, their apartment. It’s pretty shit if I’m being honest here. But for Tommy and Tubbo, it's home.