Chapter Text
Tommy sighs as he accepts another DoorDash order. He’s been running all over the city and just wants someone to tip well so he can actually pay for the gas he’s using, but much to his disappointment, most of the people who order aren’t tipping that much, if at all. This new order is coming from someone in the upper L’Manburg area so there’s a bit of hope there, but not too much. He doesn’t bother checking how much they put for the optional tip; he doesn’t want to be disappointed before he even gets their food.
He gets in his car (or the piece of junk that barely passes as a mode of transportation) and sets up the GPS, putting his phone in the holder attached to the windshield. He buckles his seatbelt and turns up his music. Sure, “legally” he shouldn’t be driving because he “doesn’t have a license” and is “a hazard to everyone around him”, but after a week or so of driving for hours at a time he learned pretty quickly. It’s not like he never had driving lessons, he had the required amount before taking the test and then some. He just never got around to taking the test. He’s not a bad driver and anyone who says otherwise is just a coward.
Staying in one lane is hard for everyone.
A few minutes of driving later and he’s pulling into the McDonald’s parking lot. Get out, grab the food, drive to the pretentious asshole who ordered. (All assumptions, of course. Upper L’Manburg residents are not renowned for having the best manners towards the working class). The whole process is pretty simple and he’s done it enough so that it’s pretty routine at this point.
Driving to the address, he just listens to whatever Spotify thinks he’ll like; My Ordinary Life, Spy, and some other funky songs. He likes them though, they sound scratchy.
He pulls up to the house and he nods appreciatively at the sight of the house. Sure it may not be the biggest, but it sure is a nice looking house. The pathway leading up to the door is lined with various flowers and a small metal archway connecting it to the driveway. There are vines growing up its sides. Different bushes grow across the front of the house; some have flowers, some berries. Some of the bushes that were grown have attracted butterflies.
A large tree is in the center of the front yard with an aged swing worn-down from the elements tied to one of the lower branches. It sways slightly in the wind and Tommy smiles. He remembers having a similar swing in his backyard when he was younger.
He takes his time on his way up the driveway, under the arch, and up to the door, admiring the floral life blooming in the yard. He says hello to a small spider making a web on a bush and smiles as a butterfly passes by. He finally rings the doorbell and hears someone running to the door from upstairs—they sound like a fucking stampede on their way down the stairs and Tommy would’ve thought they had fallen down.
The door opens to reveal a slightly out of breath early to mid-twenties man with brown curly hair, circle glasses, a blue turtleneck and pajama pants—clearly only half-dressed. Tommy has no room to judge, he’s just the delivery guy. It’s not like he looks any better, given the fact that his shower broke two nights prior.
“Order for Wilbur?” Tommy asks. The man beams at him as if Tommy is his savior. Tommy just holds the bag of food out for him to take.
“You, young man, have become my favorite person in this world,” the guy says, happily taking the bag from him. He looks at the bag for a second before returning his gaze to Tommy, pausing for a moment. He looks slightly confused.
“You look a little young to work at DoorDash. I thought you had to be eighteen?” He tilts his head. He didn’t mean to be rude, he sounds genuinely curious.
Tommy crosses his arms. “And if anyone asks, I am.”
Because this stranger has to know every detail about him, he continues: “How old are you, then? And why aren’t you in school?” He grabs a couple fries and shoves them in his mouth.
Tommy raises his eyebrow, a little taken aback how this random guy thinks he’s entitled to Tommy’s entire life story. Then again this is upper L’Manburg, so he probably should’ve expected this. “Just told you if anyone asks, I’m eighteen. Got rent to pay, big man,” Tommy shrugs.
Wilbur thinks for a moment, and pulls out a small wad of cash from his pocket. “Tip,” is all he says, putting it in Tommy’s hand. Tommy doesn’t count it right away, that’s rude and he doesn’t want to know how much he’s about to refuse.
Tommy holds his hand out, trying to get him to take the cash back. “You included a tip when you put in your order-“ Wilbur cuts him off.
“-before I knew you were a child who pays his own rent. Please, take it. I was just gonna buy cigarettes anyways, so you’re doing me a favor by taking it.” Sounds like a lie, but he’s not going to comment on it. Something in the way he told Tommy to take the money makes him want to just keep it to avoid a fight he probably won’t win, so Tommy pockets the money.
“’M not a child, prick, I’m eighteen,” he glares at him with little heat before cracking a small smile. “Thanks, though.”
“No problem,” he shrugs. “Like I said, you’re doing me a favor.” The guy looks at his watch and visibly deflates a bit. He probably has a meeting or something. “Well, I’ll let you get back to your deliveries. I’m sure I’ve kept you long enough,” he smiles.
Tommy nods and takes a step back, pleasantly surprised by this interaction. “See you around,” Tommy waves as he makes his way back through the small garden.
He smiles at the butterflies he passes, saying hi to the bees for Tubbo. It’s a silly inside joke none of them actually enjoy doing, but it’s become almost law for the three of them (Tommy, Tubbo, and Ranboo) to say hi to the bees for Tubbo and wish them their best. It started when a bee landed on Tubbo’s shoulder and Ranboo asked if he’s giving Tubbo the family gossip he’s missing out on. Being a bee hybrid, he actually can communicate with bees to a certain degree and Ranboo was absolutely delighted to hear that he was close—it was relationship drama.
Tommy exhales as a small laugh at the memory and gets into his car. He looks to the house to make sure the guy left before grabbing the cash and counting.
“Holy shit,” he whispers, looking at the $75 tip. There’s no way he was just going to buy cigarettes with this. Well, it’s not like he can just go up and give it back, so he puts it back in his pocket and pulls out his phone. He accepts a couple more orders and calls it a day.
Delivering the rest of the orders happened like a blur, his mind still on the tip. That could get him and his roommates actual dinner for a week at least if he spends it right. Luckily he doesn’t have to worry about them for the time being, Tubbo and Ranboo are visiting Tubbo’s parents. Tommy would’ve gone too, but they didn’t feel too comfortable leaving the apartment empty for that long (not that there’s anything of value in there). There was also some talk about a marriage for tax benefits that they were going to talk to Tubbo’s parents about, but Tommy genuinely didn’t know if that was a joke or not and he honestly didn’t want to know until he gets a wedding invite, should the day come.
Pulling up to his street, Tommy groans as it’s blocked off by police cars. He pulls out his phone to check the news, hitting his head against the steering wheel when he reads that Zephyrus, The Blood God, and Siren are currently in a battle with Dream, 404, and Sapnap right in front of his apartment building. He decides to park in front of a nearby building, hoping the fight doesn’t last long. The heroes won’t win and he knows it; they never win. Not that he’s rooting for the villains or anything, he just has a personal grudge against Dream. The prick once placed a large order and opted not to tip. Sapnap is chill though, he gave him a $20 once he realized Dream didn’t tip. He’s utterly indifferent to 404.
After about ten minutes Tommy gives up the little hope he had that the fight would be over soon and decides to get dinner while he’s waiting. He walks across the street over to Niki’s bakery and is slightly surprised to see that not only is it open, but Niki doesn’t even seem the least bit interested in the fight going on, let alone worried about her café getting absolutely destroyed by it. The heroes and villains don’t tend to care about property damage, especially in the lower L’Manburg areas.
A bell chime announces his presence and Niki’s eyes light up as Tommy walks in. “Tommy! It’s so good to see you!” She quickly comes around the counter to give him a hug.
He can’t help but smile at her excitement; it’s nice to feel wanted. “You too, Niki.” He hugs her back, and as always, she waits until he lets go first. It’s something small that he appreciates a lot. Too many times he’s needed a hug only for it to be cut short, but he never has to worry about that with her. He doesn’t know if she knows he needs longer hugs than others or if that’s just a little quirk of hers, but he loves it all the same.
Walking back towards the counter, she gestures to an empty bar seat and he happily sits down. When she seats him at a table, it means she’s too busy to talk but she’ll check on him frequently. A booth means she has to stay close to the front, but if she gets the chance then she’ll sit and chat with him. A bear seat means it’s slow enough that they can actually talk and he can be her priority for a while.
She goes behind the counter and gets him a sandwich and a coffee, pulling up a stool to sit across the bar from him. He smiles and gives her a quick ‘thank you’ before starting on the sandwich, Niki talking about how she’s been. It’s a pleasant routine whenever he sits at the bar; Niki gets him food, she talks while he eats, he talks while she makes drinks for other customers, Tommy tries to pay, Niki threatens his life, Tommy takes the money back, and they usually chat until closing.
Niki’s talking starts to slow a bit and some yelling outside reminds tommy of what’s going on behind him. “You worried about the fight? Damage radius could spread,” Tommy asks with his mouth full. Niki rolls her eyes at his lack of manners.
She extends her arms out as if to say ‘look around’. “They haven’t destroyed this place yet, have they?” Niki smirks and Tommy shakes his head. “If they did, there’d be hell to pay. Hero, villain, don’t care. I’d kick their ass myself,” she says nonchalantly. Tommy starts to smile, believing every word she said. Despite her somewhat harmless looking appearance, he knows she’s just waiting for someone to give her a reason to prove them wrong. She probably makes her pink hair dye out of the blood of her enemies or something.
A small chuckle comes from the woman sitting a few seats over with hair that’s half shockingly white and half brown, rainbow dye peeking out from underneath. Tommy smiles when he realizes the woman is Cara, Niki’s girlfriend. “You tell ‘em, babe,” she smiles as Niki leans over the bar and kisses her cheek.
Tommy smiles more at the two, and waves at Cara who nods back at him. “Hey Tommy, haven’t seen you in a while. How have you been?” She moves a seat closer to him so they can talk at a comfortable volume. Niki walks off to go attend to the customer at the register.
He shrugs. “Ayup, Cara. I’m alright. Tubbo and Ranboo are out of town right now so it’s just me at the house. Kinda lonely but also it’s nice to choose what to eat for dinner without running it by them first. Makes the whole process smoother.”
Cara nods in understanding. She looks at Niki, who’s currently taking the customer’s order, then leans in towards Tommy to make sure she can’t hear the two. “Niki takes forever to choose what she wants to eat. She’s literally the worst when it comes to making decisions,” she smiles as she leans back, Tommy holding back a small laugh. “Also Tommy, I’ve already told you. Call me Puffy, that’s what my friends call me,” she shrugs.
Niki walks back over to the two and lightly smacks Puffy upside the head. She feigns offense and scoffs. “What was that for?” she laughs.
Niki just looks at her with a smile she’s obviously trying to hide with fake annoyance. “You’re not as quiet as you think you are, hon.”
Puffy looks at Tommy with wide eyes and a playful ‘oh shit’ expression, immediately turning to Niki and taking her hand.
“My love, I’m so sorry. I was merely trying to bond with Tommy, please forgive me,” she kisses her hand a few times, making Niki laugh.
Niki brings her hand up to cup Puffy’s cheek. “You’re forgiven,” she smiles.
Tommy feels like he’s intruding on a private moment so he subtly turns to look away, sipping his coffee. When he turns away, he looks out the window. The commotion from the fight looks much closer now, so he walks over to the window to investigate.
Siren and 404 are paired off closer to the original fighting spot was, Zephyrus and Dream somewhere out of sight. The Blood God and Sapnap, however, were right outside the café. He takes a step away from the window, eyes glued to the two. It doesn’t take long for Tommy to realize that not only are they in front of the café, but they’re also in front of his apartment building.
Not long after his realization, The Blood God throws Sapnap through a window into an apartment. Tommy mentally tries to figure out if it was his apartment Sapnap was thrown into. He didn’t have to think very hard, because a sudden small explosion made by Sapnap caused the wall to crumble, exposing the inside.
That was absolutely his apartment.
Tommy looked back at Niki and Puffy, who must’ve heard the explosion because they’re next to him in a second.
“What the fuck!” Tommy yells. “That’s my apartment!”
Niki and Puffy look at each other, then back to the fight. There’s not much they can do right now with the fight actively happening, so they just pull Tommy away from the glass. Partially to keep him safe from any potential damage that might be caused to the café, and partially to prevent him from running out there.
They take him to the other end of the café, deciding that a booth would be best so they can all sit down. Tommy on the inside with Cara to his side, Niki in front of him. Tommy’s leg is bouncing as he tries to stop himself from looking towards the window. Niki and Puffy are talking to amongst themselves, probably trying to think of where Tommy can stay until his place is fixed. Once he sees the police cars drive off out of the corner of his eye, he ducks under the table and crawls out, running outside before Niki or Cara could stop him.
He sees The Blood God brushing some rubble off his red cape, Zephyrus and Siren talking in the distance. He never did understand why he chose to wear a cape. Surely it must be more trouble than it’s worth, not to mention the period it’s from is horribly outdated.
Fashion critiques aside, he looks up at the villain, red eyes shining through the black mesh on the inside of his boar skull mask. “Oi, prick!” He yells. The Blood God just turns to look at the dumbass who just called one of the top villains a prick.
He looks Tommy up and down, clearly unimpressed. “Can I help you?” he asked, the tone inflections in his voice sounding slightly forced.
Tommy scoffs, “I believe you can. That was my fucking house you just destroyed!” Tommy yells, pointing and looking to the building then crossing his arms.
Techno just raises an eyebrow, following his gaze. “Okay…?” he drawls, bringing his attention back to the literal child trying to lecture him.
“Fix it.” Tommy demands flatly.
The Blood God almost laughs at him. “Excuse me?” Who does this kid think he is, ordering him around?
“Fix it,” he repeats slightly slower, as though the issue was with the villain’s hearing.
“Kid, do you know who I am?” He wonders if this kid just actually doesn’t know who he’s talking to. Unlikely, but not impossible.
Tommy scoffs. “Course I do, dumbass. You’re the bitch who destroyed my home.” Tommy rolls his eyes. Honestly, it’s like he doesn’t understand that actions have consequences.
“Uh-huh… And you know that being one of the top villains in L’Manburg, I can kill you in more ways than you can imagine? That doesn’t make you want to rethink your tone?” He crosses his arms and leans over so they’re eye-to-eye. It’s incredible how much patience he has with this kid. Truly a kind soul. Generous, even.
Tommy actually laughs in his face, causing him to stand back up, a little straighter than before. “Please, I know the guys you go after and I don’t exactly fit that demographic. I’m just a poor teen who’s trying to hold the person who literally blew up my house accountable. Besides, if you killed me-” Tommy looks back at Niki and Cara standing in front of the café. “-I would pray for you. Primes knows you’d need it, dealing with my friend over there.”
The Blood God looks over at Niki and Puffy and tilts his head. “Pink hair?” he nods his head towards Niki, who’s glaring daggers at him. Top villain or not, something about her is genuinely terrifying.
Tommy nods and the villain shivers a bit. Tommy chuckles at his reaction and stage-whispers, “she scares me too.”
The Blood God thinks for a minute before sighing. “Stay with your friend for the night, I’ll find you another temporary place to stay at. Hopefully I’ll contact you within the next day or so, but there are no promises.”
Tommy blinks in surprise. He didn’t think that would actually work. “What?”
“Do you need me to repeat myself?” the villain asks, sounding annoyed, borderline exasperated.
Tommy shakes his head. “No no, I just- nevermind… Who would I be staying with? How would you contact me?” There are too many questions he has about this whole scenario and it doesn’t look like the man wants to answer any of them.
Out of the corner of his eye, Tommy sees Zephyrus and Siren start to walk closer.
“Hopefully a family I know. You’ll be contacted, don’t worry about how.” And just like that, The Blood God turns with a swish of his cape (which does, in fact, hit Tommy in the face) and walks towards his partners, shaking his head.
Maybe that’s why he likes the cape.