Chapter Text
[TOMMY]
Ranboo Liven has been acting strange lately.
It would normally be something pretty common. Ranboo is strange by nature, he’s a tall freak of the nature who has infuriating hair that's always messy (Tommy knows it is because Ranboo doesn't take care of it appropriately, he has curly hair for fucks sakes, he should stop dry brushing it) and deep eye-bags that stubbornly linger his skin despite how much the dude sleeps (In the 3 years Tommy has shared a room with the dude, he's never seen him stay up later than 10 pm which is, frankly, a loser move).
Ranboo Liven is also the type of person that is just, strange. He’s awkward, always stumbling around like the ground under his feet is shaking, leans forward as he walks and always carrying around a stupid little glass block filled with dirt of some sorts and grass, he doesn't really know why, it is just weird and Tommy is not really one for calling dudes weird, but the fact is, Ranboo Liven is kinda weird.
And that is completely unrelated to the fact Ranboo is Tommy’s roommate at the Esempii University, and that he’s the most annoying shitbag he’s ever had the pleasure of stumbling into.
It was kind of like a love at first sight type of thing, though instead of love the feeling Tommy experienced when he got informed he was stuck with the guy as a roommate for the rest of his career was more of a desperate desire to smash his head against the nearest wall until he dropped dead.
(As if Tommy hadn’t already felt like he had been thrown into somewhere he didn’t belong, the uni of course had to shove him into a five year rooming contract with the richest bastard of the entire place. Fan-fucking-tastic day that was).
Anyway, back on track, Ranboo has been acting stranger lately. Like stupidly stranger. Tommy is convinced the guy is plotting something, an evil plan of some sorts, against him.
Understandably, the last few times he’s been sure that Ranboo was plotting against him -like that one time Tommy was absolutely sure he was planning to kill him during his sleep- he ended up being wrong.
(It turned out Ranboo was just sleepwalking, which was still a pretty awkward situation, Tommy shudders at the memory).
Despite that, Tommy is actually genuinely positive that Ranboo is plotting something this time, something specifically against him. Since the start of this semester the guy is always watching him when he thinks Tommy is not looking (as if, Tommy swore back at the first week at the campus that he’d never let his guard down around him) and every time Tommy turns to face him, gray blue-ish eyes dart away to hide behind a bored or spaced out look.
Those eyes, there’s something strange about those eyes, something that makes Tommy feel slightly sick of his stomach and just, shit. Intellectually speaking, Ranboo is just a person, a person that Tommy is sharing his room with and that’s pretty much it, but there's something about the guy Tommy can't seem to shake, like something is off about their relationship.
They dance around each other, an unspoken choreography they have dominated by now, the both of them move around the dorm without exchanging greetings or glances, apart from the days one of them wakes up with an attitude and they end up arguing with each other (“thanks for using all the hot water, jackass” “maybe if you didn't wake up like three minutes before breakfast time you wouldn't have this problem, Tom”) or exchanging sarcastic slash mean remarks (“Your hair looks pretty fluffy today Tom, did someone forget to brush their hair today?” “shut the fuck up Liven”)
It’s fairly annoying and pretty unfair and honestly, Tommy is so far happier when he’s not around the guy.
But well, the Gods seem to hate him -and also perhaps his teachers- so Tommy is fated to share almost half of his classes and nights with the guy, which in his opinion is an unfair percentage of time of his life spent on a guy he doesn't even particularly like, but such is life.
Moving on, Ranboo Liven is 100% plotting something.
“Ranboo isn’t plotting something against you Tommy,” Tubbo rolls his eyes as he settles on Tommy’s bed as if it were his own. He crosses his legs and grabs a pillow, hugging it like it belonged to him. “He’s probably just messing with you man, stop obsessing so much over it.”
Tommy clicks at his pen, staring at the notes he’s managed to write in his journal. It’s just a simple notebook really, something he got from a local store in the first weeks on campus. At the beginning he only wrote things like reminders or homework assignments, but after a few weeks of sharing a bedroom with Ranboo he started writing about him.
He writes simple stuff mostly, like the fact that Ranboo sleepwalks and talks when he's stressed. Or how he likes to take hot showers in the mornings instead of showering during the night. Or how he always orders take-out food to the campus instead of going to the restaurants himself. Or his strange music taste which consists mostly of Lemon Demon.
Or his favorite drink at their local Starbucks (which, by the way, is the Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew with whipped cream and two hazelnut syrup pumps instead of vanilla).
Again, simple stuff at most.
The latest two notes added to the journal read in messy handwriting; ‘he’s been sleep-talking a lot the last three weeks, which means he’s under stress despite the fact that we aren't anywhere near the mid-term exams’,
And ‘he seems to really like the newest burrito TacoBell added to the menu, interesting’
“You don’t see the way he stares at me Tubbo,” Tommy sighs, putting down his pen and hiding the journal in the last drawer of his mini-desk, a post-it falls off one of the corners of the desk which reminds Tommy that he really needs to finish that Screen Technologies assignment for Friday. Fantastic. “He thinks I don’t notice him Tubbo, but of course i do, i'm not-”
“-stupid.” Tubbo finishes for him, he’s blank-faced.
Tommy narrows his eyes at his best friend. “Yes, it’s like those… gray-blue eyes of his stare at me like they want to fucking look at my soul or some shit.”
“So he’s just checking you out and you’re paranoid about it, got it.” Tubbo nods and Tommy looks away, sighing and folding his arms.
“I didn’t say that,” but probably that’s exactly what he had done, in a way. “I don’t know, it’s all he does, though. I think he knows something about me and is trying to like, find a way to blackmail me or something.”
Tubbo looks very unamused, “Right, an already very rich guy like Ranboo Liven wants to blackmail you, the poor and pretty much secret-less Tom Simons.”
“Okay, maybe that’s not it,” Tommy responds, probably a little too quickly, before heading to his bed and sitting beside the brunet. “But c'mon Tubs, you know I'm right, how many times has he tried to kill me? Remember when he pushed me against that locker so hard it made my nose bleed?”
“I mean, that was kind of both your faults, really.” Tubbo lays down on the bed and Tommy follows suit immediately. “I literally don’t know how you weren’t expecting him to push you back.”
“I pushed him lightly,” Tommy mutters in a defensive tone, why can't Tubbo understand Ranboo Liven is clearly out for his blood?
“Kind of hard, actually” Tubbo interrupts him. “Like, he pretty much took a few steps back to catch himself from falling.”
“He still pushed me against the locker hard enough for my nose to almost break, though.”
“Yeah. Or, he just didn't measure the force he used. You clearly were too occupied to see how sick he looked after your nose started to bleed”
“He was probably thinking about how he could get expelled so he tried to look as guilty as he could.”
“Don’t be dramatic, Tommy.” Tubbo rolls on his back and looks at the ceiling. “The whole thing was a mix of consequences of your own actions, adrenaline and bad judgment combined.”
“My nose practically broke, Tubbo.”
Another voice -which makes Tommy and Tubbo freeze immediately- joins the conversation. “First of all, it didn't break, Tom. The nurse said you only got a pretty big hit which caused the swelling and bleeding,”
Annoying fucking voice. Sarcastic tone. American accent. Tommy doesn't even need to sit up to see that the person interrupting his conversation is Ranboo Liven himself. “And second, that happened a year ago, give it a rest wont ya?”
“You tried to murder me,” Tommy sits up on the bed, looking at Ranboo who stands in the doorway, he’s wearing the uniform blazer but, his tie is missing. (Tommy can practically see his Adam apple and part of his collarbone. It feels criminal) “And I don’t appreciate being interrupted by people, fuck off.”
Ranboo makes a scoffing sound, entering the bedroom. “You seem to forget this is my room as well, Tom.” He doesn’t even turn to look at them, he walks to his side of the dorm, placing his bag at the edge of his own bed. “Can’t really fuck off, can I?”
Tommy is about to respond with a fairly good comeback when Tubbo fake coughs, making his presence known whilst also trying to break whatever fight seemed to be cooking up. “Whoops. I kinda forgot I got grammar tutoring today, Tommy."
“Oh, okay Tubs,” Tommy forgets about Ranboo for a second to hug Tubbo. He doesn’t like how Ranboo is staring at him through the whole thing, though. Like he's judging them. "See ya at dinner, yeah?" When Tommy lets him go, Tubbo smiles fondly, nods, and leaves the room. (Not without giving Ranboo a nasty glare on his way out, of course).
With his best friend gone, Tommy looks at Ranboo and for a moment he thinks Ranboo is going to ignore him as usual, but instead he chooses to sit at the edge of his own bed, facing Tommy, clearly in his line of vision. Tommy’s stomach twists and he feels sick again, like his stomach is a mess of, something… weird.
“Tom,” Ranboo says, pushing back a bit of his dirty blond hair so it won't get in the way.
And Tommy, of course, feels his stomach twist even more at that. It’s probably the hatred he has for the guy, definitely. “Yep, that’s my name.”
“Astute observation,” Ranboo rolls his eyes, voice flat and bored.
Tommy feels his cheeks heat up and turns his head towards the window of their bedroom, he frowns at the view, more than usual. “What the fuck do you want, Liven?"
Ranboo rolls his eyes, again. "Bother you, clearly."
But Tommy, Tommy knows something has been up for weeks now, he has known Ranboo for years now -even if it was unwillingly- so he knows that response is nothing but bullshit.
He scoffs, smirking. "What do you actually want, Ranboo?"
Ranboo looks almost surprised for a moment, like his deepest secret had just been outed to the whole world. But the expression fades just as fast as it came and his features settle again. "Okay, fine, I have... something to talk about."
Tommy frowns, "No shit."
And then, well, Ranboo starts talking.
And Tommy listens.
“You want me to- what?” Tommy practically shouts, staring at Ranboo, his eyes wide and one eyebrow up. “You- seriously?”
“You heard me,” Ranboo says, leaning back against the door of the dorm with his arms crossed as he expects for Tommy to try and make the run for it. And Honestly? Tommy has thought of it more than twice now.
But, as Ranboo stares right at Tommy, he can’t help but notice that Ranboo Liven looks different. The more Tommy looks at him, the more he realizes that yeah, he does look different. He looks -kind of- tired. His eyes aren’t as sparkly as they used to be. His jawline is slightly more pointy and pronounced than he remembers. His cheeks are less full. His hair is also messier.
He looks just, tired.
Tommy takes in a sharp breath. “Are you serious? Are you not, like, trying to fuck with me?”
Ranboo shakes his head. “I’m as serious as I can be about this.”
Still, Tommy ruffles his hair with his hand, nervously. “So, you told your dad, wait correction, your homophobic dad that you have a boyfriend, just to get under his skin." he looks up at Ranboo. "And it completely backfired?”
“Yes, that's correct.” Actually, Ranboo doesn't look tired, he just looks absolutely miserable.
Tommy still continues, much to his roommates dismay. "So, you want me to pretend to be your boyfriend during the winter vacations, at your family's cabin?"
Ranboo groans and Tommy would find the sound funny if it wasn't for the current situation. "Are you going to keep repeating what I said or are you going to give me an answer, Tom?"
Tommy doesn't respond for a few moments, he’s too busy internally freaking out over the fact that he's going to have to pretend to be in a relationship with Ranboo Liven. It's laughable, it's ridiculous, and he shouldn't do it at all. But when Tommy looks directly at Ranboo, really taking him in, his state, the stress he looks in, just how serious this is to him,
It feels cruel to say no. And besides... How bad could it really be? Having Ranboo act, well, nice around him doesn't sound that bad.
Tommy’s stomach feels even weirder at the thought.
"Okay, fine. I'll do it. But-" and his attention has to focus on Ranboo again. Stop stalling, Tommy. "NO kissing, understood?"
Ranboo stares at him, like it's even stupid Tommy made that rule in the first place, and then says, "Yes, of course.”
Why does it feel like Tommy has signed up a contract with the devil?
...But most importantly why does his stomach feel so goddamn weird around Ranboo and how can Tommy make it, just, stop?