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Tommy jumps for the fifth time as a shadow passes the doorway to the kitchen. He swiftly - and quietly - hides in the shadows, making sure to stifle his breathing.
“Why are you even here?” Theseus asks, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow. “You know that the servants favor you to the point of letting you into the kitchen during the day.”
“Do they really?” Tommy raises an eyebrow doubtfully. He hasn’t really talked to the servants around here other than Ranboo, so he wouldn’t notice things like that. “But they haven’t really interacted with me much…”
The servants tend to kind of just smile at him politely and walk away.
Theseus snorts. “It’s an upgrade from how they treated me. They’d give me nasty glares and always find a way to mess my food up unless I was very specific with what I wanted!”
Tommy raises another dubious eyebrow. Right, and they do that because you have a habit of always finding a way to get them punsihed…fuckin’ hyprocrite. He doesn’t say this, of course, because Theseus is his magic teacher, and is the sole reason he’s survived this long.
“So, what are you doing here?” Theseus asks again, eyeing all the ingrediants that Tommy’s pulled out. “What, are you baking? It’s fuckin’ midnight, idiot.”
“Shut the fuck up,” Tommy sighs, grabbing a pan. “I’m being a nice fake-son, alright?”
Theseus snorts. “You’re baking something for father? Why?”
“It’s Fathers’ Day tomorrow, duh,” Tommy replies, rolling his eyes. He then points a mixer right at Theseus. “Listen here, bitch. I’m going to bake a fuckin’ amazing brownie, and then tomorrow morning, I’m giving it to your father. While I’m doing this, you’re going to tell me things that you appreciate about him, and then I’ll tell him.”
Theseus stares at Tommy like he’s a crazy person. “Huh?? That’s the stupidest idea I’ve ever heard.”
“‘Stupidest’ isn’t a word, idiot,” Tommy replies, quickly latching onto the surprised look Theseus has. “Look, I know damn well you’re bored of just talking to me and Deo. So, I’ll relay whatever you say to your father, ok?”
“And this is all for your made-up ‘Fathers’ Day’?” Theseus snorts, but there’s a hint of interest in his eye. “Fine, let’s do this.”
Tommy narrows his eyes. “You better be fuckin’ genuine, you prick! If you give me some messed up shit to say, I’m going to just leave!”
Theseus raises his hands mockingly. “Alright, fine!”
Tommy turns back to mixing the different ingredients together, trying to ignore the riding sympathy he feels for Theseus. He’d always celebrated Father’s Day in the past - that is, until he had died tragically - and it’s just one of those holidays that he’s used to celebrating.
But…he’s not Philza Craft’s son. He’s not Theseus Craft. So it wouldn’t be fair for him to try and act like Theseus while with Philza.
Sure, in the future, he’ll have to put on an act around the emperor to find a way to stop the upcoming war; however, for something so personal, Theseus should be the one to actually do this.
In the end, Theseus ends up telling Tommy a generic, “I appreciate all you’ve done for the kingdom and our family, and this is a token of my respect for you.”
Oh well—Tommy can’t bring himself to be disappointed, because at least Theseus seemed genuine when he said those words to him.
Theseus watches as his father eats the brownies as he works. His father looks tired, but noticeably brighter after receiving the brownies from Tommy.
Theseus floats in front of the table, spending a few minutes just staring at his father.
He then chuckles and says, “Father, you look like shit—you’ve properly overworked yourself again.”
Predictably, his father doesn’t reply. He can’t see Theseus, after all.
And when he finally retires to his chambers for the night, Theseus will whisper out a “Happy Father’s Day” that will forever go unheard.
He’ll return to being the annoying ghost by Tommy’s side by the time morning comes. But for now, he’s simply a son wishing his father a Happy Father’s Day.