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It was as cold as it had looked, Purpled found. He knew it was a bad idea to go outside at this time of the year but he needed to do a supply run; read as rob someone’s farm.
He went out, wrapping his jacket around him as tight as he could with his bag strapped around his torso. Looking down to his right out of instinct, he was met with nothing but snow instead of his dog, Dogchamp. With a sigh, he went out.
It took no time to find a large farm full of vegetables that he can make into various stews and sandwiches. He quickly got to work on collecting as many as he could in a short amount of time so as to not get caught by either the owner or someone that would snitch on him.
His satchel open, carrots and potatoes flying in haphazardly, he got into a rhythm. Carrot, potato, carrot, potato. Over and over again, he took as much as he could with his head down.
That was his first mistake, keeping his head down. He thought it would help him, keeping him unrecognizable if he were to be caught, but it only led to him bumping into someone instead. He hadn’t even heard them come up but maybe, they hadn't made any noise.
After he had bumped into them, the two both jumped backwards with weapons ready. Purpled was ready to fight if they tried to take his food. Well, it isn’t his but he has taken it and so now it is.
“Oi! What the fuck are you doing asshole?”
“Tommy?”
In front of him stood Tommy, Tommyinnit. The boy that caused the server to fall into disarray. Okay to be fair, it wasn’t totally his fault but he’s the main target so he isn’t wrong.
“What? Why’re you just staring at me, you’re the one that hit me! ‘Nd why do ya look like that?”
“Why do I look like what? It’s freezing outside!”
“It’s just a bit chilly is all, wimp.”
“I am not a wimp, I just don’t like to get sick! Unlike some people.”
Tommy gasps, a hand flying to his chest in mock offense. “I do not like to get sick nor am I trying to get sick! You simply are a weak pussy!”
Purpled nods his head, not in agreement but instead in acceptance. This is the exact response he would have expected from Tommy.
“Sure Tommy, because going outside in shorts and a tee shirt with, wait. What is that, wool cardigan?”
Purpled notices the boy wrapping the cardigan around himself just a bit tighter after his remark. Maybe that had touched a nerve.
“And so what if it is? Got a problem with it Purpled? Cardigans are manly!”
He raises his hands into the air defensively, “Nono! No, not a problem at all! Just,” He looks Tommy once over, noticing more about him. His hands are closed tight around the edges of the cardigan in question, his tail wrapped around his ankle, and his ears are flicking every now and again, twisting and turning in different directions. “Just asking a question man.”
At that, his grip loosens and his tail uncoils, his ears slow and turn to face the platinum blonde. The two sit in silence, the only sound that can be heard is the howling of the wind that is whipping past them. They stare and stare, Tommy looking him up and down once, taking in his winter gear; a parka that is a deep purple with white fur around the hood, sleeves, and bottom with a mask covering most of his face.
“Now what are you looking at?” Purpled asks, his tone playful. Tommy scoffs, a smile on his face.
“You and your stupid ass outfit. If you’re that cold, go inside.”
“I had to come outside, I needed food for my dog and I.”
He watched as Tommy’s smile slowly faded away, replaced by a look of seriousness and thought. The platinum blonde watched as Tommy started to close the distance between them. He stopped, grabbed the boy’s hand, and started to walk.
Purpled mindlessly followed, focused on the hand that enveloped his own. He did not even notice where they were headed, eyes looking on their interlocked hands. He hadn’t had someone this close to him in - how long had it been?
In no time, the duo had arrived back at his house, stopped in front of the door. When he noticed the pause, he looked up in confusion.
“Why are we stopped?”
“Well it’s your house, you should go first.”
Oh. Yeah, that makes sense. Dropping Tommy’s hand, he walks past him and opens the front door, Dogchamp greeting him enthusiastically. Dogchamp always made him smile, greeting him every time he came home and staying by his side no matter what.
He made room to allow Tommy to step inside and shut the door, gently ushering Dogchamp off of him to take off his gear before he began to overheat. He noticed how Tommy looked around in wonder at the cozy cabin he had made for himself, smiling softly to himself.
“Oh hello! And who is this little guy here?” Without even turning around, he knew Tommy was talking about Dogchamp. If not for his tone of voice, he could also hear the panting and excited taps of Dochamp getting attention from a newcomer.
“His name is Dogchamp. He is my best friend on this server, as long as you don’t point out that he is like, my only friend, that means something.”
“I bet that is an exaggeration! I’m sure you have other friends, you’re just a lonely loser.”
“No, no, I’m a lonely loser with no friends other than my dog.” He knows lots of people think it’s just him being negative, but it is true. He’s never had friends on this server, maybe allies and people he knows, but never friends.
“Well,” Tommy found his way to the couch and took a seat. “I guess I’m your only friend now. Other than Dogchamp, wonderful name by the way. Love it.”
Purpled, who was almost done taking all his gear off, stopped to stare incredulously at the blonde on his couch. Them, friends? He never would have dreamed of being friends with Tommy before now but, as he thinks about it, he figures a friend won’t hurt him any.
“Us? Friends?”
That was the wrong thing to say. Tommy’s smile fades once again and his previously relaxed state is replaced with perfect and rigid posture and a blank expression. He stares into Purpled, not at him, looking into his soul and mind and examining him in a way that makes him almost uneasy.
“What do you mean by that? Don’t wanna be my friend? There something wrong with me, bitch?”
“No! Gosh, no. I just,” He quickly finishes shoving off his jacket and looks around, thinking of what exactly he could say to remedy this. “I just wouldn’t have thought, you know, you would want to be friends.” He ends his bleak excuse with a shrug, looking over and hoping he can see that he truly meant no harm with what he said.
The two stare at each other once more with no words exchanged and only the wind to fill the silence. They stare blankly before Purpled decides to start making his way to the kitchen, looking for something to entertain himself.
You probably just ruined the only chance you will ever have of ever having any friends ever again. How can you be this stupid?
He sighs as he rummages through his cabinets for a specific cup so he can make himself something to drink. He hears Tommy come up next to him but doesn’t look at him, just lets him do as he pleases so as to try to keep the peace.
“So, we can be friends then?” The words came out soft and could be easily missed if he hadn’t been looking out for some sort of noise.
He turns to face the boy, finally, and nods. He doesn't trust himself to not say the wrong thing, so the nod is all he can muster. But the nod is more than enough, a bright smile crawling onto Tommy’s face. He had to look away, the brightness and warmth spreading through his chest reminding him of the sun so much it was almost painful.
“Thank you Purpled,”
“Mhm, there is no need to thank me.”
Tommy gently shoved his shoulder, laughing softly. Purpled cracked a smile in response, finally beginning his own drink. Grabbing a cup, he offered it to the boy beside him who only spared a puzzled look his way.
“Drink? Do you want me to make you anything? Coffee? Tea?”
“Do you have hot chocolate?”
Purpled snickered and gave a curt nod before starting on the two cups of hot chocolate. It took very little time and effort, he had the prepackaged stuff always stocked. Just as he was going to add water, Tommy stopped him, a look of disgust on his face.
“What?”
“Don’t use water for hot chocolate you twat! You use milk, everyone knows that!”
“Water is easier, milk takes longer to refill when you run out though.”
“Do you not have cows or something? I know milking them is a chore but it really shouldn’t take that long if you can find a way to just get into a rhythm of sorts.”
Purpled sighed, he couldn’t exactly disagree with that logic he supposes. He shrugged and simply grabbed his already low milk from the fridge, pouring it into a separate glass to warm it up. Tommy gave a smirk, knowing he had won this battle, before he went to go sit and wait on the couch.
Purpled hadn’t had many people in his home before, this was different and new to him. How was he supposed to behave and react to certain things? If he reacted poorly, would that cancel the friendship?
“What am I doing,”
“What did you say?” Tommy called from where he sat, startling the other boy. He looked back and couldn't help the warmth that once again spread through his chest at the sight; Dogchamp was basically in Tommy’s lap who smiled and laughed so radiantly he was sure that the boy was glowing from joy.
He let out a soft snort and laugh, shaking his almost white hair as he waved off his friend’s question. He knew what he was doing but had no clue how to navigate it, and for once, Purpled let that be okay.
He grabbed their, now ready, drinks and set them on some coasters he had made when he was bored and alone and sat next to his new friend. Tommy gratefully took his drink and held it in hands covered by the sleeves of his sweater. He leaned over, resting against Purpled’s side, and closed his eyes as he took a sip.
The two sat in comfortable silence until their drinks were finished, Dogchamp resting on top of their feet.
“Hey Purp?” Tommy broke the silence softly and slowly, not wanting to spook the other boy.
“Yeah?”
“You don’t have a thing up for Christmas, do you celebrate?”
Purpled glanced over, surprised to find Tommy already staring at him. With a scan of his small cabin, he found what he had said to be true, there was nothing up for the upcoming holiday.
“I guess I didn’t see the point, there’s only me and Dogchamp here.”
“Well, now I’m here,” HIs voice was still soft, whispering his sentences. He sounded like a little kid that didn’t want to make an adult mad for speaking up; it broke him.
“Did,” Purpled took a shaky breath, reminding himself that they just became friends and that he had to try not to fuck this up. “Would you like to celebrate, with me? Is that what you meant?”
Tommy slowly nodded, Purpled feeling each of his hair move against his shoulder as he did so.
“Would that be okay? I don’t want to push or pry or, or overstay my welcome, ya know?”
Purpled was silent, simply holding his empty mug in his lap as he stared down at his dog. He doesn’t even know what people do for Christmas, how would he navigate this?
“If that’s not okay I can leave I promise you don’t have to it was just a suggestion!” Tommy doesn’t seem to stop or breath as he speaks, his voice laced with panic. He began to move but Purpled reached out a hand to stop him.
“I think,” He turned to face his friend, a small smile on his face. “I think I would like that. Do be warned, I don’t really know what to do for a Christmas, especially for two people and a dog.”
They sat and stared, Tommy breaking eye contact first to laugh. He waved off Purpled’s worry and stood up.
“Okay, so we would need some lights and such, a tree of course, presents and also a feast! Lots of fucking food! Well, maybe not, maybe not lots because it’s just us, ya know?”
Purpled was nodding along, thinking about how he would get these things, it was already late into the night. He knew he had lights somewhere, but a tree?
“Could I just get a tree from outside?”
Tommy looked at him blankly, nodding very slowly. “Yeah, that would work yeah. I can go do that! Do you have lights somewhere? We are gonna make this house Christmas ready!”
Purpled nodded with him, smiling as he stood up to go find his lights as Tommy went back outside to find them a proper tree. In total, it took around thirty minutes to decorate and set up the cabin for Christmas. The lights took the least amount of time as they were shoved into a corner of his bedroom. Tommy took longer to get his task done, trying to find a tree he knew for sure would fit but wouldn't be super small at the same time.
Once everything was set up, the last thing on the list that the two could get done that night was the food. Now Purpled wasn’t the best or the worst when it came to cooking, he was simply okay; mediocre or average, some would say. But Tommy liked to cook, and he was good at it. The two made themselves a dinner that Tommy deemed Christmasy enough, consisting of chicken, stew, and a pie.
The dinner took them the longest so far, lasting for two hours as the two goofed off and tried their best to focus on their task.
Purpled had put on some music so the two wouldn’t get bored if they fell into a silence as they did often. This only led to Tommy pulling the other away from his duty to dance around his kitchen, both boys horribly unable to do any dance justice. They didn’t let that stop them from having fun, laughing as they spin in circles to song after song.
When the food was finally done, they set their plates and set off to the table, sat across from one another. Purpled had made some more hot chocolate for the two to enjoy with their meal, not having much else for the occasion.
“Thank you, Tommy,”
The boy looked confused, furrowing his eyebrows at his food as he cut into his chicken. “What for? Why’re you thanking me?”
“For tonight. It was fun and honestly the most I’ve done in a long time. So, yeah. Thanks for that,”
Tommy shook his head, golden curls bouncing from side to side with the motion. He wore a small smile before he took his bite, making a noise of delight at the taste. When he finished, he spoke.
“There is no need for that big man, the thanks I mean. It’s what friends are for.”
“But I’m sure you would rather do this with like, with Tubbo or Ranboo.”
“They’ve got their own thing going on, I’m pretty sure about that. With their kid an’ all, they got their hands full man.”
Purpled hadn’t thought of that. That would make sense, but surely they would have extended an offer for him to join regardless. Whatever the matter, he was here, with him, celebrating Christmas their own way.
And with that, Purpled just smiled. He ate his food in silence and watched as Tommy snuck pieces of his own food to Dogchamp under the table as he spoke about random things. The thought of sleeping crossed his mind and while he had room for Tommy, he knew they would figure that out when the time came for it.
For now, Purpled would enjoy their Christmas.