Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Tommy doesn’t really know how he ended up here if he is being honest.

He just kind of got in a line because other people were in the line and next thing he knows he is getting checked into the hero tower by security and being asked about his resume and then being told to fill something out.

The form had a lot of really odd questions too like why he wanted a job or what his morals were and other really weird stuff.

Tommy has no clue what job he wants or what his morals are.

Either way he filled out the form because he has nothing better to do and next thing he knows he has a name tag and is waiting with a bunch of other people who also have name tags as they wait for an interview or something.

Now, Tommy may be lost, but he is a hundred percent sure that he is underdressed for whatever it is that he has signed himself up for accidentally.

Everyone else here seems incredibly stressed and also really well dressed and it looks like most of them have a resume that Tommy definitely does not have.

This is going to go extremely well! That’s what he has decided at least!

He listens as names get called and he kind of stares into the abyss until an elevator opens and out walks his least favorite hero.

Dolos.

God does Tommy hate him. He just thinks he is so cool with his ability to deceive you or whatever it is he does. Tommy doesn’t really care, he just doesn’t like him whatsoever.

The man is just so posh and proper and rich and annoying and oh no he’s walking towards Tommy.

Tommy tries to bury himself in his phone, which isn’t working considering he is staring at the turned off screen as though it is in fact turned on.

“Hello.”

Oh god he’s here.

Tommy looks up slowly just to confirm that it is in fact Dolos standing in front of him.

“Hey there…”

Tommy glances behind him to see if he can snake his way out of this conversation only to find more heroes walking out of the elevator.

Tommy is not having any luck here.

Dolos smiles, or maybe he doesn’t Tommy can’t see behind his mask.

“Are you nervous for the interview?”

Tommy considers lying but then realizes that he has no care in the world for this.

“Uh no. Actually, can I ask you a question?”

Dolos' quirks and eyebrow up, “Go ahead.”

There is a sort of amusement hiding behind his metallic tone and Tommy takes every piece of his willpower to not clock the men with a poor punch.

“What is this interview for?”

Now, the look on Dolos’ face at the question (well Tommy still can’t see his mouth, but he can see his eyes so) is enough for him to laugh a little bit.

“You— you don’t know what you’re interviewing for?”

Tommy shakes his head slowly, “No, I just saw a line and decided to join it and now I’m here!”

“How did you get through security?”

Tommy smiles, “My good looks and charm obviously.”

With that Dolos sighs and Tommy is finding that this might be the best decision he has ever made.

“Well to answer your question, we are interviewing for an intern and also the occasional apprentice.”

Tommy thinks his jaw hits the floor.

“Oh. That’s why there are so many people here…and why that questionnaire was so oddly specific.”

“You mean… the pre-interview?”

“Uh—sure…”

Dolos seems so concerned for his future. Tommy knows this because instead of continuing the conversation he just sighs and leaves.

Tommy calls that a win.

“Tommy Uh… Innit?”

Tommy sighs, it’s close enough to his name.

He stands and walks past all the posh losers and into the interview room and god dang it there sits the top hero.

Shoot, what was his name again.

Something like Aloe or Eloise or—

“Sit down Tommy.”

Tommy sits.

He may be dumb, but he isn’t dumb enough to not listen to a command from the top hero who’s name is like Anemone or Embolus or—.

“I’m Aeolus as you probably already know and I’ll be conducting this interview today.”

Ah yes that was his name. Tommy was close enough.

“Are you interested in the intern position, the apprentice position or are you open to both?”

Tommy nods. Wait, that isn’t an answer.

“Uh…both?”

“That sounded like a question.”

“Probably because it is.”

“Okay then…”

Aeolus seems so disappointed and Tommy honestly cannot blame him for that. 

“May I ask why you applied for these positions?”

Tommy nods, “Yep.”

“Okay… why did you apply?”

“Well I didn’t.”

Aeolus looks like Tommy just said he was a convicted criminal or something. 

“Can you elaborate…please?”

He seems really tired, probably from all these interviews or whatever.

“Well, there was a really long line outside and I was bored so I stood in the line and then one thing led to another and now I’m here!”

“Okay then…”

Mr. Aeolus glances down at the probably limited information they have on Tommy.

“It says here that you do have a registered power, is that correct?”

Tommy nods, that is in fact correct. Tommy is a lot of things, but undocumented is not one of them.

“Yep!”

Mr. Aeolus reads a bit further down, and Tommy watches his eyes widen significantly when he reads the power.

“You have chaos embodiment?”

Tommy nods happily.

“You betcha!”

“Do you have a good control over it?”

“Do you feel disorderly right now?”

Aeolus pauses for a second.

“No.”

“Then that should answer your question!”

He just nods and Tommy nods and then they move on from nodding.

“Okay, I can see why you’re here then.”

Tommy just kind of shrugs, he doesn’t search for chaos he just searches for a little excitement.

“So how about that interview big man?”

Aeolus sighs and Tommy smiles. He is having so much fun!

“I— I am going to reschedule you for the apprenticeship testing we have going on next week.”

Tommy nods, “Cool!”

Today has been a pretty epic day in his books.

Aeolus just seems really tired and Tommy thinks that is no way to live life.

“Lighten up big man, you seem tired.”

And with that Tommy just stands up and walks out. He knows that he will wind up where he needs to wind up.

He exits the room with the utmost of swagger and runs right back into Dolos. God. Tommy hates him. Has he mentioned that yet?

Tommy decides he doesn’t want to be nice anymore, “Oh. It’s you again.”

Dolos probably guffaws or something else stupid like that.

“Yes. It is me again. I do, in fact, work here.”

“Sadly.”

Dolos laughs again and Tommy finds it annoying that he thinks he is joking, but then again not everyone is self aware.

“How’d your interview go?”

Tommy sighs, beginning to walk again and finding that the man just follows him!

“It went swell! Mr. Anemone or whatever it is scheduled me for that testing or whatever for the apprentices.”

Dolos pauses briefly at that, “Really?”

Tommy nods.

“What’s your power?”

Tommy shrugs with a cheeky smile playing on his face, “I guess you will have to stick around and find out next week.”

And with that he steps into the elevators and waves as the doors shut, leaving a flabbergasted Dolos behind.

Tommy finds himself smiling at his reflection. He is in for a world of fun, that is for sure.

When Tommy gets home, he has an email with a time and day and what Tommy should wear. All the details that he doesn’t care about, but should probably know.

The long story short is that Tommy needs to show uand be prepared to “show his skills.”

Which probably means that he is going to have to use his powers and also probably fight. Tommy figured as much. 

He hasn’t toned his fighting abilities in a while, but assuming powers are in play he won’t need much skill to win a fight.

A little bit of chaos in the mix always plays in his favor.

Tommy knows how to fight well enough as well that if his powers aren’t allowed to be in play, as if they could truly prove it, then he would do perfectly fine as well.

He never quite imagined himself as a hero or an apprentice or whatever, but Tommy figures how hard could it possibly be?

His life has been a little boring recently.

A little bit of fun has never harmed anyone.

That’s Tommy’s motto at least.

He figures he could go to the gym or practice his skills sometime this week, but where is the fun in being prepared?

Tommy thrives off of chaotic energy and there’s nothing chaotic about being prepared.

Honestly, people who prepare are boring and Tommy thinks they care far too much about a world that won’t remember them in the end anyways.

So, Tommy doesn’t bother with arbitrary things in life, he focuses on the chaotic elements that make it all worth living in the end.

Therefore, he closes his email and decides that instead of preparing for that next week he is going to go do something with his life.

He exits his house for the second time today, though by now the sun has begun to set and paint the sky with colors that it could never show except for in the fleeting moments of its goodbye.

Tommy pays no attention to the sun in its final moments for the day, simply ignoring it all as he walks down the street in search of something of interest.

He often finds that the downside to chaos is the boredom that plagued him when there is none. Now, he could always create his own chaos, but there is always something better about the universe's natural curiosities that draw him in.

Over time, Tommy has learned that the best way to find chaos is to let it come to you. Tommy is drawn to it naturally, he will find it when he must.

As he walks, Tommy stumbles upon a bar that is holding a karaoke night. Legally he isn’t allowed to drink, but with a touch of chaos he knows he will be let in.

Regardless, he doesn’t plan to drink tonight. He is just aware that a bunch of drunk men tend to make for an interesting night, especially when they are handed a microphone.

He settles into the back, perched at a high wooden table and surrounded by burly men that have had one too many drinks.

Poor singing and lots of drunken voices surround him, blanketing him in the mist of the warm bar.

The body heat surrounds him and causes him to shed a layer of sweat as he listens to the drunken men poorly sing renditions of various super popular songs.

Most of them are so far from the normal song that Tommy has found a bit of fun in trying to guess what they are attempting to serenade everyone else with.

The game goes on for a bit and Tommy becomes quite good at it as the night progresses and the number of drinks drunk skyrockets.

It is maybe eight at night when someone out of the demographic steps onto the stage. They have brown curly hair and the way they wobble shows that they must be quite drunk.

Tommy smiles to himself as he watches the man stumble across the stage, grabbing the mic loosely in his hand with a languid smile across his face.

Once he finds his way to center stage he steadies himself slightly.

Music starts playing softly and Tommy waits patiently for the words to accompany it.

“Coming out of my cage and I’ve been doing just fine.”

The words come out a tad slurred, but it is recognizably Mr. Brightside by the Killers and even Tommy has to say that the man isn’t bad.

You can tell by the way he carries himself and the way he draws out certain words and just from his voice that he obviously has had some kind of musical training and that he would probably be really good if he wasn’t drunk at 8pm on some random Wednesday.

Tommy listens quietly as the man stumbles somewhat gracefully through the song and he can honestly say he is impressed.

It isn’t often that Tommy listens to music and it is even less frequently that he finds himself enjoying it. He often finds that music is something that while interesting, lacks the spark to keep him engaged.

However, this man’s voice is deceiving in a way. It makes him feel connected to a song he barely knows and it makes him ache for more. It makes him believe that he is feeling something due to the song.

It is something Tommy has never felt before, and something that he thinks he wants to understand more.

However, Tommy doesn’t quite have the time to be sitting around a bar so he slips out quietly into the desolate streets.

The air is frigid as he walks, the stars shine above him and the street lamps shine upon him. His hands are in his hoodie pocket as he walks away from the bar and towards his next location.

He glances at his watch briefly, a grimace forming when he realizes he must hurry or he will be late. He pushes his legs to move in a sort of a speed walk as he weaves through the streets.

As he gets closer the sidewalk begins to crowd and that buzz of people fills his ears. He feels his power drum against his skin as more and more people surround him, yet he ignores it.

He doesn’t quite have time for the fun that chaos brings.

His feet pound against the sidewalk, people part for him as he pushes through the sea.

His eyes cast towards his watch again, a small smile forming as he looks at the time again.

8:57 flashes at him and he knows by now he will make it.

He pushes through the crowd once more and after a minute he arrives at the entrance of Las Nevadas. 

The place is busy, casinos always are, and Tommy relishes in the chaos of gambling. He walks through the masses, eyes catching on the various tables of poker and the slot machines that rest around the place.

His feet sink into the plush carpet, and the gold that paints the walls flashes as the lights catch on the details.

Tommy walks up to a guard, smiling politely before speaking, “I have a meeting with Jackpot.”

The guard nods and with that Tommy is led down a more secluded hallway. There are doors surrounding him and paintings occasionally hang from the wall, but Tommy pays no attention to them.

He simply continues on until the guard pauses in front of the door that Tommy has come to know as Jackpot’s office.

The guard knocks three times in quick succession and Tommy stands there patiently as they both wait for Jackpot’s permission to enter.

“You may come in.”

The guard opens the door and Tommy saunters in with a relaxed smile grazing his cheeks.

“Hello Jackpot, lovely to see you again!”

Jackpot smiles slightly and nods to the guard, signaling him to leave.

Once the door is closed he turns back to Tommy, “Hello Tommy.”

Tommy slides into one of the two plush seats that sit across from Jackpot’s desk, making himself feel at home.

“How have you been?”

Jackpot sighs, “I’ve been good Tommy. How have you been though?”

Tommy stares at him, he knows Jackpot has always cared about Tommy’s mental and physical health far more than he should and he knows he shouldn’t take it for granted, but he finds that he is a tad annoyed at it.

“I’m doing fine Jackpot, there’s no need to worry about me.”

Jackpot nods, though he doesn’t seem to be sure in the way he carries himself.

Tommy takes that moment to scan around the room, letting his eyes fall onto the various knick knacks and duck paraphernalia that lies around the room before he turns back to Jackpot.

The man sits in front of him in a blue suit with a blue beanie and a sort of masquerade mask that hides the top parts of his face.

“I know, I just can’t help myself. You are still so young to be in this business.”

Tommy rolls his eyes slightly, “Jackpot, I’m 18. I know I’m young, but you also know I am good at what I do.”

And with those words Jackpot nods, a smile forming on his lips as he looks at Tommy.

“I know, I know. Now, this mission isn’t a hard one, you should be able to complete it easily.”

Tommy nods as Jackpot slides a manilla folder over. Tommy picks it up, letting himself read the information as Jackpot continues to speak.

“It’s a simple information gathering one. You shouldn’t need to fight and they should, ideally, never even find out you’re there. If you flip to the second page you’ll find the location.”

Tommy flips to the second page, letting his eyes memorize the address and where he needs to go in order to not get caught.

“There should be a meeting happening in that warehouse tomorrow night between two very important players in the underground. I just need to know what they discuss, but if you find yourself in danger of getting caught, you must leave.”

Tommy nods along, “How much do you plan to pay me?”

He flips back to the first page as he waits for Jackpot’s answer, letting himself absorb everything he should know from who to look out for to how many people he should expect to the various mapped out escape routes.

That is what he always enjoyed about working with Jackpot, he was thorough in his plans and he was careful with his information.

“It won’t be as much as normal, but you can expect about $1500.”

Tommy nods, it should be an easy enough mission and the money seems fairly reasonable for what he is doing.

“Sounds like we have a deal,” there is a cheeky smile playing on his lips as he brings his hand out across the table.

Jackpot smiles back as he reaches to shake Tommy’s hand, “Sounds like we do.”

Tommy stands up and Jackpot stands as well.

“Meet me back here the day after tomorrow at nine.

“Will do, big man.”

And with that Tommy exits and Jackpot just nods as he leaves.

It was a simple affair, but that is how many of them tend to be. Tommy goes in, he gets his money or his mission and he leaves. Jackpot trusts Tommy and Tommy trusts Jackpot, so there is really no need for flowery words that waste time that never needed to be wasted in the first place.

The guard that was stationed at the door follows closely behind Tommy as he walks out of the hallway and back into the bustling bodies of the casino. A casual smile falls onto his face as the facade of peace fades away and the world fades back in.

There are people screaming either from joy or anger and there are the drunkards at the bar and the gambling addicts at the table. It is all so predictable and while Tommy hates predictable things, he finds that while the crowd is predictable, the things that people choose to do will almost always be a surprise.

While he would love to stay and observe the casino goers as the night falls further, he knows he must go to bed.

He does have a normal job as well, because he figures it gives him something to do.

Therefore, he cannot waste his night away messing with random strangers and instead he must actually get rest so he can do his job properly.

He steps out of the casino and, though, majority of the noise dies down, there is always a considerable crowd of people around the casino.

Tommy walks through them once again and he eventually finds himself walking the deadly quiet streets. The moon is high in the sky and he glances at his watch to find it is now closer to ten. He walks with not much purpose to his steps as he makes his way back to his apartment.

He must go to bed, but he isn’t in a rush to get to his home. There is no reason to rush everywhere when the world isn’t going anywhere soon.

However, eventually Tommy finds himself at his apartment. He walks up the stairs, preferring over the elevator. The elevator just feels very restricting, he has fewer options for if things were to go wrong, and that is a thought that Tommy does not enjoy having.

His footsteps clang through the desolate stairwell and as he rounds the second flight he pushes open the door and welcomes himself into the hallway. The carpet on the floor quiets his footsteps as he navigates his way to his apartment.

He listens carefully as he walks, catching wisps of televisions playing and light conversations that happen around him. It is nice in a way that the world often isn’t. There are so many people around him with lives he will never know and while that thought is a little bit crazy, it is true.

That is what makes the world so interesting. There are always people you have never met, and there will always be people you will never know.

Tommy rounds a corner and pulls out his apartment keys as he walks up to the wooden door. There is nothing incredibly identifying outside of his apartment. He doesn’t have a doormat or a plant or anything else one might place outside their apartment.

He doesn’t find a need for stuff on the outside when everything about him is contained on the inside.

He slips the key into the lock and twists it easily to access his apartment. The door slides open and Tommy slips inside quietly. He has no roommates, though he always finds that while he lives in a world meant for chaos, sometimes his apartment feels like a sacred place of order.

It is the one area where Tommy finds that he can just relax and slow down a bit to move with the pace of the rest of the world.

His apartment is surprisingly clean, he keeps it in a constant state of chaotically organized. He knows exactly where everything is despite it not being conventionally organized. At first glance the place doesn’t seem like a mess, it just seems like a lot.

That is something about Tommy that people learn, he isn’t necessarily a mess, he just is a lot.

He often finds that people stray away from him, they think he carries too much, asks for too much, just is generally too much for people.

Tommy won’t lie and say it doesn’t hurt, not as he enters his empty apartment and has to stare at the space more and big enough for two. He aches for just a friend, and he has found that people don’t adore chaos and that with Tommy there will always be chaos.

So, his apartment remains a home for one and Tommy has learned that in this world the only thing he can rely on is the chaos of it all.

He moves into his home, shutting the door quietly behind him. He kicks off his shoes and he moves into his bedroom. He flops onto his bed, a contented smile falling onto his face.

It has been quite an interesting day and he has a feeling that his life is about to get much more interesting. He has a mission tomorrow, he has to figure out if he needs to quit his normal person job, and he could possibly somehow become a hero apprentice.

With that, Tommy sits up and changes into his pajamas, letting himself relish in the brief moment of peace before a very busy week.

Chapter Text

Tommy rolls out of bed at the sound of his alarm. He groans slightly as he stretches up and pops more than a few bones.

It is eight in the morning and Tommy does not want to go to work, but he knows he must. It’s a Thursday and the restaurant he works at is having a special today for the brunch menu and Tommy knows it is going to be quite busy.

He puts on clothes and he brushes his teeth and then he just leaves. He knows in an ideal world he should eat breakfast, but he wakes up as late as possible and that means breakfast is usually off the table.

Tommy rushes out the door, phone in his hand and wallet in his pockets and that is really all he needs.

He skips down the stairs, letting the rush of the wind wake him up as he heads towards the restaurant. The roads are decently busy as people head to work, both on foot and via a car. He weaves through people as he walks down the road.

His body carries him down the familiar route. It is one of those things where he doesn’t really think as he walks, he just moves and his mind takes him to the place he needs to go.

It isn’t a long walk, nor is it a hard walk. It is just simply a walk that he must take.

Tommy turns a corner and continues towards the restaurant, letting his mind wander to his mission later tonight.

He already has planned everything out and he knows what needs to be done, but despite how many times he has succeeded there is always that pit in his stomach of fear.

Tommy always loathed that feeling, especially when he had very little to actually fear. He knew he was talented enough to get his way out of any situation, with or without his powers, yet no matter what there is always that inkling that this will be the time he fails.

The restaurant comes up quickly, causing Tommy to have to shake the thoughts away and save them for later tonight.

He pushes through the front doors, careful not to smudge the clean glass. There is a quiet bustling as the breakfast rush dies down. Tommy smiles at the hostess before making his way to the back to clock in.

Once he clocks in Tommy throws on one of the server aprons and goes to figure out which section he is taking over. He finds his manager, gets what he needs to know, and then he gets to work.

The work is not necessarily easy, but Tommy finds that he thrives under the pressure of the customers and the constant movement. There really is never a moment where Tommy doesn’t have anything to do and that is why he works there in the first place.

Working with so many different people and getting to interact with all the customers keeps Tommy satisfied, it keeps him too busy to be bored. That is the beauty of working in customer service, there really is never a dull day.

The downside is the people that complain about things Tommy can’t control.

“Sir?”

Tommy stops and turns towards the lady, the tower of plates wobbling slightly as he smiles at her, “Yes?”

“My steak is cold.”

Tommy looks down to see that the food is more than halfway eaten and based on the plates of the other people they have had to be there for a while.

“Oh, is it not cooked to your desire?”

The woman shakes her head, “No, it is cooked perfectly fine. It is just cold now.”

Tommy stops himself from spelling out for her that if you wait to eat something over time it will cool to room temperature.

“I’m so sorry about that. Would you like me to go heat that up for you?”

She nods and Tommy reaches down and gingerly grabs the plate, “I’ll have that right out for you.”

“Thank you.”

Tommy quickly walks back into the kitchen, the fake smile falling from his face as he navigates around tables and customers while trying not to drop the dirty dishes in his hands. Once he reaches the kitchen he drops the dirty dishes into the basket by the sink before moving to shove the ladies half eaten steak in the microwave.

He presses thirty seconds and waits for the ding before he pulls it out and walks it back over to their table. 

“Here you go ma’am, I am so sorry about that again.”

Tommy is probably the farthest he has ever been from sorry, but it isn’t like he can say that to a paying customer whom he would like to tip him well. Therefore, he must pretend that he cares about this lady’s idiocracy.

The lady gladly accepts the microwaved steak and Tommy walks off to go refill drinks and check on customers and chat with people about things he doesn’t care about if only to swindle them out of a few more bucks on his tip.

That's really all this is. Tommy puts on a show and they tip him if they enjoyed it and all he can hope for is that his customers find that he was charismatic enough to sway them to leave a pretty decent tip for him.

His shift goes by fairly quickly as he rushes from table to table, a wide smile on his face and syrupy words slipping from his lips to coerce the customers into liking him far more than they should.

Once his shift ends, Tommy is coated in a light layer of sweat and his cheeks ache from the effort of keeping up the smile for so long. He sighs as he hangs up his apron and he waves goodbye to the chefs and other servers as he clocks out.

Tommy slides out of the restaurant at a little bit past four. Tiredness weighs down his bones and his stomach growls with hunger. He knows he definitely should have eaten breakfast, but that is a mistake of the past.

Instead of focusing on his shortcomings, Tommy walks down the road and lets his eyes search for a fast food place he can go buy something at. 

He eventually settles on Burger King because he’s hungry and he isn’t in the mood to search for something better than that. 

Tommy walks a few more blocks to the Burger King, pulling out his phone and kind of just scrolling around until he gets there.

Once he pushes open the doors he is met with that iconic, and quite frankly disturbing, fast food smell. The smell of just salt slaps him in that face hard enough that Tommy thinks he might have walked face first into the ocean.

Some tired worker leans against the counter and only perks up slightly at the sound of the door creaking behind him. Tommy listens as his feet squeak against the tile flooring and he looks around to find one other person sitting in a worn booth in the corner of the place.

Tommy walks up to the register, a meek smile falling onto his face almost in sympathy. 

“Welcome to Burger King, what can I get for you?”

Tommy glances at the menu before back at the man, “I’ll take a Whopper meal.”

The man nods then begins to type it into their system, while he is doing that Tommy takes a quick moment to read the scuffed name tag that is pinned to his shirt.

The name “Jack” is printed considerately poorly onto the silver badge and Tommy figures that they don’t have a care for the looks of their employees.

“Is there anything else I can get you?”

Tommy shakes his head.

“That’ll be $7.14. Will you be paying cash or card?”

“Card.”

Jack nods before informing Tommy to insert or swipe his card into the machine. Tommy slides his card in and he enters his pin and then Jack tells him to wait for his order at the counter.

Tommy nods and then he waits. There isn’t anything interesting about that and while he could add some chaos, he would feel bad for that poor man Jack who would have to deal with that.

So, Tommy holds out; he knows he will have a chance to use his powers plenty next week anyways.

He waits and soon enough he gets his food and he gets on out of there.

The brown bag hangs from his hand as he chews on a french fry on his walk back home. The french fries honestly suck, but Tommy can’t complain considering he expected that from the moment he ordered them.

The walk home is quiet and it gives him exactly the kind of peace he needs to run through his mission that he definitely still has to do tonight.

His bed is going to look so good tonight.

Tommy continues to munch on his disappointing french fries as he pushes into his apartment building’s lobby. The stairwell is empty as well which is always a plus because it can be really awkward when you run into somebody in there.

Tommy would know.

It has happened one too many times for his enjoyment.

His footsteps echo through the stairwell as he rushes up the stairs. He checks his watch as he reaches the third floor landing, quickly ensuring that he will have enough time to eat his burger and get dressed without having to do one of those two things far faster than they should be done.

Luckily, he does in fact have time, which makes his life so much easier as he exits the stairwell and makes his way over to his apartment.

Tommy bursts through the door, the brown greasy bag swinging from his hand as he kicks off his shoes at the front door.

Tommy goes to sit on the couch, kicking his feet onto his little coffee table and flicking his TV on.

The last channel he was on was the news, so that is what blasts through as he eats his Whopper.

“Breaking News: Hero Dolos is currently fighting Villain Ignis in the Pogtopia area. We encourage everyone to stay inside and avoid the area if possible.”

Tommy sighs as he bites into his burger. He lives in the Pogtopia area and based off of the footage of them fighting it seems like they are closer to the warehouse he has to be at really soon.

He takes another bite as he considers his options. He could not go, but he has never bailed on a mission and he doesn’t really plan to do that anytime soon. His second choice is to go, which is incredibly dangerous especially since that means there will be heroes in the area and the possibility of Tommy being questioned for being out.

He finishes up his burger and he crumples up the bag to throw it out as he continues to weigh both choices.

Tommy knows that logically Jackpot wouldn’t be angry at Tommy for bailing, he has always prioritized Tommy’s safety over the mission. However, Tommy really needs the money and the last thing he wants to do is give up before he even tries it.

He walks into his bedroom, opening his closet and pushing to the back to pull out the outfit he always wears on these missions.

The outfit is all black, with a black long sleeve shirt and some black cargo pants that have some extra padding in the legs. The shirt also has some padding to help him out if he were to be caught in a fight and the pair of boots he wears as good ankle support and cushioning to help minimize an unneeded injury.

He slips on the outfit easily before he pulls out the boots and slips those on as well.

The whole process doesn’t take very long and soon enough Tommy is leaving his apartment, grabbing a black mask off of the counter by his door and slipping it on as he walks out. The halls are quiet as he softly pads through them and the stairwell is empty as he skips down the stairs.

He slips out the fire exit under the stairs that he knows won’t set off an alarm and winds up in the alleyway right next to the apartment building. The air is still as he stands there, waiting to make sure nobody is around before he begins to move once again.

He sticks to dark alleys and occasionally a roof or two, though he tries to stay on the ground with the fight that happened and probably is still happening.

The streets are empty due to the message to stay inside and Tommy appreciates that a lot because it honestly makes his job so much easier. The walk takes a bit from all the rerouting that he has to do to avoid going through where Dolos and Ignis were last seen, but Tommy accounted for that and he knows he will make it there on time.

He rounds another corner, glancing around to make sure nobody is there.

Smoke rises in the background from the looming fight and Tommy knows he must be decently close to the scene, but he also knows that the warehouse is less than a block away.

He moves a little bit quicker to try and avoid the fight, letting his feet travel silently and not letting the growing noise throw him off. He uses the fight to hide himself and it works perfectly as he slips into the warehouse quietly.

Tommy moves silently as he makes his way to an area where he knows he will be able to listen in without getting caught. The people are gathered in between some crates to hide themselves and Tommy figures that is only a precaution with the heroes being in the area.

Tommy rests himself between some crates close by, making sure to calm his breathing and keep quiet as the people begin to talk quietly.

“Are you sure?”

Tommy can’t see though he assumes the other man nods.

“Yes, the buzz on the street is that some of the old fighters are coming back.”

The first man whistles, “That is going to bring in a lot of money.”

Tommy leans a little closer, biting on his cheek as he listens to them speak.

“I know. This is going to be our best chance to revive it a bit and possibly bring in new investors.”

Tommy doesn’t like the sound of that, but he keeps quiet. This isn’t his conversation to have right now.

“This is exactly what we needed.”

“The Pit will be revived.”

An explosion shakes the warehouse and Tommy listens as the men make noises of surprise before they try to make a quick escape.

Tommy doesn’t move yet though, he waits to see if another explosion is going to come and he listens for the looming fight of Dolos and Ignis that he knows caused this mess.

He listens carefully, keeping his breaths quiet as the men he was spying on try and navigate their way out without getting caught. Tommy runs through his options. He could try to leave right now, but that runs the risk of him getting caught by either the two men or the two people currently fighting.

However, Tommy recognizes that by staying he is risking getting injured in the crossfire of it all.

He runs through the different exit paths he could take, using the information that Ignis is pushing Dolos closer to the warehouse and the fact that the men are most likely going to go out whichever exit they can find first.

This means they most likely will go out the back exit as it is the closest and the most convenient. This also means Tommy cannot take that exit and that he must take the exit that will land him right on the street and thus in direct view of the fight.

It is wildly inconvenient for him and could mean that Dolos could see him.

A fireball hits somewhere close, causing the crumbling warehouse to shake. Tommy breathes, forcing himself to stay calm and to be rational.

He listens for the two men again, but he doesn’t hear anything from them so they either have found a way out or have gotten out of earshot. Tommy sighs, he knows his best choice is to go out of the front and pray that nobody sees him, because getting caught is not on his agenda today.

Tommy moves out from between the two crates, pausing before fully stepping out to ensure nobody is there to see him. Once he ensures that the coast is clear Tommy begins weaving his way through the semi-empty warehouse until he makes it to the front door.

The sound of the fight has gotten louder and Tommy knows this is probably really dumb, but he can’t risk staying and he couldn’t risk getting caught by the people he literally was paid to spy on.

He pushes open the door carefully, wincing when it lets out a whining screech. Tommy pushes it open slightly more before glancing around. He makes a mental note of where the fight is happening, which inconveniently is the way he would preferably have to go, before he makes his next move.

Tommy watches as Dolos fights Ignis, presumably using his deception to confuse Ignis at least a little bit so he can get close without getting scorched.

Tommy waits until neither of them could see him before he rushes out and shuts the door behind him. 

Now the issue is where he should go. He rips off his mask, breathing in the smoky air as he begins to casually walk down the road. Normally he would walk away from the fight, but Tommy needs them to believe he is just a citizen who wound up here.

So, he walks down the road, letting the fight move closer to him. He begins to think up an alibi, presumably something about having work and this being his path home. The fight looms in front of him and he tries to figure out the best way to act like a scared citizen.

Step one: see the fight and scream before running in the opposite direction as a fireball comes flying at you unexpectedly.

Okay. He might not have planned that one, but fire is scary.

His very manly scream caught the attention of the two idiots fighting in the middle of the road. This means Dolos does in fact see him which is going to be great for next week and also means Tommy must run very quickly away now because he is highly embarrassed.

His feet pound against the pavement and luckily, or maybe unluckily, a fireball hits the pavement behind him, signaling that the fight has begun once again. Tommy loops around a few blocks later to head back towards his apartment, slowing his jog to a walk.

He tries to give the impression that he isn’t out of breath, though he doesn’t know why he does that since there is nobody outside right now to judge him. He walks in relative peace, ignoring the buzz in the back of his mind that panics at the fact that Dolos saw him there and what that means for him.

Tommy has decided that he is far too tired to worry and that he can worry next week when it is actually relevant.

Tommy has a pounding headache as he walks down the road. He pushes through the throngs of people that gather outside of the casino and he mildly questions why he didn’t think to take some Advil or something before he left.

Considering it is a Friday night, the casino is much more crowded than it was on Wednesday and that makes everything much more difficult for Tommy.

He pushes another person out of the way and weaves his way between more groups of people who have more likely than not had one too many drinks.

Tommy eventually makes it to the front and enters the casino where he doesn’t have any more luck with the crowds than he did outside. Tommy walks between the gamblers and the drunks and he walks up to a guard.

“I have a meeting with Jackpot.”

The guard nods, “Name?”

“Tommy.”

“Follow me.”

Tommy sighs as the guard leads him away from the crowd and towards Jackpot’s office. He lets the relative silence relax him a bit as the bustling noise from the crowds fades away.

The walk is the same as always, they pass the same doors and the same art and they reach the door where they wait for Jackpot to let him in.

Tommy pushes through the doors, plopping down in one of the chairs across from Jackpot before just staring at him.

Jackpot stares back before sighing and starting the conversation, “Did you end up going? I know there was a fight happening in the area.”

Tommy nods, “I went. The fight cut off the meeting short, but I think I got plenty of information for you.”

Jackpot nods in that sort of way that says, “Go on,” without saying it at all.

“Old fighters from the Pit are coming back for a fight and they believe that this will be enough to revive the Pit to what it used to be.”

Jackpot nods, feigning nonchalance but Tommy knows that both of them understand the implications of this. 

“That is… unideal.”

Tommy nods, not letting his face show how much he truly agrees with that.

“Well, thank you Tommy.”

Jackpot slides two stacks of cash across the table.

Tommy takes it, sliding the money into his pockets as he stands.

“It was a pleasure working with you Jackpot. Call me when you need me.”

Jackpot nods and Tommy shows himself out.The guard follows him, but Tommy pays no attention to him as he mentally checks one more thing off of his to-do list.

All that is left is the interview next week. 

Tommy walks out of the casino, letting the fresh air welcome him as he steps into the street and pushes through the crowds.

He thinks about the interview and what it might entail, letting his imagination run rampant as he makes his way back towards the calm streets of his home.

He imagines the fights and him showing his powers and maybe an interview or something, he thinks about what they could want to know and what it could mean for him if they decide they like him.

Tommy considers everything that this could mean, but then he also considers that this might give him everything he has ever needed.

A constant supply of just a little bit of chaos, just enough to satisfy him.

It goes without him really needing to say it, but that would be worth more than anything they could pay him.

Chapter Text

Tommy’s alarm blares through his quiet apartment, rattling him awake and disturbing the moment of peace that had resonated from the dreamless night before. Tommy sits up in bed, softly wiping his eyes as he grabs his phone.

He takes a moment to adjust to the light of the phone before he glances at the time, confusion sweeping through his body as he tries to remember why he is awake so early. Just at that moment, a notification popped up, revealing that it would take him about twenty minutes to walk to the hero tower and that he should leave in thirty minutes.

Ah. Yes. That is today.

He slides out of bed, reaching up to stretch out his body before he opens his blinds and goes to his kitchen to grab something to eat real fast. Normally Tommy doesn’t find the need for breakfast, but he knows that he always performs better when he has the energy and breakfast is a great source of energy.

He opens his fridge, eyeing all the different foods he has sitting in there before he settles on a bagel and some cream cheese. While he is aware that it isn’t the most nutritious breakfast, Tommy figures anything is better than nothing.

He walks over to the counter right next to the fridge, grabbing the bagels off the counter and sliding two of them into the toaster. While those are toasting, he goes and gathers himself a paper plate, a knife and of course his cream cheese.

Tommy scrolls through his phone as he waits for the bagels and as soon as they come out he grabs the two halves and puts them on his plate so he can slather far too much cream cheese onto them and then call it a delicacy.

From there he puts away his cream cheese and he eats his breakfast as he watches the local news. He doesn’t indulge too much in the nonsense that the news has to say, but occasionally he does have the time to waste.

Now is one of those times.

However soon enough the time has been wasted and the plate has been thrown out and Tommy is changing into easy clothes to move about in. He is out the door just a few minutes ahead of when he needed to be and Tommy thinks that might be a good sign that today is going to be a good day.

The streets are fairly quiet as he walks, though he does pass the occasional car or person on their way to work. It is nice though and it gives Tommy time to gather his thoughts just a tad. He isn’t necessarily nervous, because he has no expectations and he quite frankly doesn’t need this job to live.

The job would just be nice and it would be pretty cool if he does say so himself. However, he does hold a bit of fear that Dolos is going to question him on his appearance at that little inconvenient fight that happened last week.

Though the more Tommy thinks about it, the more he realizes that he doesn’t really have to worry. He has an alibi and Dolos has absolutely no reason not to believe him. 

This settles Tommy’s nerves a bit, though a few still remain if only because trying anything new will always leave a bit of butterflies flapping around. 

He continues his brisk walk through the city, letting the sounds of a city that has awoken fill his ears and push him forwards. The morning air is crisp against his skin and the city just awakens more and more as he nears closer and closer to his final destination.

The tower looms kind of ominously in the background and it only grows in size as he gets closer. He checks his phone, ensuring that he is on time for once, before continuing his walk.

He doesn’t bother wasting time as he hurries to the tower, letting the few butterflies that linger in his stomach carry him there with the flaps of their delicate wings.

He floats across the sidewalk and up the stairs and eventually, metaphorically that is, flies his way gently into the tower.

The security is as thriving as ever and they do what is probably another full background check on him before they finally let him through.

Despite that, he somehow makes it just barely on time and that seems like a really big accomplishment. Especially considering Tommy has never been early or on time for just about anything ever.

He walks through the place, not taking the time to marvel about the complexities of it all. Mainly because he is in a rush and trying to seem punctual for once.

The lady at the front desk gives a friendly smile, “Are you here for the apprenticeship interview?”

Tommy nods shakily, not really trusting himself to not say something really stupid. The woman just kind of smiles again before giving him the instructions to wherever he is supposed to be at right now.

He thanks her before rushing into the elevator, pressing the button for floor four and heading on up. When the elevator dings and the doors slide open, Tommy finds himself staring at what appears to be the training floor. 

The space is relatively open, with some workout equipment and a big mat and some targets and stuff and for bows and other weapons that are throwable.

There seems to be a few more private rooms for training on the sides, but for the most part the space is fairly open and also Apple or whatever his name is standing in the middle of it.

“Hello Tommy! It is wonderful to see you again!”

Tommy nods and walks closer to him, “Nice to see you again as well.”

The words sound fake on his tongue and Aloe Vera just laughs at the political politeness. 

“No need for the pleasantries.”

Tommy smiles and nods.

“Now, I guess I should explain to you how this will work. As I’m sure you’ve figured out, we are in the training rooms so you have probably already assumed we are going to assess your ability to use your powers and how you can utilize them in a fighting scenario.”

Tommy nods, he has confidence in his abilities.

“We will first start by going into one of the private rooms where a few other heroes wait so we can begin that part of this whole thing.”

“Sounds good.”

Alcove turns to the right and Tommy follows him diligently as he walks into one of the private rooms.

Once inside Tommy scans the room to find some other top heroes, but worst of all Dolos is there.

Tommy stops himself from groaning outwardly at the sight and instead schools his expression as he looks back at Address.

“So, how do you want me to do this?”

The man tilts his head and the others look at him with interest, almost as though they don’t even know his powers.

“Well, I just want you to use your powers and we will see what happens.”

Tommy nods before turning to look at all the people. He releases a valve inside of him in a way, he mentally twists it loose and releases the chaos that has been waiting patiently within him.

“Do they know?”

Once he does that he waits and he watches the people as they stare back at him with curious gazes as they wait for him to act.

Aeolus shakes his head, “No.”

Tommy smiles.

He sees the way the chaos slips into them and how they all kind of react to it, but not in a way they will notice just yet.

Tommy walks up to Dolos with a grin on his face, “How are you feeling?”

Dolos looks confused for a moment, “Fine?”

Tommy smiles, “Would you like to spar?”

Dolos tilts his head, curiosity running through him and chaos unknowingly causing his thoughts to scatter.

“Is that fine with you Aeolus?”

The man nods, watching with a sort of interest. Tommy didn’t allow the chaos to get him, wanting him to be completely aware as Tommy completed this.

“Then sure.”

Tommy grins the kind of grin that spells trouble in a language of its own.

“Then let’s dance.”

Tommy steps forward and he knows Dolos expects him to swing. He doesn’t do that, instead he utilizes the premature duck and swipes his foot out to catch him off balance.

Dolos rolls to the floor, confusion painting his face as he stands and gets into the offensive position. Tommy smiles, knowing that with chaos on his side the man won’t win.

Dolos swings, but Tommy is one step ahead of him and instead of ducking under he steps forward and tackles Dolos to the floor.

Tommy pins him and then he draws the chaos back in, ending the short show of his power and allowing the others to realize what had happened.

Dolos looks up at Tommy, a sort of fear in his eyes, “What?”

Tommy smirks a bit, “Wasn’t that fun?”

Aeolus looks at Tommy, a mixture of what seems to be pride and interest swirling in the sea of icy blue.

“Dolos, what did you feel in that moment?”

Tommy stands, offering a hand out to Dolos to pull him up.

“I felt disorganized and I just–” 

He pauses as he gathers himself and Tommy steps to the side, the smirk never quite falling from his face as he watches Dolos process it all.

“He was so unpredictable, it was like I never knew what he was going to do next despite spending years training to fight.”

Aeolus nods and looks at Tommy with a smile.

“Do you know what his power was?”

Dolos shakes his head.

“It’s chaos embodiment and manipulation.”

Dolos whips his head to look at Tommy.

“Surprise!”

Dolos sighs before turning back to Aeolus, “No way. That child can’t be that powerful.”

Tommy lets out a scoff, “I did just take you down.”

Dolos squawks in indignation, “I didn’t know your power, how was I supposed to know?”

“I’m sure I could be you without manipulating the chaos in your mind.”

“Then let’s go.”

Aeolus sighs, “Boys. None of that. We have seen plenty of your abilities Tommy.”

Tommy steps down from the challenge, instead nodding and smiling at him.

“What comes next?”

Aeolus looks at everyone else and a few of them seem to understand the words that go unsaid in that gaze.

“Well, I think everyone else will agree with me, but we think you show a great potential and would like to sign you on to be an apprentice.”

Tommy looks at him in shock, “No way?”

Aeolus nods.

“You can’t be serious. Tell me this is a joke right now.”

He laughs in a way that isn’t with derision, but in a way that is gentle and carries against the wind.

“I am serious. We think you have a good personality, have shown no malice intent, and have an incredible potential to do something great with your power.”

Tommy pauses, letting the words truly soak in and letting himself believe that he got a job he never even imagined was a possibility for him.

“I– Thank you. Thank you so much.”

“Thank you Tommy. Now, we know that you probably need time to situate yourself and get everything situated so can you start on Monday?”

Tommy nods, not speaking in fear that he will break the fantasy that lies in front of him.

“Great. Dolos will you lead him out?”

Tommy pales. No shot. Not Dolos.

“Yeah.”

Tommy almost complains right then and there, he just not only does he not like Dolos, but Dolos also knows he saw the fight.

They walks silently out of the private training rooms, walking past some people that are using the various equipment that is actually in the main area. There are a few waves and some glances of curiosity, but nobody says anything to Tommy.

They enter the elevator in silence, and that truly isn’t broken until the doors slide shut and the elevator rumbles as it begins to move.

“As much as I hate to say it, I am impressed.”

Tommy glances at Dolos curiously.

“I know I may not be the best fighter out of the heroes, but it isn’t often that we get somebody that can come in and take somebody down that quickly.”

Tommy nods.

“I must ask. How did you get so good?”

“Uh,” Tommy looks away from him, staring at the warper perceptions of themselves in the elevator door. “I didn’t really have to train much when my opponents never knew what I was going to do anyways. It is just luck I guess.”

Dolos nods slightly, considering the words, “I suppose that makes sense.”

Tommy nods with him, watching the way his chest rises and falls as he finds sudden interest in his shoes.

An awkward silence falls over them, but before it festers long enough to start another painstaking conversation the elevator doors slide open and allow Tommy to step out of the purgatory.

Dolos stands there, watching Tommy leave, but he does not follow.

“See you next week Tommy.”

Tommy nods, waving back before turning around and walking out the front doors without looking back. The sun shines high in the sky and Tommy sighs as he lets the sunshine warm his skin.

He walks away from the tower and the confusion and the excitement of it all and he begins walking again with a new destination in mind. He orientates himself with the directions and walks towards his restaurant.  

Well, it isn’t necessarily his restaurant, in fact, he supposes that he should call it the restaurant that he works at if he is being technical.

Regardless of that, Tommy is heading to his current place of employment to inform them that he has a new place of employment.

He knows they won’t miss him, because while he was a good worker, there are plenty of those in the world. 

Tommy would say that he is going to miss his coworkers, but he believes that would merely be a nicety to make himself believe he is a better person that he probably actually is.

The roads have become slightly busier with people heading on lunch break and those who aren’t working today going out and about into the world.

Tommy pays them no mind though, other people don’t concern him unless they must.

The walk to the restaurant isn’t necessarily long but no one would consider a short walk. This means by the time Tommy gets there, the sun has warmed him quite a bit and he has begun to wonder if a text would have sufficed.

He walks through the doors, smiling to the hostess. She smiles back, Hey Tommy. What brings you in today?”

“I actually need to speak to the boss man.”

She nods, most likely knowing what is coming next.

“He’s in his office.”

“Thank you, Rose.”

Tommy walks past the girl and he moves towards the back of the restaurant where his office resides.

Tommy knocks on the door gently, “Come in.”

Tommy slips the door open, sliding inside before closing it behind him. 

“Oh, what brings you in today Tommy?”

A smile falls onto the man’s face at the sight of him and Tommy winces at the kind words.

“I actually came to let you know that a new opportunity has arisen for me and due to that I will be stepping down from my position. I appreciate the opportunity you have given me here and I hope this official two week notice does not leave you thinking lowly of me.”

The manager nods, “I understand Tommy. Everyone is destined for more eventually, I am glad that you are finally branching out and finding new opportunities to grow.”

Tommy nods and smiles at his manager and his manager smiles back.

“Thank you for everything.”

“Thank you as well. I will see you again some time, I am sure.”

“You will, I promise.”

And with that Tommy leaves, chest feeling light and feet carrying him across the restaurant as though he weighs as much as a feather.

The rest of the day went by easily, he didn’t have much to do and with him using his powers the normal ache that buzzed within him, constantly calling for chaos, quited a tad.

It was something he hasn’t felt in a really long time, a sort of peace that has fallen over his body that he didn’t even realize he missed.

He spent the rest of the day sort of lounging around, finally realizing just how tiring that need had been until it was gone for just a little.

The idea that he could feel like this more often makes him excited, the fact that he doesn’t have to constantly be plagued by the almost unignorable urge to release the valve and let the chaos reign supreme. 

It just allows him to breathe for a moment and live life without the need to make it just a tad more interesting. 

Tommy thinks he had almost forgotten what that felt like.

Chapter Text

Monday comes sooner than expected.

Tommy doesn’t know if he should be worried or excited or nervous or scared or happy or a colorful mix of everything in between.

What Tommy does know is that he is running extraordinarily late. He normally is over exaggerating when he says that, but for once he is being as literal as possible.

His feet pound against the sidewalk and his breath fills his ears as he pushes past random people on the sidewalk.

Rushed apologies fall from his lips and the time that reads on his watch only causes him to move faster and manage to shove more innocent people out of the way.

He never intended to be late, but one thing led to another and next thing he knew he was almost fifteen minutes late and counting.

The tower looms in the background, but Tommy doesn’t have the time to marvel at the fact that he works there now because he might not by the time he gets there.

He forced himself to run faster, pushing through the lack of air and telling himself that in the end he will be fine.

By the time he gets to the tower he is officially twenty minutes late and definitely out of a job. He rushes through security as quickly as one can rush through security and practically sprints up to the front desk.

“I’m,” he gasps for breath. “I am so sorry. I—“

“Tommy?”

Tommy whips around, chest rising and falling as quickly as his mind runs.

“Aeolus! I am so so so sorry.”

Aeolus smiles at him, “It’s okay mate.”

“I understand if you— wait what?”

“I said it’s okay.”

Tommy nods, still trying to get his heartbeat to fall to something that would be considered normal.

“It’s okay?”

The older hero nods, “Yes. According to your application you live quite a ways away and from what I’ve gathered you don’t have a car. This is understandable.”

Tommy smiles at him slightly, “I’m still sorry.”

“Well you’re forgiven.”

And with that Aeolus turns to walk towards the elevators and Tommy follows behind with even footsteps and a steadying heartbeat.

They step into the elevator and Aeolus presses the button for the same floor he had been to for the interview. It is higher up than the training floor and Tommy honestly doesn’t remember much else about it. 

He wasn’t really paying attention to the layout of a place when he didn’t even know what he was there for if he is being honest.

The elevator falls silent as the ride up and Tommy doesn’t make an effort to fill the void, he just stares at himself and the hero next to him and he begins to consider if that will be him one day.

Will he be a hero that everyone knows? Will he be the guy in the elevator taking on an apprentice? Will he stand stoic and strong? Will he be a hero?

The elevator dings quietly and the doors slide open. They both step out and Aeolus leads them into the office that Tommy had stepped into just about two weeks ago. 

It is crazy to think that in less than a month his life had flipped and suddenly he was somewhere that kids dream of.

He won’t lie and say he imagined himself here or that he knew all along this was where he was going to be, because for the longest time Tommy didn’t know where life was going to lead and that was the issue.

Now, everything is being laid out for him. Aeolus sits down at the chair behind the desk and Tommy settles into the one opposite.

This is the day his life begins to change and Tommy can only hope it is for the better.

The older man clears his throat slightly, reaching down to grab some papers.

“Today is going to be fairly boring and to be quite honest with you, so will the rest of this week.”

Tommy nods, a silent request for him to continue.

“Today we are going to sort out some paperwork and throughout the rest of the week we need to evaluate your physical and mental health, determine a suitable diet, create a training plan, and just a bunch of other banal things that must be done.”

“Sounds good to me.”

Tommy knows his words must sound fake, but he finds that they aren’t. He didn’t necessarily want to dive head first into something without knowing what he was signing up for and he also needs this time to just figure out his life.

This is something unprecedented in his life, something that should have never happened, and, yet, it did. Tommy’s life is about to change forever, he is altering the course and that means he must adjust to the new route and familiarize himself with the unfamiliar road that he currently is driving down.

Aeolus smiles at him, or so the crinkle in his eyes suggests, and begins to explain the various paperwork. Most of it is formalities, things like filing for health insurance and Tommy having to sign an NDA and other things like a contract describing what he can and cannot do as an apprentice.

Most of it is fairly straightforward and nothing shocked Tommy. It wasn’t like the contract or the paperwork or anything was unfair, and believe him when he says he read what he was signing thoroughly before he agreed to anything.

Most of the main contract is just saying like he must show up for a certain number of hours, agreeing to physical and mental health check ins, and that they can let him go if he is ever deemed unfit at any point in the process.

It all seems fair, Tommy understands that not everyone is fit to be a hero and he understands that if he is not then the only fair thing to do is to let him go.

The paperwork takes most of the time that he is supposed to be there for. It’s a whole lot of reading and flipping through papers and sighing and signing things and asking for clarifications on wordings and all that fun stuff.

By the time they finish it’s later in the day and while they did take a few breaks to just walk around or eat or just to not have to fill out paperwork, it still was tiring and boring and Tommy hopes he never has to fill out that much paperwork ever again.

Besides that it was fine, he has a better grasp on what he is going to be doing, he got paid to sign his name twenty times, and now he can go home and plop on his couch and forget about the cramp in his hand.

Tommy passes over the last paper, most of them were so he could actually get benefits and stuff and get his bank account set up and what not.

“Done.”

Aeolus nods, eyes crinkling slightly, “Good thing.”

Tommy nods before slumping in his chair and staring at the ceiling for a moment, “That was a lot of effort. I don’t think I ever want to fill out that much of anything ever again.”

A quiet laughter rings through the air and Tommy gives a soft smile at the sound, “Don’t worry, if you stay on top of your mission reports and incident reports, which you won’t have to do unless you become a real hero, then you shouldn’t have to worry.”

“Thank whatever deity is looking over me at this moment.”

Tommy looks up and puts his hands together in a silent prayer, and he lets a small smile slip onto his face during his very serious prayer at the sound of more laughter.

Laughter and chaos can go hand in hand most times and that means laughter is something Tommy wishes to never lose in his life.

After he gets over with his very serious praying, Tommy moves to stand and Aeolus stands with him.

They both walk towards the door. Tommy pushes it open and Aeolus walks through and then they just walk towards the elevator in silent agreement.

Aeolus presses the button to the first floor and Tommy begins to think about his dinner and also about how he probably needs to tell Jackpot that he cannot work for him because that was slightly illegal and now Tommy has a job where illegal is frowned upon or whatever. 

He decides he will go down tomorrow after work because Aeolus mentioned something about diet and training plans and what not so he knows he won’t be too exhausted or something.

“You know Tommy,” Aeolus says, voice piercing the silence of the elevator and also the stream of his thoughts.

Tommy tilts his head, looking at him with a simple sort of curiosity.

“Yeah?”

“I think you’ll make a good hero.”

And Tommy doesn’t say anything in response because he isn’t quite sure what words there are to say. He has spent his whole life believing that he would never make it as a hero, that he just didn’t have the heart, yet one of the most famous heroes is telling him after like three conversations that he thinks he has the potential to be a good hero.

He thinks that Tommy has the potential to be something great and those are words Tommy hasn’t heard in a really long time, at least not in any way that matters like this.

Aeolus seems to understand in a way, as he doesn’t comment on Tommy’s lack of response and he doesn’t push for anything even as the elevator doors slide open and the both step through them.

“Bye Tommy. See you tomorrow kid.”

Aeolus’ voice has a sort of fondness to it that Tommy doesn’t take the time to dissect.

“Not a kid! See you tomorrow, big man.”

And with that Tommy walks out the door and into the world and for the first time in a long time he enters it with the possibility to be something more.

Tommy has the ability to change something, he has the ability to be a good person, to be a better person than he was ever allowed to be.

He has the potential to be great.

The world sits in his palm and Tommy has the potential to mold the path that he will take as he traverses it and that choice is something he has ached to have for his whole life.

Tommy gets to choose how the rest of his life pans out, starting with this job. That is a realization that he has had recently and it’s one that he wishes he had earlier, but regardless it means that he has choices and he can make them.

That’s nice.

He has choices.

Right now he is choosing to walk home and heat something up in the microwave for dinner and watch TV and lounge around and he’s making choices.

Now, his choices can impact more than just himself. Tommy can join a community, one that will help him, one that he can help, one that is good.

He won’t be lonely anymore and isn’t that just something beautiful?

The next day is much the same.

Tommy goes to the tower and he meets Aeolus and they go to the medical floor, which is floor three and that is something he is supposed to remember, and he gets evaluated or whatever.

The doctor is chill, Tommy doesn’t remember his name, but he was cool and he basically just made sure Tommy was healthy enough to actually potentially be a hero.

He also uses what he learns from his medical exam to work with the tower nutritionist, who’s name is Hannah and she’s super nice and Tommy does remember her name, to make a diet plan for him.

The diet isn’t anything crazy, but it’s a suggested outline of the types of food that Tommy should be eating to maximize his body and muscle health and stuff like that.

Most of the food is stuff that Tommy is sure he can buy and the stuff that he can’t he just decides he won’t. It is a suggestion after all. 

After Tommy is given an intensive list of foods and meals and when he should eat them and all that jazz, he is then led into the training room where the doctor dude explained to him his training regimen and how it relates to his diet.

Tommy nods along the whole time, pretending that he is actually absorbing everything that is being told to him. In his defense, it is a lot of information. Despite that, he would like to say that he does remember some of it.

By that he means he remembers the part where he will spend most days training with Aeolus and to ask him any questions. That means that Tommy really just doesn’t need to know it now because he will know it later.

Tommy is well aware that this is probably not an ideal way to go about it, but he also knows that if it isn’t interesting he then has no interest in it. It is almost a side effect of his powers, one that has ruined friendships and caused people to find him annoying.

He needs constant stimulation in a way, when life begins moving too slowly Tommy gets antsy. He doesn’t mean to, but by definition is disorder and confusion and that means Tommy needs the interesting aspects of life that are unpredictable in nature.

People think its annoying when he is constantly moving, constantly going, constantly coming up with plans and pranks and ideas. His brain is constantly moving and that isn’t something that is okay with most people.

It’s why he is so alone and why he knows he should pay attention and try to be normal, but he can’t.

He just can’t.

Tommy wishes he could slow down and that he could make his brain stop moving at a million miles per an hour. He wishes for so much and there is only so little that chaos can actually help with.

He loves his power, he truly does, but sometimes it is hard to tell whether it is truly a blessing or if it merely a curse in disguise.

Tommy thinks he is starting to come to terms with the fact that with every blessing a downside will follow and this one just so happens to be his.

The doctor is talking directly to Aeolus now, probably having realized that Tommy isn’t paying attention in the way that he should. Tommy isn’t quite sure if he should be thankful or not. He thinks he is leaning towards being grateful as he lets his eyes roam around the room.

Some people are running on the treadmills and some are lifting weights or throwing knives at a target or just talking to others in the room. Everyone seems so relaxed with each other and nobody has a mask or a costume on, but Tommy is well aware by the way they hold themselves that they are all heroes.

It is interesting to Tommy, to observe the way people act and almost analyze their actions. It is like a puzzle, people watching, that is, it is a silent sort of way for him to find interest in his life. He watches people and the way they live and the lives they have and sometimes he uses that in conversations to mold himself to the person’s liking and other times he just watches strangers, never interacting, just watching.

This may make him sound weird or stalkerish, but he doesn’t follow a person or take notes, he just finds some kind of joy in creating a story for a person and guessing their life based off of a split second scene of their life.

He watches them drop their coffee and he imagines how that will affect the rest of their day, he watches two people hug and imagines that this is a reunion, he observes a woman rushing down the road and pretends that she is running late for a very important business meeting.

He watches the way Aeolus stands and nods and his mannerisms and he just observes. He isn’t malicious in intent, that is far from the truth.

Tommy is just a boy who has been alone for far too long and sometimes creating another persons life makes it easier to forget the misery of your own.

“You ready to go Tommy?”

Tommy glances up at Aeolus, pausing as he tries to figure out if anything was said to him before that.

Tommy decides that he is in the clear before he smiles, “Yep!”

Aeolus nods and begins to walk and Tommy trails just slightly behind as they make their way to the elevator.

Tommy watches with interest as Aeolus doesn’t press the button for the ground floor, but instead moves to press the button for floor nine. Tommy has yet to go there, knowing that the medical floor is the third one and that the training floor is the fourth and the one with all the offices was the seventh.

Aeolus must sense his confusion, breaking the silence as he always does with a gentle voice, “We are going to the SBI floor.”

Tommy pauses at the words, he knows Aeolus works closely with Dolos and Ares, who he has yet to meet yet, but he almost forgot that they are actually an established team. 

SBI is probably one of the most well known hero teams in the country and Tommy really managed to forget that Aeolus, the literal guy training him, as well as Dolos, the guy he annoys as much as possible, are both on said team.

Now, if we back away from the whole famous thing, Tommy has no clue what SBI even stands for and he has even less of a clue why he is going to their floor.

Aeolus doesn’t offer anything more than that and Tommy doesn’t pry. The elevator fills with a silence that feels like foggy mist over a lake, it lays over him and it hushes any words he could speak before they make it past his mouth.

The elevator door slides open and Tommy waits a moment, letting Aeolus initiate the movement before Tommy steps out of the elevator.

The floor at first glance doesn’t seem like much. The elevator opens into a hallway that has a few pictures on the walls and a stupid welcome home mat. There are some doors lining the hall and at the end of it there seems to be some kind of living room.

Aeolus brushes past the doors with ease and Tommy follows behind him tentatively. The living room is decently sized at the end of the hallway and there is a small kitchen and then another door that is cracked open just enough that Tommy can see a bed.

He figures they have a room for if they work a late shift or something. Aeolus walks around and eventually plops down on the couch.

Tommy stands there more than semi-awkwardly, confusion evident across his features.

Aeolus looks at him and gestures for him to sit down and Tommy cautiously walks over and sits, unease coursing through his veins and uncertainty taking over his brain.

“How are you?”

Tommy bristles slightly at the question, “Uh— fine…”

Aeolus gives what Tommy can only assume is a pitiful smile, “This isn’t anything more than a talk Tommy. I just want to get to know you.”

Tommy nods, but the tension stays despite the words that were meant to be calming.

“Okay.”

The words don’t come out as convincing as he hoped they would.

“We’re going to be working together, with me being your mentor and all.”

Tommy pauses, letting his mind process the words. Tommy is an apprentice, that is a fact. Aeolus is training him, that is also a fact. Now, the idea that Aeolus is his mentor shouldn’t feel so crazy, yet it does.

The words rock through him wave by wave, splashing against his mind and breaching into his thoughts.

“What?”

“I’m your mentor, mate.”

Tommy nods slowly, letting the words seep into his brain.

“I—cool.”

Aeolus chuckles, but Tommy doesn’t quite hear it.

Aeolus is his mentor, one of the three members of SBI, one of the most famous heroes, someone who is on billboards and has action figures and is every kids idol.

He is his mentor. He chose Tommy.

He chose Tommy.

“Do you have any questions for me?”

And Tommy pauses at the question, because he doesn’t really know. There are no questions that he has been dying to ask and there is only one that comes to mind.

He doesn’t know if he has the strength to ask it though.

He thinks he might have to find strength though.

“I—uh… why— sorry,” Tommy looks down sheepishly as he tries to gather his thoughts.

“It’s okay Tommy, take your time.”

Tommy breathes in once, holding the air for a few seconds before he releases it slowly.

He can do this.

“Why did you pick me?”

Aeolus tilts his head, eyes gleaming at the question in a way that Tommy cannot quite read.

“You remind me of some people I know.”

Tommy blinks, “That can’t be all.”

“You have potential Tommy, you have fantastic control over your power, you have brief fighting knowledge, you are bright and you have potential. You reminded me of people that I have seen grow to be something more. I want to see you grow as well.”

If Tommy was a lesser person he might have cried at the words. They had so much conviction and care and they held so much with so little effort.

He doesn’t quite understand how Aeolus sees this potential in him that nobody else has ever seen before, but for once he doesn’t want to question his motives and he just wants to find enough clarity to accept that Aeolus believes in him.

Tommy has someone in his corner, someone who barely knows him, someone who has told Tommy multiple times now that he could do something great.

This is Tommy’s chance to be great, to be bigger than himself, to change the world he lives in. He can be a part of a change, he can help kids just like him.

He can do all of this because Aeolus saw something more hiding behind the wry smiles and the glint in his eyes.

Tommy knows it shouldn’t seem crazy, he has a power that people gape at, one that many will never even see in their lifetime, and he has an incredible control over it, far more than he should. He understands conceptually that he has a gift and that he can use that gift to make his life mean something to more than just himself, but the idea that another person understands that is unprecedented in his life.

Tommy cannot even begin to grasp the thoughts that Aeolus has or the way he works or just who he is, but as he sits on the couch on that ninth floor of the hero tower, Tommy begins to believe that maybe one day he will be able to understand.

Chapter Text

Tommy ends up at Las Nevadas again, a grimace on his face as the noise explodes around him and as the smell of body odor and alcohol mixes into the air around him.

Somehow Tommy finds that despite the many times he has walked that he will never quite get used to the atmosphere that surrounds the place.

His powers buzz under his skin at the chaos, and, in a way, the mass amounts of it from the gambling and the drunks and just everyone gives him power.

He thrives off of their chaos and he revives a different part of himself whenever he steps into Las Nevadas and maybe that is why he still chooses to come back despite the flaws.

Tommy goes through the whole song and dance once he pushes his way to a security guard and eventually finds himself standing in the all too familiar office with an all too familiar person.

“Hello Jackpot.”

“Hello Tommy.”

Tommy sits and Jackpot twists his mouth into a smile of sorts.

“What gives me the pleasure of having you here?”

Tommy isn’t quite sure why they are being so curt, but Tommy is sure his clipped nature comes from the news he is about to give.

“I got a new job and I will no longer be able to work with you for the time being.”

Jackpot nods slightly, “If you don’t mind me asking, would you tell me what job?”

Tommy breathes, “I may or may not be a hero apprentice now.”

And Tommy almost expects anger of some sort to come from Jackpot, but instead he smiles.

“I’m proud of you Tommy.”

Those words are not what Tommy had prepared for. He prepared for anger and clipped nature and words thrown at each other and he never expected that.

Jackpot has always cared and Tommy knows that, but he always assumed it was because Tommy did what he was supposed to.

“Really?”

The question is quiet when it falls from his lips, slipping out by its own accord from Tommy’s mouth.

Jackpot nods, “You deserve it, kid. You work so hard and you deserve it.”

Tommy smiles, an awkward kind of smile, one that says “thank you” in all of the ways words could never.

“And Tommy, just so you know, you’re always welcome over here even if it is just to talk.”

“Thank you, Jackpot.”

Tommy stands and Jackpot stands with him, guiding him towards the door, “No problem Tommy.”

Tommy goes to open the door, hand on the handle when Jackpot opens his mouth just one more time.

“Also, you can call me Quackity when it’s just the two of us.”

A smile is given to him and Tommy doesn’t even respond as he rushes out. His mind swims as he processes the words and the meaning behind that.

Jackpot Quackity just told him his name, he trusted Tommy with his name even when he said he was going to be training to be a hero.

Tommy doesn’t quite know the repercussions of this, but he does know that for once he doesn’t pay attention to the flashing lights and the oceans of people and instead his mind only pays attention to the warmth that fills his chest at the implications of it all.

—

Time moves in a way that Tommy can barely explain. The days after that night with Quackity feel slow in the moment, but like a blip in time after the moment. He begins training and he talks with Aeolus more and his days feel so long, but the by the time the week ends he can barely believe it.

The week was one that feels like a distant memory in a way, he remembers doing stuff, but he can’t really remember. It went by quicker than a blink, but the moment lasted a lifetime.

Tommy sits in his apartment, mind blank as he stares at the ceiling. He doesn’t have anything to do, despite it being a Friday night. He never has anything to do.

His mind wanders back to that bar he had wondered into a few weeks back, he thinks about the music and the karaoke and the man with the voice that was so impressionable it almost felt deceiving.

Tommy opens up his phone, searching for the bar before clicking on their website.

They have karaoke tonight.

Tommy gets off of his couch slowly. There is a tired aching in his bones from the week and his mind is tired, but he wants something to do.

He trudges to the door and pulls on a coat and slips on a pair of shoes before sliding into the empty hallway. He walks quietly through the halls, mind wondering what his neighbors are up to, what the people who are always a minute walk away have planned for the rest of their lives.

Tommy is surrounded by people he will never know.

The stairwell is empty too, the silence dissipates as his footsteps fill the void and his mind rings with the thought of how alone he feels in an apartment building filled with life.

The air outside welcomes him with cold arms and his feet carry him subconsciously to the bar that he had made his predetermined destination.

As he gets closer the air changes with the environment. It no longer hugs him and rather smothers him in a way that is inexplicable.

People sit on the curb outside of the bar and some people push through the doors and Tommy follows them in.

The air is warm inside, he feels suffocated by the atmosphere, yet he doesn’t leave. He settles into the back and he observes the drunkards in the bar and the people that flip through the karaoke book on the stage.

They have those languid kind of smiles on their faces and their fingers slip against the pages and they giggle with each other as they pick some song that definitely wasn’t made to be a duet but is performed as one anyways.

It’s interesting to Tommy, the way people just let go when they’re drunk. He understands why people call it liquid courage, he thinks drunk karaoke is really the only way to understand it.

These people should have no confidence to go and sing the way they do and yet they do. It’s magnificent the way that people embarrass themselves with not a care in the world.

What’s crazier is the utter lack of judgment present in the bar itself. Nobody laughs at people and everyone claps after each song as though they just listened to Beyoncé herself go and sing on the stage.

It’s something that you will never find anywhere else, a community made up of strangers and a common goal. Tommy is fascinated by it all, he is fascinated by the lives of the people that go up and sing and he almost gets lost in the theatrics of it all.

He finds himself though as a familiar face walks across the stage, brown hair plastered to a sweaty forehead and a looseness to his muscles as he grips the microphone in his shaky hands.

The man is captivating to Tommy, something about his nature and the way he carries himself feels so charismatic, so charming. Tommy doesn’t quite recognize the song he sings tonight, but he does recognize the emotions.

It’s raw and heartfelt and it makes Tommy ache with the melody and the lyrics and the way the man’s voice quivers with the words that almost feel too heavy for a song.

The man finishes the song, chest heaving as the room bursts into an applause that feels different to the others. It feels like freedom.

It feels liberating the way the applause lights up the man’s face and the way he gives a shaky smile and the way he walks off as though he is free and life is as simple as that.

Tommy longs to be free and longing is the worst feeling to have, for when you long for something you yearn for something that you want so desperately but know you will never have.

Tommy longs for freedom as liberating as the drunk men singing karaoke on stage make him feel. He longs to be able to let go and live life to the fullest extent.

He longs for so much and maybe that is why he has so little.

Another person walks onto the stage, she giggles slightly as she trips and stumbles to the microphone, but Tommy pays no mind to her.

He came to see the man that made him feel something more and he did just that. His Friday night goals were accomplished and he truly has no other reason to stay in a bar that doesn’t even know he is there.

He stands from his seat and slips out unnoticed, the same way he entered. He is a ghost to the bar goers, he was never there to begin with and they will never be aware that there was someone watching them that will never really be one of them.

The outside air is cooler than that of the bar. The lack of body heat and sweat and just general smell makes it feel less suffocating. He can breathe easier out on the sidewalk away from the crowd.

Normally he thrives in crowds, but something about tonight feels off. His world feels off kilter, he feels tricked in a way. He feels like he isn’t who he says he is and he will never be who he wishes he was.

There’s no better way to explain it. The bar, the man, the freedom made him realize that he pretends to be confident and cocky and all of these things and he wishes to change the world and to be something bigger than himself, but Tommy can never be either of those things.

A chained bird cannot fly from the coop. His wings are clipped and he is stuck and he is an imposter and—

A clatter rings out from behind him. His thoughts scatter at the sound like deer when a twig snaps beneath the boot of a hunter.

Tommy glances behind him carefully, eyes widening when he catches sight of a familiar brunette. He stumbles out the door, a sign that had stood next to it lying against the floor. The man clumsily moves forwards, hands reaching to pick up the sign.

Cautious eyes follow the man’s movements and Tommy waits patiently as he picks up the sign and steadies himself slightly.

The man stands and glances around in that embarrassed sort of way where he checks to see if anyone saw that.

His eyes latch onto Tommy. Something flashes in them, brief enough that Tommy doesn’t notice. He brushes his reaction to the embarrassment anyways.

Tommy doesn’t really move though, not from where he stands and not as the man’s eyes bore into him like a poem to be analyzed in English class. 

It’s nerve wracking. Tommy wants to know more about the man, about his music, about his emotions and how he conveys them. He also wants to leave, he wants to pretend he was never here, he wants to shrink away and hide from the guy he sought out tonight.

His mind is a battlefield and this strange man with a captivating voice is the reason the war began.

He is also the reason the war ends.

“Did you see that?”

His voice is sheepish as he walks slightly towards Tommy, tipping over a tad before steadying himself once more.

Tommy gives a sheepish smile, “Yeah.”

The man nods, slightly petrified in a way that Tommy can only pretend to understand. 

The man moves forwards and sits precariously on the curb before gesturing for Tommy to sit with him.

For some reason he does. 

Tommy couldn’t quite tell you why and maybe later he will question that, but, for now, he will sit.

“What’s your name?”

The man stumbles over his words a bit.

“Tommy. What’s yours?”

“Wilbur.”

Tommy nods and Wilbur smiles and they kind of sit there in a comfortable sort of way. Cars whizz past them and more people stumble out of the bar and not a word slips past their lips.

Tommy can sense the way Wilbur observes him. Tommy turns to look at him, a sly smile on his face.

“Why are you staring?”

One of his eyebrows quirks up dramatically and Wilbur chuckles a bit at the action.

“You just— you remind me of someone I know.”

Tommy tilts his head and Wilbur gives a short smile before shooting a question back at him.

“What are you doing at a bar?”

Tommy sighs, he knows the man is drunk, but he also feels like if there’s any time to blurt it out it is now.

“I actually came to see you.”

Now, Tommy realizes he could have said that way better.

“What??????”

Tommy winces, “I came a few weeks back and heard you sing and I came back tonight hoping to hear you again.”

Wilbur smiles, “Why thank you!”

And Tommy settles down a bit at the easy acceptance that was passed. It feels nice and easy and it doesn’t feel like Tommy is forcing himself to stay.

He actually finds that he wants to stay and just sit here with Wilbur, a man he barely knows. The environment isn’t necessarily peaceful, but Tommy finds peace in it and that feels like more than nothing.

Eventually though Wilbur stands and Tommy stands a second later. Wilbur makes the dramatic choice of wiping the nonexistent dirt off of his clothes and Tommy giggles a bit at the sight.

They smile at each other in a way that says more than Tommy cares to figure out and then they both walk away.

Two guys, two lives, two paths. They diverge from the split in the road where they stood and Tommy finds himself hoping that maybe one day their paths will merge once again.

It is a nice thought and Tommy knows that those kinds of thoughts are the best kind to have.

He walks away, mind quiet and heart content for an unknown reason to him. He can’t quite fathom why Wilbur felt like something he has always been missing and he can’t quite fathom why Wilbur sat there with him.

There are a lot of questions and very few answers in the world and eventually you have to accept that there is no answer key to life and that sometimes mysteries are meant to stay unsolved.

Tommy first meets Ares a week later.

The man stands tall and while at first glance he doesn’t necessarily seem that strong, he has that hidden sort of muscle to him.

His voice is gruff and oftentimes pretty monotonous. When Tommy sees him he is dressed casually with a simple mask to hide his face.

Tommy is sitting on the couch on the SBI floor and Aeolus was explaining that in a week or two he will have to figure out what he wants his name to be and what he wants his costume to look like and all that jazz.

The elevator doors slide open and Tommy almost expects Dolos to walk through the door as the man always seems to find his way back to Tommy as though they are magnets: one positive and one negative.

Instead, Ares came trudging through. Tommy remembers the way he stared and the chuckle that came from Aeolus and the snort that left Ares’ mouth as he quipped a short joke to Aeolus.

“With your kid I see?”

He recalls the way Aeolus chuckled and ruffled his hair, “Yep. This is Tommy.”

“I know.”

Tommy remembers the warmth that came from the words and the way Ares knew who he was and everything that meant.

He also remembers the confusion as he looked at Aeolus, the unasked question written silently across his face.

He remembers Ares leaving and entering the bedroom and he remembers Aeolus leading him out and telling him they’ll meet on the training floor tomorrow to continue toning his skills.

It was a weird first meeting in that they didn’t really meet, not truly. Tommy didn’t speak to him and Ares didn’t address him properly, but the brief conversation shifted things in his brain.

Ares referred to Tommy as Aeolus’ kid. Aeolus has talked about him. Ares knows who he is and while that isn’t necessarily crazy considering he works with heroes, it just takes a moment for Tommy to wrap his mind around it.

He sees heroes everyday, but something about that fact that even heroes he has never spoken to know him makes him feel a certain kind of way.

The feeling is some kind of muddled mix of interest and worry. He worries about the things said about him, he worries about the impression he has made and about the way people perceive him. 

He is interested in the words they speak of him, he is interested in what that implies, he is interested to know why Aeolus speaks of him to others.

They fight each other in his mind and oftentimes there is no clear winner but rather a dog pile of ideas and thoughts that blanket him.

It’s an odd sort of feeling that Tommy wishes he could untangle and understand. They’re kind to him in a way people have never been and they talk to him in a way he has never witnessed and they make him feel warmth that no blanket or hoodie ever could.

Aeolus pulls him out of his comfort zone and Tommy never quite knew that that is what he needed. 

He didn’t realize he needed the soft corrections during training or the funny remarks and the delicate crinkle of his eyes and the way he looks at him like he can be great.

Aeolus makes him realize that there are so many lives he will never live and that there’s so many lives he wishes were his.

His powers thrive under the training, blossoming like flowers in spring. He feels like a weight has been lifted off his chest and like the chaos can blossom and he can live without that insistent pressing to release it.

Everyday that he walks into the hero tower, an easy smile on his face and a newfound pep in his step, he reminds himself that this is now his life.

He reminds himself that he stumbled upon all of this accidentally, that he got this job despite all odds, that he found something he never knew he even needed.

It’s a wild experience in all honesty, it’s a life Tommy never imagined for himself, it’s a life he never knew he was missing.

And as he walks through the door, a smile on his face and eyes locking on Aeolus he knows this was all meant for something.

“Are you ready to talk to our designers and our marketers about costumes and names today?”

Tommy nods, he had been thinking about them all week, but he doesn’t know what he wants. He knows any other person might have an exact idea of what they want and yet everytime Tommy tries to he comes up blank.

“I think so, I’ve tried to think of stuff, but I’m having trouble.”

Aeolus gives nods in a sympathetic way, “It’s okay. They love it when you have your own ideas but I promise you our team will have a blast trying to figure something out for you.”

Tommy gives him a shaky smile, “That makes it easier.”

His hands shake slightly with nerves even as they walk towards the elevator. Something about this whole ordeal today makes it all seem so much more real.

This is happening; he is an apprentice and one day he could be a hero.

Before it hadn’t really settled in yet, but now it’s getting a bit more official. If they want him to have a name and a costume that means they want the world to see him and that is something that Tommy can barely believe is a fact of his world.

The elevator doors close and Tommy doesn’t even take note of the floor. The moving of the elevator jolts him out of his thoughts and forces him to act in the moment.

It forces him to listen to the way the elevator rises and the way their breaths fill the silence.

However, he still can’t quite believe that this isn’t real. He probably won’t ever believe it.

Even as he steps off the elevator, falling a step behind Aeolus. The hallway they walk through is unfamiliar and Tommy tries his best to ignore the nerves that settle in his stomach.

They walk into a room that has an open layout with a lot of tables and different manikins and things like that. At one of the tables a person sits with a measuring tape around their neck and their face scrunches in concentration at the paper they are currently scribbling on.

Tommy assumes they are figuring out the logistics of a suit or something and moves his eyes to scan the manikins with half done suits on them and the scraps of fabric that lie around on various tables.

As they walk further into the room, Tommy’s eye catches on some designs that sit on the table for various heroes and some other designs for things like gadgets and stuff.

It seems crazy to Tommy that there is a whole room where people just sit and design stuff and he watches in awe as some people at other tables talk with each other and figure out solutions to issues in their sketch ups.

Tommy and Aeolus stop in front of the table where the first person that Tommy saw resides. They haven’t looked up yet, still concentrating on a design that Tommy can’t quite make out.

Aeolus begins speaking to them and Tommy tunes the conversation out as he scans what sits on the table in front of him. 

There is a tape measure and some colored pencils and some of those good erasers. There are various designs for mainly suits that lay around, but occasionally Tommy’s eye catches on a mask or something that would be worn at some kind of formal event.

His curiosity runs wild as he imagines what the sketches could be for, if some of them are personal projects or if all of them have a purpose. He pretends the formal dress that hides beneath a rework of Ares costume is for an undercover mission and he imagines the mask that sits by the color pencils is a sketch for a hero that wants to rebrand.

He builds stories for the sketches and his mind gets lost until he is addressed by Aeolus.

“Tommy?”

Tommy snaps his head up to look at the man, “Yes?”

“Do you want to look at some mock-up costume designs that Eret has made?”

Tommy’s eyes widen at the suggestion before he nods, "Yes!”

Both Eret and Aeolus chuckle at his excitement and a tint of red paints his cheeks.

The man, Eret, slides some papers towards Tommy, “These are some rough ideas based on your powers and what you’ll be doing.”

Tommy nods before he glances down at them, taking in the various costumes that stare back at him.

The first one is a suit that would cover his whole body. From the notes on his side he finds that the material would be protective and that the shoes would be made to help lessen the strain on his feet from jumps and falls.

His eyes trail over the design, taking in the intricate swirls that make their way across the front and the plain hooded wrap thing that Tommy could choose to add or leave off.

He pushes the paper to the side, humming slightly as he traces over the next design.

The next one is a little more loose fitting, the top half looks like a hoodie with a protective casing around the midsection. The pants look to be cargo pants with a bunch of pockets to hold things. They have the same shoes, but this one appears to have overall more padding than the other one. 

The third one seems to be almost a mix between the two. It is tighter fitting, but the notes on the side highlight the various cushions of padding and the same protective material that is meant to absorb impact. The top half has a shaul sort of thing with a hood and a clasp. The shaul doesn’t fall below his waist. 

He moves the paper aside to look at the different mask designs Eret had sketched up as well.

The first one is a mask that goes across his eyes but leaves holes for him to see. The design has the same details as the first costume. It seems relatively simple, so Tommy looks down at the second design. 

This one is a full face mask that has the same vibes as the first one besides the fact that it would cover more of his face. Tommy takes mental notes of what he likes and doesn’t like before he looks at the third one. The third one is a pair of tinted goggles and a mask that would cover the bottom of his face. The mask material is said to be breathable while also keeping the air he breathes pure. 

He nods at that one, imagining how each one would pair with the various costume ideas. He glances back up at Aeolus and Eret. Both of them are looking at him and Tommy tries not to look surprised at that.

“What do you think?”

The question comes from Eret, a beaming smile falling onto their face as they address Tommy.

“They’re all really good.”

Tommy’s eyes dance between the options, trying to imagine all of them and how they would work well with his style and flow.

Eret smiles at the compliment, “Is there anything that you particularly like about any of the designs so I can try to sketch up something with what you want?”

“I like the pattern of the first one, but I don’t think the design as a whole is for me. I also like the second one and how it’s a little looser, but overall I think the third one is the best. It doesn’t seem so casual or restrictive, but it also gives me the protection and the looser vibe.”

Eret nods, jotting down notes as Tommy talks hesitantly about what he thinks. 

“And what do you think about the masks?”

Tommy moved the third one to the front, “I really like this one.”

Eret nods once more before writing more down and then turning to Aeolus.

“I’ll let you know once I sketch up something based on this and the name that Hannah will send to me once you guys decide on that.”

Aeolus gives a short nod and the crinkle in his eyes lead Tommy to believe he gives a curt smile as well, “Sounds good. Thank you so much Eret.”

Tommy chimes in too, “Yeah— uh thank you.”

Eret gives a laugh before responding, “It’s no issue. I’ll see you guys again soon.”

Aeolus then leads Tommy out of the room and into another room that is significantly smaller and is honestly just an office.

A woman sits behind the desk who Tommy can only assume is Hannah. She has brown hair that sits in soft waves and kind of just cascades down her back. It’s in a half up half down situation with two pieces pulled up and then put into bubble braids.

Flowers are weaved into her hair and her smile is radiant as Aeolus and Tommy enter the room.

“Hey guys!”

“Hey Hannah,” Aeolus says with a hand coming up to give her a friendly half wave of sorts.

Aeolus moves to sit in one of the plush chairs that are across from Hannah and Tommy gets the hint to go and sit in the other one. 

He sinks into the chair softly and takes a brief moment to glance around her office a bit more.

Besides the two chairs there is a bookshelf to the left of the desk that holds some books and some knick knacks as well as some picture frames of Hannah and some other people who Tommy doesn’t recognize.

Other than the bookshelf, Tommy finds that the room is fairly empty. It lacks personality in a way despite the way Hannah fills the space with her smile.

Tommy turns back to look at her, observing the way her eyes crinkle and the way she talks idly with Aeolus before turning to Tommy.

“Okay Tommy. I know P— Aeolus said that you don’t really have any ideas and that’s perfectly okay! We can just kind of bounce ideas off of each other and talk about what would be best and how we can market you.”

Tommy nods softly, “That sounds good.”

Hannah smiles and Tommy smiles back at her.

“Okay I have a list of ideas based on your power set that we can start with and you can just tell me if you like them.”

Another nod from Tommy is enough to spur Hannah on to begin reading from the list.

“First we have Mayhem.”

Tommy lets the name settle into his brain, he considers how it would sound and if it fits who he is.

“That one is nice, but I’m not sure if it’s the one. I definitely need to hear more,” the last bit of his sentence trails into an awkward fit of chuckles and Hannah just kind of ignores that and continues.

“That’s okay. There’s also Pandemonium.”

Tommy shakes his head, “Definitely not. Too long and also my nickname would definitely be like Panda.”

Hannah nods in agreement, “Okay so Pandemonium is a no. Let’s see, we also have Eris.”

Tommy hums, he likes that it fits with SBI’s whole Greek theme, but he knows that he isn’t really one of them.

“Nah.”

Hannah just accepts the answer with no questions asked and that is what Tommy is beginning to find that he likes about her. 

“Okay so as of right now it seems like you like Mayhem the best. We can also tweak that name a tad, add in something that describes you a bit more or that contributes to your overall image.”

Tommy nods slowly as he digests the words, “What do you have in mind?”

“What’s your favorite color?”

Tommy falters. He isn’t quite sure if he is being honest. He likes a lot of the colors and he really doesn’t hold a preference, but normally he tells people red because that’s easier than explaining his inability to choose just one.

“Uh— red?”

“Is that a question?”

Hannah’s tone lilts with the joke and Tommy cracks a smile at the sass that she throws back at him.

“Maybe.”

Hannah smiles at him and Tommy soaks it in like it is a rare beam of sun during a cold winter.

“We could do something like Red Mayhem?”

Tommy thinks before he shakes his head, “I think Mayhem by itself is enough. It feels simple and it explains me and it feels memorable enough. I also don’t fancy people nicknaming me Red.”

Hannah nods at his words and Tommy finds relief flooding his system at that subtle reassurance.

“Sounds good. Mayhem is a good name Tommy.”

And that’s that. Aeolus talks a bit to Hannah more, but Tommy doesn’t quite hear it. His thoughts are far too loud because he just chose a name, if he becomes a hero people will know him as Mayhem.

Tommy knows earlier in the day he had those sorts of nerves about it, but now it’s different. Now, it feels almost like a realization, like acceptance. 

He thinks he is coming to terms with the fact that this is real and this is a possibility for his life and that he could really do this.

After talking about names with Hannah and seeing designs made by Eret and just walking around and training with Aeolus it is all really settling in for Tommy that this is it.

He is a hero apprentice and that is a fact of his life now.

Aeolus stands and Tommy knocks himself out of his thoughts with warmth settling in his chest and smile settling on his cheeks.

He is a hero apprentice.

Yeah. That’s him.

He’s Mayhem.

They walk out and Aeolus fills the air with small talk and Tommy banters back with him and as he leaves the hero tower that day he finds that for once he feels like he has a purpose in the world.

For once he feels like he might have a place to call home.

Chapter Text

Time moves faster than a blink of an eye. Tommy trains more and he hangs out with Aeolus and Dolos and Ares and he thinks they all become something a bit more than acquaintances.

It’s nice and warm and friendly.

Aeolus makes jokes with Tommy and Tommy pretends to hate Dolos when he can no longer say that’s true and occasionally Ares snorts at his jokes.

It’s unlike anything he’s ever had and it’s like everything he’s always wanted.

Tommy starts to join Aeolus on simple patrols and they discuss where he would go next should he become a hero in a few months.

They talk about how his patrols would work and the pay and how to climb the rankings. Aeolus tells Tommy that his image is everything and Tommy pretends he doesn’t already know that.

He goes on patrols and they talk and they sit on roofs and watch the sun begin to set over the city to say goodbye to the day and hello to a new night.

Tommy watches old heroes and their first appearances and he dreams about how his own entry into the world of heroes would be. He wonders if it will be something grand or if it will be something silent that comes back to people later.

Like foreshadowing in a good story, you don’t see it at first, but later it all hits you.

Aeolus tells Tommy about his own mundane story and he describes how Dolos’ first appearance was during an attack on the town hall and how Ares took down a villain his first week.

He ensures Tommy that he doesn’t need to be grand, it just needs to be himself.

Tommy isn’t quite sure who he is, but he thinks it sounds nice to not have any expectations. Aeolus thinks he could be great, but he doesn’t force Tommy into it.

His hands are gentle as he molds Tommy into something amazing and as he pushes him as though he is a delicate piece of art towards the path he should be on.

It isn’t forceful and Tommy knows he can leave the path and forge his own. It’s reassurance in a way Tommy has always needed.

He isn’t chained down and Tommy has come to realize that Aeolus knows how to give him freedom with guidance.

He is a canary in a cage but he’s been given the key. 

He likes not having any expectations, no bars to hit, just his best. He likes that his best is good enough and that Aeolus sticks around when nobody else has.

He likes a lot about this new life that he is building for himself.

Right now he is getting ready for another patrol with Aeolus. He kind of just wears black padded clothing and a cloth mask until the whole hero thing becomes official, but Tommy doesn’t mind. 

It’s kind of nice being a shadow. He just slinks around and hangs back and he watches and sometimes he joins in on easier criminals just to get a feel.

Overall, the patrols are nice and in a sort of way they are relaxing. He doesn’t have to be seen, but he is still there and he helps, but he isn’t the focus.

It’s relaxing to know the mistakes won’t be the end of him, it’s relaxing to know he has someone behind him to step in.

He isn’t on his own during the patrols, he has someone supporting him and that is what allows him to relax and find peace.

He slides his outfit on easily and his eyes twinkle behind the mask at the prospect of going out again. The patrols are just so liberating.

His powers thrum at the thought of the patrol and his leg bounces up and down as he waits for Aeolus to collect him for the patrol.

The silence swarms his ears, but his thoughts fill the void. He imagines how the patrol will go, he wonders if it will be boring like the last one or busy like some of the ones they have gone on.

He wonders if he will get to fight anyone or if he can release the powers that ramp up at the prospect of a patrol.

Aeolus waltzes through the door, his costume cascading around him. The costume is a tad flowy and the various greens and blues swirl around each other. Tommy knows Aeolus’ power involves the wind, but it still amazes him to see him in full costume.

The wind lifts the costume and he somehow always manages to look far more majestic than he actually is.

His mask is fairly simple. The bottom half is a simple black mask that doesn’t seem that fancy, but Tommy knows probably is made specifically with ventilation and keeping toxic air out. The top half is where it gets interesting. 

The part that wraps around his eyes has swirls of grey that seem to move with himself. The mask appears to move like the wind on his face, obscuring his upper half from view besides his blue eyes that pierce through the look. It is incredible in a way that Tommy didn’t know was possible.

His whole outfit is supported by the wind that flows through the sky and into his veins and Tommy can’t help but wonder if his costume will flow as well as his does. 

“You ready to go mate?”

Aeolus’ voice is distorted due to the voice changer that sits in his actual mask. His basic outfit for around the tower doesn’t hold the technology of the others, probably because it is only temporary.

Tommy isn’t dumb. He knows that normally they wouldn’t walk around hiding their identities from him, but he is a liability and they have to assure he is going to be an actual hero before they go spilling their secrets.

It’s smart and safe and it intrigues Tommy. He’s never quite interacted with people that he doesn’t really know. He talks with Aeolus everyday, but he doesn’t know who he really is.

He is creating a connection with someone that he has never met.

“Yeah, I’m ready.”

Aeolus nods before turning and gesturing for Tommy to follow. Tommy stands and follows him out and into the elevator.

The air feels tense in a way. Tommy can’t tell if it’s him or Aeolus who is making it feel this way. He can’t tell if it’s all in his head or if Aeolus can feel the tension simmering in the air too.

It’s weird, the way that works. Tommy feels one thing that nobody else may ever feel the way he does. 

Nobody will ever know what it is like to be him and Tommy thinks it is wild that he will never know what it is like to be anyone else.

The doors slide open and the tension slithers out of the elevator to go hide away for another moment of time.

They exit the tower and make their way through different backroads and the occasional roof to get to the area that they are assigned to patrol.

Aeolus makes some small talk and Tommy gives short responses, but he can’t seem to shake the feeling that this patrol is different from the others. 

He knows it shouldn’t be, he knows that he’s only been doing this whole thing for 3 maybe 4 months, but he has picked up on the mannerisms that Aeolus displays.

Tommy can see in the way his movements are more reserved and how his eyes carry a sort of resignation and how he isn’t as talkative as normal.

Something is up and that worries Tommy to a certain extent.

He knows he shouldn’t worry, he knows Aeolus has a plethora of things hidden in pages that Tommy will never get to read.

Yet, he still holds a bit of worry. He wonders if it is about him, if Aeolus is going to deliver him news that Tommy would really prefer not to hear.

They continue to hop from roof to roof and Aeolus let’s Tommy take a bit more control over the patrol. It’s odd, but nice. It’s almost like taking your dog to the dog park. Tommy gets freedom and Aeolus is only feet away to save him from anyone that is too aggressive.

Tommy fathers up another criminal, making sure a cop gets there before they leave. Aeolus stands to the side, watching with a fond look in his eyes that Tommy can’t quite decipher.

Once the cop arrives, Aeolus leads them to a highrise building. He sits down, his costume flowing around him as he stares out at the clouds and the setting sun that paints the sky like it’s a blank canvas.

Tommy stands behind him for a moment, hesitation prohibiting him from moving closer.

Eventually though he finds the strength to move his limbs and perch on the edge next to him.

His feet swing idly over the ledge and Tommy watches the way the people that wander below them amble on with their lives as they sit stories above them.

Neither of them say anything for a moment, just letting the scenery wash over them.

Tommy assumes Aeolus has a reason for this, he assumes this is what was causing that awkward sort of rift.

He gives him time, he doesn’t push, he waits to learn the answers to his forever unasked questions.

The sun continues to set and Tommy forces himself to focus on the sun and not the hero that sits next to him.

“Isn’t it beautiful?”

Tommy almost jumps at the sudden words, head turning to look at Aeolus.

“The sky?”

Aeolus shrugs, “The city.”

Tommy turns and looks out over the skyline, watching the way the sun makes the city look glamorous.

“Sometimes.”

Aeolus hums.

“They picked a date.”

Tommy tilts his head, “For what?”

His legs kick nervously beneath him.

“Your debut.”

His breath hitches, “Really?”

He looks at Aeolus, searching for any hint of humor in his figure. He finds none.

“Yeah, they think you’re ready— I think you’re ready.”

Tommy swallows, he is going to be a hero.

“Really?”

He knows he sounds like a broken record, but sometimes broken records make a point.

“Yes.”

Tommy lets out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding at the confirmation.

His eyes look back over the city, back over his city. This is real. 

“When is it?”

“It’s in a few months. These things take a lot of preparation. They have to figure out how formal your debut is going to be and how they want to market you to the public and all this logistic stuff.”

Tommy nods.

“I— thank you Aeolus.”

Aeolus looks at Tommy, his eyes speaking volumes.

“It was my pleasure.”

Tommy smiles beneath the mask that rests on his face. One day the mask won’t be plain and his outfit won’t be simple.

One day his name will be on billboards and commercials and carried on in conversations.

“Will we still train together and stuff?”

Aeolus shifts a tad, angling himself a bit more towards Tommy.

“Of course. I’ll still be your mentor. I’ll still be here for you.”

Tommy nods, “That sounds nice.”

He looks back over the city. The sun glistens in the reflections of the windows and the air ruffles his hair gently.

In a few months the city will know his name.

In a few months he will be more than he could have ever imagined.

In a few months his life will be altered forever.

When Aeolus shows him his costume Tommy has to take a moment.

It’s gorgeous. That’s the only way to explain it.

It’s better than he could have ever imagined. Red swirls around the fabric and the top half is the shack hoodie thing and the mask is just perfect.

The lenses are tinted red and the part that covers his mouth is a black mask with the gas mask kind of vibe. The pants have minute designs that swirl around his legs.

It’s just everything he could have ever dreamed up and more.

“This looks incredible.”

He awes at it for a few more minutes, hands feeling the fabric and eyes looking closely at the details of it all.

Aeolus chuckles at him and Tommy throws a half smile up at him. He knows he looks like a kid who just got the toy they really wanted for Christmas, but he can’t help it.

This is nicer than anything he has ever known.

This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for him.

“Thank you so much.”

Tommy doesn’t quite know who the words are for. They may be for Eret or for Aeolus or just to the world in general.

He has a lot to be thankful for.

He has Aeolus and this job and Quackity and overall his life is just so much better than it was before. 

He’s happier than he was before all of this and he finds that the loneliness that used to reside within him no longer lingers.

He’s so thankful that he got this job and that Aeolus took a chance on him. 

Neither Aeolus nor Eret respond to his thank you, but Tommy knows that it isn’t out of malice. He understands that some things are better left untouched and that is one of them.

Eret leaves and Aeolus stays and Tommy continues to just gawk at the costume that was made specifically for him. 

It’s made so well and there’s so much care and detail and Tommy can’t help but wonder how he earned this.

“This is really for me?”

His voice is filled with wet hope that slips through his fingers like sand.

Aeolus nods softly, “Yes, it’s yours Tommy.”

Tommy nods at the words. It’s his. 

They can’t take it from him, they gave it to him. It’s made for him. They took his measurements and Hannah told Eret his favorite color to put into the uniform and it’s so obviously his.

“It’s mine.”

“It’s yours, only yours.”

Tommy didn’t know words could be so perfect, that so few could say so much.

“Thank you, Aeolus.”

“You’re welcome Tommy.”

Chapter Text

Everything only gets more real as the date of his reveal moves closer: the day that he officially becomes a hero.

It all feels too fast.

Hannah talks to him more about marketing and how to talk to fans and things like that and it’s all a little overwhelming.

So many eyes are going to be on him and while he knows that’s just a part of being a hero, it’s still jarring to realize.

Aeolus helps him, he explains that the pressure on him is huge, but he can also live up to it. He encourages Tommy with words that he has never heard before.

He uplifts him in ways he didn’t know people would care to do.

Tommy also gets a bit closer to Dolos and Ares, but never too close. Tommy is still an outsider in their group, he doesn’t really know him and he finds himself having to constantly remind himself that.

He does, however, know Quackity.

That is how Tommy finds himself pushing his way through the casino for the first time in what feels like forever.

He feels a sort of nostalgia as he walks through the halls. The smell of beer and money floods his senses and the sounds of the machines fill his ears.

He walks up to a guard and he says what he has said a million times before: “I need to speak to Jackpot.”

The guard looks at him, lack of recognition clearly painted in his eyes.

“Do you have an appointment?”

Tommy scoffs, letting the confidence he has perfected to slip through.

“Tell him it’s Tommy. He’ll let me in.”

The guard rolls his eyes, “Kid. Turn around.”

Tommy furrows his brows, he knows Quackity tells his guards to look out for him.

“Are you new?”

The guard flinched slightly, only enough for someone who is watching to notice.

“No.”

His tone says otherwise.

Tommy walks away and towards the next guard stationed ten feet away.

“Hello. What is that guard's name?”

The guard looks up, a bit of confusion in his eyes until he looks at Tommy.

“Ah, that’s Clark. Do you want to see Jackpot?”

Tommy nods and the guard leads him away and towards the hallway.

Tommy spares only a glance to look over his shoulder.

The other guard, Clark, stands with his mouth open and his eyes brows furrowed. Tommy just smiles at him, flipping him off as he goes and turns a corner.

He ends up at Jackpot’s door and when he enters he watches the way Jackpot sits up.

“Tommy!”

Tommy smiles, “Jackpot.”

The door behind them slips closed.

“How have you been Tommy,” Jackpot says softly and as he says the words Tommy allows him to become Quackity.

“I’ve been actually pretty good, just—“

He looks over Quackity’s shoulder, allowing himself to breathe before he does what he came here to do.

Be himself.

“I’m just kind of overwhelmed with everything. I’m surrounded by people who have made it and soon everyone’s eyes are going to be watching me.”  

Quackity nods with understanding in a way that Tommy needed in that moment.

“I can only imagine. I know what it’s like to have a secret identity,” he gestures loosely to his face and Tommy manages a small smile at him.

“It can be hard to know that people idolize only a part of yourself and it can be hard to deal with the pressure of having people know your name, whether it’s your real one or an alias.”

Tommy nods, “How do I deal with it?”

Quackity sighs, “That’s a hard question.”

Tommy gives him a look that says, “I need an actual answer.” Quackity seems to get that.

“For everyone it’s different. A lot of people avoid social media or they keep a lot of their personal life private and others do the exact opposite.”

Tommy leans back in his chair as he listens to Quackity, just letting himself take the advice as it comes.

“I can’t tell you what to do or how to deal with ‘fame’, but I can tell you how you should feel. You should feel comfortable, you shouldn’t feel forced into anything. State your boundaries early into your career and enforce them.”

Tommy nods, soaking it in like a sponge that has been submerged in water.

“You have to come out of the gate and let people know that you are not going to be walked over. You decide what they know about you and you have to make sure they understand that. Only you get to choose, don’t give away your autonomy, Tommy.”

And Tommy lets the words settle deep into his bones. It’s good advice, it’s better advice than Tommy would have ever considered to think about.

He is the owner of his life, he makes the choices.

He doesn’t really know when he forgot that.

“Thank you, Quackity.”

There are so many more words he could say, so many words he wishes he could say.

However those three words can somehow manage to convey a million others.

“Always, Tommy. I’m always here.”

Tommy nods, he knows that now and he thinks he knew it before too.

There aren't really anymore words for this room, not any that would mean more than the ones already said.

Tommy stands up and opens his mouth before shutting it again. Quackity nods and Tommy knows that he understands.

He understands so much that Tommy wonders why he didn’t realize sooner that he has had someone in his corner for so long.

Quackity leads him to the door and Tommy rests his hand on the knob, glancing back one last time at the man who has helped him so much over the years.

Quackity smiles at him and Tommy smiles back and then he leaves. He knows it won’t be the last time he leaves, but despite that he feels as though this one is different from the others.

He has never sought Quackity out for help before now and this felt like a shift in their dynamic. It isn’t a bad one, but it’s a shift and that means everything changes.

He walks out and Quackity stands with the door open, watching with a fond smile as Tommy walks away. Tommy glances back at him, smiling once more in a way that he hasn’t in a really long time.

The door clicks shut softly and Tommy rounds a corner and the bubble that had surrounded them bursts. The noises of the casino come rushing back to him and as Tommy walks through it he realizes something.

He never told Quackity about Clark.

Tommy turns to the guard that follows behind him, “Can you tell Quackity that his new guards need to respect me better.”

The guard nods and Tommy can sense the amusement that rolls off of him. 

“Can do.”

Tommy smiles and then he walks away and he leaves the casino.

The streets are crowded, but this time he doesn’t push through them to get away. He lets himself move with the crowd and he doesn’t rush to find the quieter streets.

It’s busy and the crowd surrounds him, but he finds that he doesn’t really mind. 

Eventually the crowd moves him away and he winds up a few streets away on a road that is a few blocks away from his home.

The walk is peaceful and for the first time in a long time Tommy doesn’t feel overwhelmed with the life he is living.

Life feels a bit easier, the breaths he takes in don’t feel so heavy and a weight has been lifted off of his chest. 

He has choices in life. He is his own person and he controls his life and he has to remember that. 

He can’t let himself forget that again.

The lobby to his apartment building is empty and Tommy walks past the elevators and to the stairs.

His footsteps ring through the stairwell and the door thuds behind him. His breaths echo off the walls and despite all of this his thoughts remain quiet. 

He pushes through the door to his floor and he keeps his footsteps quiet as he walks through the hallway.

As he gets closer, Tommy pulls out his key.

The hallway is quiet as he slips his key into the lock and his apartment is just as quiet.

All the lights are off and Tommy flicks them on as he kicks off his shoes.

He looks around the empty apartment, wondering where he went wrong to have an apartment made for at least two that is only filled with one.

Quackity’s words ring through his mind once more.

“Only you get to choose.”

Tommy walks over to his couch, picking up the laptop that rests on it. He opens up Google and finds a website where he can post that he is looking for roommates.

He types up a posting and finds some photos of his apartment from the apartment buildings website and then he posts it and closes the laptop.

Only he gets to choose, and Tommy chooses to make a change.

He chooses to tell loneliness goodbye and he chooses to take control of his life and fix the things that he doesn’t like.

Aeolus talks to Tommy a lot in the weeks leading up to his debut. Tommy also finds that Dolos and Ares slowly begin talking to him more as well.

Dolos more so than Ares, but Tommy can see the effort. It’s different, but not a bad kind of different. It’s a warm kind of different, the kind that fills his soul and makes him smile something a little more genuine.

He becomes less of an outsider and Tommy finds that he enjoys their company. Sometimes he has to remind himself that this isn’t really them, that he doesn’t know the real them, but then they ask him questions and talk to him and he wonders if that is the real them.

Aeolus gives Tommy more and more freedom on his patrols, but he also ensures that Tommy is safe and that is something people don’t normally do for him.

He also gets a few inquiries about roommates and Tommy finds genuine joy when talking to the potential new roommates.

His life feels like it’s been reigned in and that he holds the ropes that holds it all together. 

Then it all falls apart.

Tommy and Aeolus are on patrol in one of the poorer areas when a call comes through.

“There’s been reported some suspicious activity near the warehouses on Fifth Street.”

Aeolus nods at Tommy before they change their path to head towards Fifth Street. They aren’t too far from the area and Tommy knows that they’ll be the first to respond.

They move quickly over the rooftops and drop down from one with the help of Aeolus’ air manipulation once they see the warehouses.

They have a bit of a routine. Aeolus scouts out the area and if they must fight Tommy releases his chaos. 

It’s simple, it’s easy, it works.

Aeolus moves in first, searching around the building for the best way to get in without whoever is inside noticing.

What Tommy doesn’t tell Aeolus is that he knows this warehouse and that he’s spied on so many people in this warehouse.

He doesn’t tell him that this is the exact place where he found out that the Pit is being revived.

Aeolus comes back and reports a window towards the back that was boarded up but the boards are easily moved.

Tommy has gone through those before. He’s the one that loosened the boards.

They go through the window, Tommy tries not to let himself fall into the ease of it all.

It’s hard to not show the knowledge he holds. He lets Aeolus take the lead and he falls back and plays dumb. 

Aeolus leads them around and Tommy listens carefully for the sound of voices whispering through the air.

He hears the footsteps first.

The voices come second.

“We have to get going.”

Tommy pales.

Aeolus inches them around a crate and Tommy follows slowly.

“The entrance is somewhere around here right?”

A noncommittal grunt sounds through the air and then there’s some rustling as the two men look around and Tommy waits with a baited breath because he knows what they’re looking for. 

He knows.

He can’t tell Aeolus he knows, he can’t stop them.

“They’re not going to let us in if we are any later.”

The other man snorts, “They have to let us in, we have funneled too much money into this.”

Aeolus gives a curious glance to Tommy and Tommy shrugs his shoulders before tilting his head back towards the two men.

“Ah here it is.”

Tommy knows they found the crate it hides within. 

“Hurry, the show is about to start.”

Tommy listens as the two move inside of the crate that they can’t see, but Tommy knows it is there. He hears the hidden door slide close and it is only then that he breathes.

Aeolus moves silently out from the crate they were hiding between and into the open space.

Tommy looks around, taking note of the fallen crates from the fight and the various damage before he eyes the one that he is sure they entered.

The crate is sturdy, it appears inconspicuous at first, but at a second glance you realize it isn’t quite like the other ones.

Tommy looks at Aeolus and studies the way he surveys the area, looking for the exact same thing that Tommy just found.

“It’s over there.”

Tommy’s hand moves up to point at the crate he was determined is the crate. 

Aeolus moves over to it, hands reaching out to try and find the opening.

Tommy walks over and inspects it further, eyes scanning until he spots it.

There’s an area where a crack is, one that at first glance isn’t noticeable, but Tommy didn’t get in this business to take things at first glance.

He walks over to it, running his fingers along the edge until he finds the place where the five is.

He finds it and pushes against the crate.

The door slides open.

Aeolus and Tommy watch as it slides slowly to the side and reveals a set of stairs.

Tommy knows where they lead. He knows what it has to be.

Aeolus looks at Tommy, “Do you have any idea what this leads to.”

Tommy stalls for a moment, his brain stops functioning and he stops breathing at the question.

He could answer truthfully, he could tell Aeolus just a few weeks before his debut this pocket of knowledge he contains and his “suspicions” that are basically facts.

Or, he could lie.

One of the options is easier than the other.

He could lie and be done with it and nobody would know. Nobody would have to know who he is or who he was.

But, Tommy is tired of hiding. He’s tired of lies and secrets and he knows Aeolus has so many that he isn’t telling him, but Tommy is tired of his own secrets.

He can’t control others. He can only control himself.

He doesn’t want the weight of a secret life anymore. He doesn’t want to be tired and lonely and a liar anymore.

He wants to share the weight and as Tommy looks into the pale blue eyes of the elder, Tommy realizes that he wants to share it with him.

Tommy looks away from Aeolus and down the set of stairs, “I think it leads to the Pit.”

Aeolus’ gaze burns into the side of Tommy’s head.

“I thought that was shut down years ago?”

Tommy shakes his head before lifting his eyes from the stairs back to Aeolus.

“It was never really gone, it was just hidden better.”

Aeolus doesn’t question Tommy’s words right now and that is the best thing he could have done.

“We can’t go down, not alone. We’ll have to flag this location as an entrance and inform the others that the Pit is back.”

Tommy nods, he knows they can’t take it down today. It pains him, but he knows it isn’t feasible.

Aeolus finds a button on the inside of the staircase that closes the door and with that they leave.

Their patrol is considered done, especially considering the work they have to do in order to inform everyone.

The walk back is silent. The natural sounds of the city surround them, but neither of them have any words to say that could add to the symphony of the night.

Tommy knows Aeolus has questions and Tommy knows he has answers, but not tonight. Tommy will answer them later, he has to process things and Aeolus has to as well.

As the hero tower becomes something more than a building that looms in the distance, Aeolus looks at Tommy.

“How did you know?”

Tommy can sense that the question is rather futile, but he understands that it needs to be asked.

He also understands that it needs to be answered.

“I—“

He wants to open up, he wants to share himself with people that have proven to care.

But, he can’t. Not right now at least.

“Later.”

Aeolus nods and that is what has drawn Tommy to him. He is patient and understanding and he never pries or pushes, he just waits.

“Okay.”

And that’s the end of the conversation.

They enter the tower and Tommy sheds the black gear that he still wears until his debut and Aeolus wishes Tommy a good night and that’s it.

Tommy leaves and Aeolus stays. The Pit revives itself and Tommy finds himself stuck in the mess. His apartment is empty and dark and the inquiries for roommates are left unattended.

It’s a dance, a limbo, a balancing act.

Tommy is on one side of a coming war, the storm is about to break and he can’t seem to figure out if he is going to be standing at the end of it.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel, but Tommy doesn’t know if it is the one he wants to find.

He enters his apartment and makes an immediate move for his laptop.

He needs to change something. Everything is getting too out of hand and he needs someone in his life.

He opens up his inbox on the website, scrolling through the various messages before clicking on one.

Two people looking to room with him, they’re willing to share a room, both are about his age. Tommy looks at images the original sender sent him, taking note of the boy with the brown hair and the other one that is taller and has a split dye situation going on.

Tommy types up a response. They seem nice and he thinks the silence is making him go crazy.

He can’t be alone after tonight. It’s all too much.

“ Hello Tubbo. Thank you so much for the message! I would love to set up a meeting sometime soon so we can talk and get to know each other in person a bit.”

Tommy hits send. He doesn’t want to second guess himself and so he doesn’t. He shuts the laptop and resigns himself to bed after a long night.

He deserves some rest.

If there is anything in the world he deserves, it’s a break.

He needs a break.

He doesn’t work the next day. He doesn’t really have much to do.

He opens his laptop, anxious to see if there is a response only to find none.

He scrolls through more of the messages and makes himself a bagel and watches the news and then he just has nothing to do.

Tommy can only scroll through his phone for so long before it loses its pizazz and becomes as monotonous as the rest of his life.

He watches a few YouTube videos and cries watching Where the Crawdads Sing because, yes, it was sad. Don’t judge him.

And after that he walks around his apartment and opens his fridge about five times and then he decides to go for a walk.

The moment he begins the walk he starts to regret it, but he is far too stubborn to give up three minutes into his productivity of the day. 

His feet hurt and his body hurts too and honestly he isn’t quite sure why he thought this walk was a good idea.

He pulls out his phone and puts on some random playlist generated by Spotify.

The first song that plays is Crash My Car by COIN. Tommy hasn’t heard it before, but he listens and he enjoys it. Another song comes on and Tommy continues to vibe and continues to walk with quite a lot of effort.

He walks past a bakery eventually and after a very short amount of consideration he walks inside.

Once inside the smell of bread and sweets fill his nose. Soft music plays in the background, but it is overridden by the soft chatter of voices.

People sit at various tables with different treats like muffins and cookies and brownies and just all the good stuff.

Tommy smiles as he looks at the decorations and the way there isn’t really a theme but it all just works together. 

There is a girl behind the counter and Tommy walks up towards her as his eyes scan the menu behind her.

He also looks at the display of treats in the clear cases on either side before reading the cute little whiteboard that tells him the treat of the day.

Overall, Tommy really wants to eat literally everything in the store.

The girl gives him a smile that feels as warm as the freshly baked bread that she just pulled out of the oven.

“Welcome in! Is this your first time?”

Tommy smiles back, “Yeah actually. What do you recommend?”

The girl beams and as she does so Tommy quickly reads her name tag. Her name is Niki. He thinks it suits her.

“Well, our treat of the day is going to be our Blueberry scone with the lemon glaze, however, I would also recommend the Raspberry Brownies.”

Tommy nods, “I’ll take one of each.”

Niki smiles and it’s so infectious that Tommy finds himself smiling as well.

“Perfect. That will be $5.83.”

Tommy reaches into his pocket and pulls out his card, inserting it into the machine. He waits for it to tell him to remove his card and then he removes it.

“Okay, and then if you could answer the question on the screen for me?”

Tommy looks over at the screen. His eyes scan the text, finding that it is asking about a tip.

He smiles before clicking 25%. He thinks Niki is nice and he has been in the place where tips mean everything.

“Thank you so much.”

Tommy nods and then Niki goes and grabs the two items Tommy ordered.

She comes back quickly and Tommy grabs the items from her, “Thank you.”

Niki smiles and Tommy realizes that she never really seems to stop smiling. It suits her though. A smile looks great on her.

“It was my pleasure.”

Tommy nods and then he kind of just turns and walks away.

It was a very socially acceptable response.

He finds a table somewhere in the middle of the store and he plops himself down in the chair.

His whole body eases into the chair as he sits down, as it turns out that doing heroey things hurts sometimes.

He opens up the bag that holds his baked goods and immediately grabs the brownie.

It is still warm and Tommy gets some chocolate on his fingers and the smell permeates through the air.

He takes a bite of it and Tommy thinks he has ascended and found the afterlife.

This brownie has got to be one of the best things he has ever tasted. It’s just rich and it’s the perfect amount of chewy and crispy and just everything he could have imagined and more.

Now, while he is chomping down on this brownie a familiar voice sounds through the shop.

“Niki! Long time no see!”

Tommy whips his head around, planting his eyes in Wilbur.

“Wilbur, you literally were here yesterday.”

Wilbur scoffs and Tommy tries to stop staring at the man who is basically a stranger.

“Potato patato.” 

Tommy shoves a bite of brownie into his mouth.

He continues to very inconspicuously eat his brownie as Wilbur and Niki banter back and forth a bit.

He finishes the brownie and starts on the scone which is just as good. Honestly, Tommy needs to know what drugs they put in these things.

As he is scarfing down the scone and looking everywhere but Wilbur it appears that Wilbur saw him anyways. 

“Hey! It’s you again!”

Tommy sits up and slowly turns around, half a scone in his mouth, and makes direct eye contact with Wilbur.

“Uh- hhgsey”

He gives a little wave and Wilbur chuckles at him in a way that makes Tommy bloom with embarrassment.

He very quickly finishes eating the scone that’s in his mouth and once he does he tries again.

“Hey…”

Wilbur slides into the chair across from him and Tommy wonders how he ended up in this very specific predicament.

“It’s been a while, yeah?”

Tommy nods, “You could say that.”

Wilbur smiles and Tommy tries to not exude only awkward energy into his surroundings.

“What have you been up to Tommy? Sneaking into any more bars?”

Tommy shakes his head with a soft smile, “No, I haven’t actually.” 

Wilbur tilts his head, “Then tell me about your life Tommy.”

And Tommy doesn’t really know how to respond to that. He hasn’t had anyone interested in his life like this that wasn’t obligated to. 

He barely knows Wilbur, it would be weird to share so much. It would be weird to share anything really, and yet Tommy finds an urge to share.

It feels like Wilbur is just so friendly, so nice, so open to new people. Wilbur is a stranger, but he feels like a long-lost friend.

It makes Tommy’s head spin.

He doesn’t know how to feel and his thoughts are battling each other. Wilbur is a stranger. Wilbur is a friend. Wilbur can’t be trusted. Wilbur just wants to get to know him.

He doesn’t know which thoughts are his. He doesn’t know what to say. He just doesn’t know.

He can’t leave Wilbur hanging though. He can’t just not respond.

“There’s not much to say.”

It’s vague. It’s not vague by choice though, it’s vague out of necessity. His brain is swimming in an endless pool and his stamina is running out.

“Your life can’t be that boring. You sought me out at a bar for fun, there has to be other things you do.”

His tone lilts like his words are a joke, but Tommy can’t find the humor in it. He hasn’t really done other things. He doesn’t have things to do, that is the whole reason he is here in the first place.

There’s really nothing he could say that wouldn’t compromise things. There is nothing that he could say.

“It can be.”

Wilbur sighs and Tommy feels himself wilt at the disappointment at his answer. 

“Well, that’s sad. Let’s get you something to do then.”

Tommy furrows his eyebrows, “What does that mean?”

Wilbur smiles, “Come with me. We can go on an adventure.”

Tommy tilts his head at the offer. It’s strange and he feels an odd pull to say yes. He knows he shouldn’t though.

He doesn’t know Wilbur.

Everyone was taught stranger and danger and while Tommy knows he can hold himself, he doesn’t know if Wilbur can hold his own better than he can.

“Yeah, no.”

Wilbur visibly wilts and Tommy almost feels bad. Keyword is almost.

“Why not?”

The pull is back, it tells him Wilbur is safe and he can be trusted. Tommy knows better though.

“I have things to do.”

Then Tommy just leaves. He gets up and tosses his trash in the trash can and walks out.

He doesn’t look back and he doesn’t see the confused look on Wilbur’s face.

His body still aches and Tommy can’t help but wonder what would have happened if he had accepted the offer. 

Yet, as he walks through the city and back towards his home, he finds he doesn’t regret it. He can wonder about the possibilities of another life, but that is a waste of time.

So instead, he must determine if he is happy with his choice and Tommy can successfully say he is.

Wilbur is an interesting man, but Tommy doesn’t trust him. Tommy has learned over the years that trust is something that people earn and it isn’t something that Tommy should hand over so easily.

He befriends people easily, but he doesn’t trust them with the same amount of ease. It’s a way of life that has kept him alive and it’s a way of life he refuses to abandon for a man that can sing words in a compelling way.

Tommy has choices and he has boundaries and he is enforcing them and it almost feels liberating. He told Wilbur no and he doesn’t regret it.

It’s honestly liberating. He should do this more often!

And somehow his day gets even better because when he gets home and opens his laptop, a response from Tubbo waits for him in his inbox.

He opens it with a bated breath, a smile blooming on his face when he sees that Tubbo wants to meet up.

Tommy responds and is elated to find that Tubbo responds basically immediately. He smiles at his laptop as they make plans to meet up at a local coffee shop tomorrow before Tommy has to go into work.

Once the conversation ends, Tommy closes his laptop with a smile on his face and the need to have real food immediately.

He opens his fridge and then closes it and opens up DoorDash instead. He orders some random fast food burger joint and then sits on his couch to wait.

He opens up YouTube and scrolls through his recommended videos and gets lost in a rabbit hole of Odd Man Out videos.

A few sharp knocks ring through his apartment and Tommy opens the door to see some tired DoorDasher standing there with his food.

Tommy snags it out of his hands, says a quick thank you and then promptly closes the door.

Another successful interaction with people!

He moves over to his couch, plopping down and turning on the next YouTube video that catches his eye before he begins to eat his food.

He got like ten nuggets, some french fries and a Sprite. Overall, a very good meal.

The videos play in the background, autoplay forcing them to continue even once one has ended. The videos eventually fall to the background though as he finishes his food and begins to clean up a bit.

He moves through his kitchen, slowly cleaning up any dishes and moving clean things into cabinets and wiping down countertops.

Then he moves into the living room, the videos casting a light on him as he cleans up the small coffee and side tables.

It’s easy work, stuff he can just do. He doesn’t have to think about it and maybe that is the part that makes him relax ever so slightly as he goes through a routine.

Soon enough he’s cleaned the whole house and he’s made his way back into the living room where YouTube videos still play softly.

It’s peaceful and quiet and boring.

Tommy sighs as he closes his blinds, saying goodnight to the city and the people that roam it.

Tomorrow could change everything.

His apartment won’t be so quiet anymore and that is something that Tommy thinks he won’t ever really miss, not when the silence is louder than the noise.

Tommy changes and gets ready for bed, trying to block out the static of silence that fills his ears.

Tomorrow it won’t be so empty, so quiet, or so lonely.

Tomorrow is a new day.

Maybe it will be his day.

Chapter Text

He wakes up, eyes blinking blearily at the bits of rising sun that peak through his curtains.

A quick glance at his phone tells him that it’s far too early for this and then another more urgent glance tells him he has an hour before he has to be at the cafe to meet his potential new roommates.

That’s fun.

Wait.

He has to be there in an hour. That means he can sleep for at least another 20 minutes!

Ah, living life. Tommy closes his eyes, getting a brief moment of reprieve before another alarm sounds.

Tommy groans before looking at his phone in confusion.

“GET UP NO TIME FOR SLEEP GET UP THE PLACE IS A TWENTY MINUTE WALK WAKE UP”

Ah. Yes. He does know himself quite well.

Tommy sighs before sliding out of his bed and reaching up to stretch out his body. He walks over and opens the blinds watching the way the rays of the morning sun paint the city in a decadent glow.

He doesn’t get to enjoy the city that often, not like this. He smiles at the sun and the way it turns the page for a new day, a new chapter.

Tommy turns away from the window, moving into his bathroom and flicking the light switch on. He stares at his reflection in the mirror.

It stares back.

Tommy looks away and brushes his teeth, eyes downcast and avoiding the face that is waiting for him in the glass.

He exits the bathroom and throws on some clothes that look semi-presentable and then goes and makes himself a bagel because bagels fix everything.

Not that anything has gone wrong yet, but if it does then at least he had a bagel this morning.

By the time he finishes eating the bagel he has almost exactly 20 minutes until he has to be at the cafe. This means Tommy basically sprints out the door with his shoes half on.

Somewhere between his front door and the apartment building's front door his shoes get put onto his feet and Tommy gathers his bearings enough to not immediately walk the wrong way.

Besides that it’s honestly a beautiful day. He says it a lot, but it’s true. Everyday that he walks free is a beautiful day.

A car or two whizzes past him and Tommy pushes his way through the occasional crowd and while the walk isn’t peaceful, it’s familiar.

That’s the beauty of living here. Not everything is easy, but most things are something he knows. Everyday is a new day, but these new days are filled with the same things.

It’s comforting in a sense. Tommy knows what to expect, he knows which people he can shove and get away with it and which won’t take anything of the sort without some kind of fight. 

He knows which crossing lights give you enough time and which ones you are better off just jaywalking on. He knows the roads with the most potholes and the most congested sidewalks.

He knows it and that means he also knows the comfort of a familiar life.

What he doesn’t know is the cafe. Tubbo had recommended it and Tommy loves the comfort of the things he knows, but he is the child of Chaos and the unknown is inherently chaotic.

So, he agreed to a twenty minute walk and he agreed to try something new because he may be a hermit most days, but sometimes it’s nice to feel alive.

He pushes open the door to the cafe, letting the smell of coffee drown him as he enters.

It’s quaint, small, but it doesn’t feel crowded. The way it’s set up makes the small building feel grander in a sense. It’s very nice, nicer than Tommy expected if he is being honest.

He looks around, searching for the guys from the photo and he internally relaxes at the sight of the two of them sitting at a table near one of the windows.

Tommy settles an easy smile onto his face and he walks over with a faux confidence that he perfected ages ago.

“Hi! You guys must be Tubbo and Ranboo! I’m Tommy!”

His voice carries a false sense of enthusiasm despite his actual and genuine excitement.

Tubbo perks up slightly, standing from his chair to, quite frankly, awkwardly shake Tommy’s hand.

“It’s so great to meet you! Ranboo and I have been looking for a place forever and we really hope this will work out.”

Tommy smiles something a little more genuine than before, “I hope so too.”

Then he sits down across from them. Ranboo throws him a quick curtesy smile and Tommy gives him a friendly tilt of his lips back. It wasn’t quite a full smile, but it was enough.

Tubbo quickly takes over the conversation, something Tommy is quietly grateful for.

“So, tell me Tommy, why are you looking for a roommate?”

“Well, I got this big old apartment and nobody to fill the space. Why are you looking for an apartment?”

The ending question has a joking sort of lilt to it, it says that Tubbo doesn’t really have to answer, but Tommy does have a genuine interest.

Tubbo hums slightly at the question, glancing at Ranboo and having some kind of silent conversation before he turns back to supply some kind of response.

“Recently we both ran into some troubles that led to a lack of a home. I don’t really want to elaborate further right now, but yeah, mainly unfortunate circumstances.”

And, Tommy doesn’t know much about them, he doesn’t know their circumstances or what happened, but he does understand.

“I’ve been there.”

The words he speaks are a hundred percent true, and the words Tubbo spoke before plucked a chord in his heart and churned out a sad melody of a forgotten memory.

Tommy shakes away the memories though and instead continues to talk and get to know the people that he truly believes are going to be his roommates.

They just kind of talk and Tommy gets lost in a world that could be his. He can imagine him living with them and while they may be strangers, Tommy doesn’t feel disturbed at the thought.

Tubbo and Ranboo are his age and Tubbo is really funny and Ranboo is too when he talks and Tommy doesn’t stop smiling the whole time.

That is how he knows they are the ones.

He’s laughing when he has the realization. 

“I—“

He gasps for breath, the laughter tainting his words.

“I think that you guys would be a good fit.”

He wears a goofy smile as the words tumble quickly out of his mouth.

Tubbo and Ranboo wear twin smiles and overall anyone walking past would think that they had known each other for ages.

“That’s good. This would be awkward if it wasn’t.”

Tommy giggles at Tubbo’s words and Tubbo smiles and it’s as simple as that. Tommy has to go to work and he assumes Ranboo and Tubbo have to go…somewhere.

“If you guys want you can swing by tonight once I get home and we can get papers and stuff signed and then y’all can move in.”

It’s easy, the way he says the words and the way he finds genuine excitement bubbling up inside of him.

“Sounds great!”

Tubbo wears a smile that shines bright and Tommy lets his energy radiate into him as he slides out of the chair and parts himself from the pair.

He hears Tubbo turn to Ranboo to continue to chatter excitedly and Tommy smiles to himself as the door clatters shut behind him.

The day is young and his debut is coming up and he is going to get new roommates and his life is honestly looking up.

It’s been a while since the last time it's done that and Tommy had honestly forgotten how nice it feels to not be struggling in every sense of the word.

He walks through the city, making his way to the hero tower. His debut is in two weeks, basically. 

It’s scary how time has moved. It mentally feels like it was just a day ago that he accidentally scored this gig, but physically and rationally he is aware it has been longer.

Despite the looming date, Tommy doesn’t feel as nervous as he once did. They have talked logistics and Tommy knows his debut isn’t going to be anything crazy. He knows it’s just going to be an announcement from the hero board and that he will have to save some words and that will be it.

He won’t have to save anyone and he won’t enter the sphere of heroes silently either. He will just be there and people will know and he likes that there won’t be speculation about it.

Well, there probably will still be speculation, but there will be less doing it this way than any other sort of way.

Mayhem is about to enter the playing field and Tommy finds that he is actually excited for his time to shine.

It’s new and exciting and Tommy is just ready for the world to know his name. Okay, well he isn’t ready , no one could ever be ready for that, but he just wants it to happen already.

He wants to get the hard part over with so then he can just be himself and hope people like him. That’s the easier part of the two, the part where he just does what he knows how to do.

It’s always easy to be yourself, but presenting yourself to the world is different.

At least, that’s how it is in Tommy’s mind.

The hero tower stands before him at this point, his mind having wandered as far as his feet carried him.

He takes a deep breath and then he walks through the doors as he does everyday. He greets the security guards and says, “Hello,” to the receptionist and then he goes to the elevator.

It’s a routine and he runs through it like a seasoned veteran. He presses the button for SBI’s floor and the elevator lurches before it begins to carry him upwards.

Tommy waits and listens to the elevator music and when the doors open he walks out with a mirage of a smile and light feet.

Aeolus sits on the couch in a pair of sweatpants and some of his own merch with his casual mask thrown on.

As Tommy walks in Aeolus stands up and Tommy gives a curt smile.

“Hey. What’s the plan for today?”

Aeolus winces, “So, I actually have meetings all day because of what we discovered last patrol so you’re going to have to hang out with Ares today.”

Tommy nods slowly, it’s not something he’s really ever done before, but his very limited contact with Ares hasn’t been unpleasant.

“I understand. Don’t even sweat it.”

He watches the way Aeolus visibly relaxes at Tommy’s response.

“Okay great,” he begins to stand and kind of gestures for Tommy to take his spot in a vague sort of way.

“I have to head out now. Ares should be here soon, but until then you can just kind of sit here and watch TV or something.”

Tommy nods and Aeolus’ eyes crinkle in a way that indicates he is smiling.

“Okay, perfect. Bye Tommy, see you tomorrow okay?”

“See you tomorrow!”

And then Aeolus walks very quickly to the elevator because the man is obviously running late. It’s honestly kind of funny the speed at which that man punches the elevator buttons.

However, once the elevator doors close Tommy is stuck waiting for Ares. He turns on the TV and scrolls through the channels until he finds one playing some movie he doesn’t know.

He watches as some guy with cancer pursues his career in music or something. Tommy doesn’t really know when he turned it on; it was already halfway done.

It is interesting though. Tommy watches intensely as the guy gets treatment and talks to some girl and gets famous.

He’s honestly super invested in this random movie.

So invested that he doesn’t hear the elevator door slides open or see Ares enter the room. He would be embarrassed, but what can he say? The movie is good.

Ares walks over towards the back of the couch, footsteps so quiet that Tommy still has not a clue that he is in the room.

“Whatcha watchin’?”

Tommy thinks he practically learns how to take flight right then and there.

After Tommy settles his heart rate he turns back and takes a look at Ares, “Don’t scare a man like that.”

Ares huffs, “That didn’t answer my question.”

Tommy pauses before clicking a button on the TV so it will show the channel and the name of the program showing.

“Uh… Clouds.”

Ares looks at Tommy in a way that just radiates with disappointment.

“You didn’t even know what you were watching?”

“No?”

A sigh escapes the hero’s mouth and Tommy huffs before turning back to his movie. He has to know what happens to Zach. Ares chuffs and then moves to sit on the couch next to him. The couch sinks with the extra weight and Tommy shifts so he isn’t leaning with the new divot. 

No words pass between the two of them as the movie continues to play and it isn’t until maybe ten minutes later that Ares breaks the silence.

“Do you want popcorn or something?”

Tommy turns his head, one eyebrow raised, “Aren’t you supposed to be encouraging me to like train or something.”

Ares shrugs, “Probably.”

Tommy smiles, “Then sure. Popcorn sounds great.”

Ares nods and stands and then leaves. Tommy assumes it is to go to the kitchen behind him, but Tommy doesn’t look behind him. Zach is playing his guitar and Tommy is thoroughly invested.

He hears rustling happening behind him and then the sound of a door closing softly sounds from behind him. Shortly after the sound of the popping fills the air and Tommy smiles at the noise.

He hasn’t made popcorn in a really long time. There isn’t really a reason for that, he just hasn’t. That’s just how things are. You do things and then you stop and there isn’t really a reason that they stopped and that’s okay.

Just because something stops doesn’t mean it can never start again.

The popping slows until the pops are more than a few seconds apart and once that happens the whir of the microwave stops and the door is opened. The movie fills the gap in noise easily and Tommy attempts to focus on the movie and not the sound of the popcorn being shaken in the bag behind him.

It’s almost homely: Tommy sitting on the couch, popcorn being made behind him, the TV playing in front of him. 

Ares walks around to the front of the couch, two bowls in his hands. Tommy smiles at him and takes a bowl and then they just kind of watch the movie.

If Tommy is crying into his popcorn bowl by the end then Ares doesn’t mention it because he is too.

Then once the movie ends, Ares cues up another. He goes with something happier.

This means Ares, the feared hero on the battlefield, puts on Moana. 

Tommy agrees wholeheartedly with this decision. 

So then they sit and watch Moana and they both make really bad commentary about the movie and sometimes Ares goes into the logistics of the coconut fight scene.

Tommy eats his popcorn and when Tommy isn’t looking, Ares eats his own bowl of popcorn. The movie plays and Tommy really poorly sings the songs and it is honestly such a good day.

The whole day has just been good. That is a fact that Tommy can say. He got new roommates and he got to watch movies instead of doing actual work things. 

Overall, a 9/10 day for the Tommy community. 

That is until Dolos walks through the door.

Despite popular belief, Tommy still does, in fact, not like Dolos. Shocking.

Dolos looks between Tommy and Ares, a bewildered sort of look on his face.

“What are you guys doing?”

Ares shrugs nonchalantly and Tommy scoffs out a reply, “Watching Moana obviously. Now shut up, the island lady part is coming.”

Dolos looks even more visibly confused and then it appears that he has one of those silent conversations with Ares before he sighs and goes to sit on the other end of the couch.

He doesn’t say another word until the end credits of the movie begin rolling and Tommy thinks that is the best decision Dolos has ever made.

“So, why are you guys watching movies?”

Ares shrugs, “Why not?”

“Uh because his debut is in two weeks?”

Tommy chews on his popcorn, which is basically just unpopped kernels at this point, but still.

“Okay?”

Dolos sighs and Ares just goes to turn on another movie.

“He should be training or something!”

Ares takes his moment to sigh now, “Dolos not everyone’s debut it like yours.”

Tommy thinks Ares is going to elaborate on that, but then he just doesn’t.

“Okay, but still.”

“He’s fine Dolos.”

Dolos looks like he has more he wants to say but Ares levels him with a glare and he shuts up.

Tommy knows he probably should ask, but he won’t because he honestly doesn’t really care.

“That’s great. Can we watch another movie now?”

Dolos sputters at Tommy’s sudden decisions to insert himself into this conversation.

“What?”

Tommy gestures to the TV, “Pick a movie or leave. I don’t really care.”

Dolos sighs, looking conflicted before sighing again because he’s traumatic, “Pass me the remote.”

Tommy smiles and Ares passes the remote before standing, “I’ll go make more popcorn.”

Dolos puts on some obscure indie movie or something and Tommy eats his popcorn and Ares sits there in the corner and makes fun of Dolos for his movie choice.

It’s all very domestic in a way that makes Tommy’s skin crawl. He doesn’t know them, but they’re nice and they’re watching movies and they haven’t spoken like at all, but they’re nice.

They make this feel like home and that is something Tommy can’t have. Does that mean he is going to leave right now?

No.

He has movies to watch and he does have to work with them and popcorn to be eating. Plus he is getting paid for this right now!

This is an all around win situation!

For Tommy at least! It probably isn’t a win for the other two, but that’s their problem.

Tommy happily enjoys his new fresh bowl of popcorn that Ares had so nicely provided for him and semi-enjoys the movie that is playing in front of him.

He lets himself get lost in the film and he lets himself imagine how once Tubbo and Ranboo move in he could do things like this with them.

Speaking of which, Tommy glances down at his phone for a time. He has thirty minutes until he leaves. Thirty minutes, half a bowl of popcorn, and less than ten minutes left of the movie.

It’s quite a predicament, for as soon as this movie ends there will be no purpose of starting a new one. That means Tommy will have to socialize with Dolos and Ares for like twenty minutes before he can make his escape.

Tommy really isn’t great at socializing.

It should be fine.

Hopefully.

Tommy decides not to focus on that and to instead focus on the ending of this movie. Now, Tommy doesn’t really recall any of the plot, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t invested.

The movie ends and Tommy eats his popcorn and he thinks Dolos might be crying???? Tommy isn’t really going to look too closely at that.

So instead he turns to Ares.

“What are your plans for the night?”

Ares lifts one of his eyebrows at the question, “Uh— patrol?”

Tommy nods, “Sounds boring.”

Ares nods and Dolos decides now is the time to stop dramatically crying and join in.

“Patrols aren’t boring! They’re part of our duty!”

Ares looks at Dolos, “They can be part of our duty and still be boring.”

Tommy nods in agreement and Dolos just keeps speaking.

“You’re potentially saving a life! How could it ever be boring!”

Tommy decides to speak now, “Because sometimes there’s nobody to be saved.”

Dolos groans, “You guys just don’t get it.”

“Yeah, I don’t.”

Tommy is so good at this.

“Okay, subject switch.”

Tommy tilts his head, “What?”

Dolos shrugs, “If someone doesn’t want to talk about a subject anymore we switch the subject.”

Tommy nods. That makes sense.

“Okay.”

“So, what do you do in your free time Tommy?”

Tommy thinks for a moment, in all honestly nothing really.

“Nothing.”

Dolos squints his eyes, “You have to do something.”

“I literally watch YouTube and eat bagels.”

Dolos looks like he wants to say more, but Ares cuts in before he can.

“Don’t interrogate the kid.”

“Not a kid!”

Ares looks at Tommy.

“I hate to break it to you, but you are a literal child.”

Tommy squawks and Dolos laughs at him.

“Hey! Don’t laugh at me, I literally beat you in a fight!”

Dolos stops laughing.

“It wasn’t even a fair fight! I didn’t know your power!”

Tommy sticks his tongue out at Dolos, “Sucks to suck. Just get better next time.”

“And you said you weren’t a child.”

“Well how does it feel to have lost a fight to a child then?”

Dolos groans and Ares chuckles softly.

“You can’t keep bringing that up.”

Tommy smiles, “Actually, I’m pretty sure I can!”

“You’re insufferable.”

“That’s just part of the package.”

Tommy has one of those cheeky smiles on his face as he makes the jokes, though he will never tell them how much the last one cut deep.

“Can we return the package?”

He doesn’t let his smile falter, it’s just a joke.

“It was a final sale! Sorry not sorry!”

Dolos laughs and Tommy lets himself laugh as well, he lets the laughter wash his own insecurities away and bring happiness to the sandy shore.

And when the laughter dies down, Tommy checks the clock.

“It’s time for me to head out,” the laughter still taints his words and the smile is blinding where it sits on his face.

Ares nods, “See ya.”

Tommy beams, “That you will.”

Then he shoots finger guns and enters the very conveniently opened elevator and exits the room.

He’s so good at socializing!

The elevator doors slide closed and as they do Tommy pulls out his phone and shoots Tubbo a message to tell him that he is heading home.

He puts his phone away after that, and runs through a mental checklist to make sure he has all the paperwork he needs. Luckily it is all easier because his landlord did agree to put someone else on his lease!

Really most of the paperwork is for the actual landlord like getting the insurance and whatnot. It’s honestly really boring, but at least Tommy isn’t the landlord.

He exits the elevator and says goodbye to the receptionist and gives a wave to the security guard and then he exits the tower.

It has been a great day! He met Tubbo and Ranboo, watched movies instead of working and now he gets to go and get his new roommates actually in the apartment!!

He begins his walk home and just lets himself walk. It's as simple as that. He just walks and eventually he winds up at home. There isn’t anything grand about it and that’s just how it is sometimes.

His apartment building stands before him and Tommy pushes open the doors with a soft breath. He makes his way to the stairwell and trudges up the stairs with quite a lot of difficulty despite doing it literally everyday.

Then he finds himself in front of his apartment door.

He has a nostalgic smile of sorts. This will be the last time that he will enter the apartment and it will be empty.

He will no longer have a vacant bedroom that taunts him with the unmoved sheets and he will no longer always come home to utter silence that greets him like a long lost friend.

He slides the key into the lock, listening to the way it clicks as he twists it. He opens the door and when the silence welcomes him, it almost feels like a solemn goodbye.

Tommy slams the door shut, shooing the silence away. 

He glances around the apartment. He has to make sure it looks good for Tubbo and Ranboo tonight. Tommy figures that they’ll take the apartment either way, but he has to impress them.

Impressions are important and while Tommy has already made one on the two, his apartment has not done that yet.

Yes, Tommy knows he is being stupid.

Is he still going to stress dust his blinds? Yes.

Tommy grabs a duster and begins to stress dust his blinds.

He probably looks really dumb. It’s fine though…maybe.

This also means when a knock sounds on his door he is still stress dusting.

Tommy doesn’t think he has ever chucked a duster faster.

“Coming!”

Tommy quite literally runs across the apartment.

He takes a singular second to catch his breath before he collects his composure and opens the door.

“Hey! I’m so glad you guys are here!”

He ushers them inside in the way that only moms do.

“We’re so excited to be here.”

And to give Tubbo credit he does genuinely seem really excited to walk into the apartment that he will, hopefully, live in soon.

Tommy can’t blame him. He would be pretty excited too.

Luckily for Tommy they kick their shoes off at the door. He was really worried he would have to do that whole awkward, “You can take your shoes off,” conversation.

They stand awkwardly in the middle of the apartment and Tommy closes the door behind him before moving over to them.

“We can go sit on the couch and you guys can fill out the paperwork and then I can show you to your room.”

Tubbo nods in agreement.

“Sounds great! We can’t wait to move in!”

Tommy beans, “I can’t wait either.”

They will never really know how much Tommy really means that.

He leads them over to the couch and tells them to sit wherever before he runs to the kitchen to grab the papers.

“Do you guys want anything to drink?”

His voice rings through the apartment, but this time it will have something more than an echo to answer.

“We’re good! Thank you!”

Tommy smiles and then grabs the papers before turning around. He could get used to this.

He walks around the counter and back into his living room, the smile still plastered on his face.

“Okay, here you guys go. It’s just kind of the standard stuff for insurance and the landlord so he can make sure you guys aren’t like convicted criminals or something.”

Tommy laughs. Tubbo does not.

“Y’all aren’t convicted criminals right?”

Tubbo laughs.

“No.”

“Okay good.”

He hands them the papers and Tubbo takes to filling them out. It’s kind of awkwardly quiet while he fills them out and Tommy knows he could try to talk to Ranboo, but breaking awkward silence is a task better suited for someone who knows how to socialize.

So they sit in awkward silence only filled with the sound of their breaths, paper flipping, and a pen on paper.

Tommy would complain, but anything is better than the static that used to fill the apartment.

Tommy scrolls through his phone until Tubbo finally decides to break the silence, “Okay, everything has been filled out.”

Tubbo passes the papers over to Tommy and he grabs them, “Great! Let me go put these on the counter so I can give them to the landlord and then I can show you to your room!”

Tommy really hopes he doesn’t sound too desperate, but his near stumble from how quickly he stands up might show it instead.

He throws the papers down very neatly onto the counter and then very calmly runs back into the living room.

“Okay let’s go!”

Ranboo and Tubbo stand up and Tommy leads them down the hall.

“Okay, on the right is the bathroom and then the bedroom at the far end of the hall is going to be mine and this door on the left!”

Tommy opens up the door with an overdramatic flourish. Behind the door awaits a very bland room. The sheets are white and there’s a dark wood dresser and a matching nightstand and besides that it’s empty.

“It’s really boring, but I figured that gives you guys room to decorate it yourself!”

He looks nervously back at the two and finds himself relaxes a bit when he sees twin smiles on their faces.

“Do you guys like it?”

Ranboo nods, but Tubbo is the one that responds.

“It’s great.”

His voice sounds wistful in a way and Tommy knows better than to comment on it.

“That’s great. You guys can move in whenever or as soon as possible and if you want you can sleep here tonight or you can go back to your current home or—“

Tommy takes a moment to breathe.

“Sorry, I’m kind of excited. Basically just do whatever makes you comfortable.”

Tubbo nods with a soft smile, “Thank you Tommy.”

Tommy smiles back, “No, thank you.”

And with that he turns around and walks out of their room, “Just let me know what you guys decide to do.”

Then he walks away and he gives them a moment of peace to think and consider and just settle in.

This is a big thing for everyone involved and Tommy knows if he was in their position he would want just a moment to compose himself.

So, he gives it to them.

He walks back out into the living room area, turning on the TV to give him some background noise and then he goes and cleans up the papers a bit.

The landlord knew they were being filled out today and told Tommy he would swing by sometime tomorrow to pick them up.

He also goes and grabs himself a frozen meal from his freezer for dinner and pops it into the microwave. Don’t judge him. It’s been a long day.

Tommy squints at the buttons on his microwave, trying to remember how long he was supposed to cook it for before shrugging and just putting in 3:30.

That should be close enough.

He listens to the whir of the microwave and while he does the soft murmur of voices sneaks its way into his ears as well.

The sound makes Tommy smile. There are voices to add to the soft symphony and that is something Tommy doesn’t know if he’ll ever be able to ignore.

Not in a bad way though. It’s nice and different and everything he has ever hoped for. He’s always longed for voices to fill the silence and now they are here.

The door to their room opens and Tubbo’s and Ranboo walk out.

“I think we are going to stay tonight and then move in tomorrow if that’s okay with you?”

The microwave beeps behind him, but Tommy ignores it.

“I wouldn’t have offered it if I didn’t want you to.”

Tubbo smiles sheepishly and Tommy opens the microwave.

“Do you guys want anything for dinner?”

Tubbo shakes his head and for once Ranboo speaks instead.

“We already ate, thank you though.”

Tommy smiles, “That’s okay.”

He reaches into the microwave and pulls out his frozen entree and grabs a fork.

Tommy moves to sit on his couch and Tubbo and Ranboo still kind of stand there awkwardly.

“Do you guys wanna watch YouTube or something?”

Tubbo and Ranboo look at each other before looking back at Tommy.

“Yeah, that would be fun.”

Tommy smiles, food still in his hand as he gestures for them to come sit.

He begins to shovel food into his mouth and he kind of just tosses the remote in the general direction for them to figure out themselves.

Tommy never claimed to be a good host.

Luckily, Tubbo seems adept with the remote and he does manage to navigate his way to YouTube just fine! That means you cannot judge Tommy for eating his food and giving literally zero instructions.

“Do you have something specific you want to watch?”

Tommy shakes his head to signify, “No.”

Tubbo nods, “Okay cool I’ll just pick something then.”

Tubbo proceeds to scroll through Tommy’s recommendations before he gets bored of that and types “Grian” into the YouTube search bar.

Tommy squints at the name with confusion before shoveling another spoonful of his food into his mouth.

Tubbo throws on a video that says something about Hermitcraft? Tommy doesn’t really know, it seems interesting enough though.

So they sit there and watch the video. Tommy eats his food and Ranboo leans against Tubbo and eventually Tommy sets down his empty container and leans forward to get a better view of the TV.

It’s domestic, it’s better than Tommy would have imagined. 

And when that video ends, they play the next one and the next one after that and the next one after that one too until all three of them are asleep on the couch of an apartment all of them can call home.

Chapter Text

Tommy yawns as he wakes up. He has a crick in his neck and his back needs a severe amount of popping. He opens his eyes and blinks slowly at the sunlight that sheds through his blinds.

He looks around the room, trying to figure out where he is. It definitely isn’t his bedroom; that is one thing he knows for sure.

It’s only when his eyes catch on a still sleeping Tubbo and Ranboo that the memories of the night before come flooding back.

Tommy smiles; it wasn’t all a dream.

He gets up slowly from the couch, trying to ensure that neither of the two wake up before he goes to plug his phone into one of the outlets in his kitchen.

While he does that, he makes himself a bagel. It’s his staple dish.

The bagel sits in the toaster and Tommy takes in the morning one last time. He has work today, but luckily he woke up early enough that he won’t be late.

This also means he has time to savor the moment and just enjoy it all. He watches the way the morning sun paints his living room like a picturesque scene in a museum and he witnesses the way Tubbo’s chest rises slowly before falling once again. 

It’s cozy. Tubbo and Ranboo lay in a tangle together and Tommy’s bagel pops out of the microwave and his phone whirs to life and the sun casts the city in its filtered light.

Tommy grabs his bagel and smothers cream cheese on it before grabbing his phone and scrolling idly through it. He opens all his notifications and he just relaxes.

The sounds emanate softly from his phone and into the quiet air, but for once it isn’t piercing through the silence, it is just adding to the soft noises of the morning.

He finishes his bagel and makes his way into his room. He brushes his teeth and he gets dressed and he checks on the pair one last time before he leaves.

He even writes a note for them! 

Tommy is literally the best roommate ever!

Just don’t quote him on that later.

Anyways, he leaves the extra key on the counter with the note and then he slips out as silently as possible. 

The door clicks shut behind him and Tommy lets out a breath of relief before basically booking it down the hallway.

He may have time this morning, but he also is always running perpetually late. It’s a part of his charm.

His footsteps echo through the stairwell and Tommy ignores that in favor of just getting out of his apartment building and onto the street.

Tommy honestly doesn’t even know how he managed to start running behind. He was ahead of schedule earlier!

Tommy pushes open the front doors and flies onto the sidewalk as he tries to determine how fast he will have to walk to not be late.

He glances at his phone and determines it isn’t that fast, but it’s definitely faster than a normal walking pace.

Tommy pulls out his phone as he walks, at a slightly faster pace, and turns on some music while pulling out his headphones.

He finds his playlist that is just absurdly long and hits shuffle.

The first song to play is Roar by Katy Perry.

Don’t judge him, it’s a good song.

He jams out and just about speed walks to his job and by the time he gets there he is 3 whole minutes early! Look at him go!

Tommy slams his way into the hero tower, smiling at the security guard and waving to the receptionist before pushing the up button for the elevator. He waits there for the elevator to arrive and while he does so he runs through what he has to do today.

He presumably has to help Tubbo and Ranboo move in, though he figures they don’t have much. He also knows that he has a midday patrol with Aeolus and probably some more training. He might have to fill out paperwork or something. 

It turns out that there is way more paperwork involved in being a hero than one would assume.

The elevator doors slide open with a ding. Tommy steps to the side to let someone walk out and then he slides in to replace them. Tommy closes the doors and rapidly presses the button for SBI’s floor.

He may ride this elevator everyday, but that doesn’t mean he has to enjoy it. He would take the stairs if he hated himself. Only someone who is suicidal would opt to walk up nine flights of stairs.

That just sounds like some form of modern torture or something.

Luckily, the elevator takes him where he needs to go with efficiency. The doors slide open and Tommy lets out a sigh of relief. It is one thing to ride an elevator with others, but it is a totally different thing to be alone.

He walks onto their floor, letting the tension seep out of his shoulders before making his way into the living room.

Tommy walks towards the couch before hearing noise from the kitchen. He pivots on his heels and takes a few steps towards the kitchen. Once he gets closer he realized Aeolus is cooking something at the stove.

Tommy forces his footsteps to be louder, causing Aeolus to glance over his shoulder.

“Oh! Hi Tommy! I didn’t hear you come in.”

Tommy smiles before moving closer to see what he is cooking.

“Yeah, you must have been really invested in your omelet.”

Aeolus laughs and Tommy soaks it in as though it is another form of unspoken praise. 

Tommy moves to sit on an empty space of the counter and Aeolus swats at him half-heartedly.

“I guess I was,” his voice is tainted with a smile that Tommy has never seen and has only ever imagined.

Silence falls between them as Aeolus continues to cook and Tommy continues to observe. It isn’t stifling or suffocating, it’s just a shared moment of peace. Tommy can appreciate that as much as anyone else can.

As Aeolus slides the omelet off of his pan and onto a plate Tommy hops off the counter and follows him to the couch where they sit.

The news plays softly on the TV images of a burning building flashing across the screen before cutting to a woman standing in front of the scene. 

Tommy looks away from the TV. He takes a glance at Aeolus who is turned away as he eats.

Tommy frowns at the sight. He isn’t quite sure why, but for some reason today is the day he has decided to feel something more than content at not knowing who Aeolus is.

“When will I be able to see your face?”

The question comes out innocent enough, but Tommy knows it has the possibility to get its meaning lost in the translation.

Aeolus makes a humming noise before pulling his mask back up and turning towards Tommy.

“What’s brought this on mate?”

Tommy looks back at the TV where the woman now talks with a survivor.

“I don’t know. It just feels weird knowing that you know me and I don’t really know you.”

Tommy can’t see Aeolus’ mouth, but he can sense the frown that forms beneath the mask.

“I can’t tell you yet, I wish I could, but I can’t.”

“But why?”

Aeolus sighs, “The tower has really strict rules about all this, you aren’t allowed to know anyone’s identities unless you are another hero or family.”

Tommy nods, “So you can’t tell me until my debut?”

“Yeah, but don’t worry you’ll know the moment you can.”

“Thank you Aeolus.”

Both of them know that those words mean so much more than what they say.

“Always Tommy.”

And Aeolus doesn’t know it, but Quackity whispered those words to him just weeks before. It feels like light years ago, but the words still strike the same chord in his heart.

Tommy smiles and it burns bright like a supernova. 

“What’s the plan for today then?”

Aeolus shrugs, putting his plate down on the coffee table as he does so.

“Besides the patrol, not much honestly. We did a lot of the prep for your debut early so now we can just focus on training and patrols.”

“Sounds like a plan then.”

Aeolus turns away once more to eat the rest of his food and Tommy takes to switching through the channels if only to ignore the fact that he has to wait two weeks to actually meet Aeolus.

He flips through the channels one by one, hoping to find something that catches his eye. Nothing does, not as he keeps clicking through them. 

None of it captures his attention and it’s almost frustrating. He just wants to watch some TV. Is that too much of him to ask?

Aeolus pulls him from his purgatory though, tapping gently on his shoulder and gesturing for Tommy to stand.

Tommy smiles softly before standing and following Aeolus back into the kitchen. Aeolus places his dish in the sink and Tommy hops back onto the counter as Aeolus quickly washes his stuff.

It’s simple. Tommy likes how easy it is, he can just sit here and Aeolus can do what he needs to do and there is nothing more that needs to happen.

Tommy listens idly to the sound of the sick water and he laughs when Aeolus gets splashed with water and Aeolus laughs as he sprays water at Tommy.

That’s the best part of it all, at least that is what Tommy thinks. It’s the way he doesn’t know Aeolus, but he is waiting for the day he does. It’s the way Aeolus always knows exactly what to say and knows exactly what to do.

It’s the way life doesn’t feel so lonely anymore. He isn’t just a ghost floating in the abyss, he isn’t just another lost piece beneath the couch, he isn’t just another forgotten face in a sea of others.

There are people now who see him. There’s Aeolus and Tubbo and Ranboo and Tommy guesses that he can throw in Dolos and Ares. 

The point is that he has people in his corner, people who will remember him if he were to leave. That is what a legacy is: the memories that people carry on.

Tommy always wanted a legacy and now he has one. It’s nothing grand, but it’s more than nothing and that means everything.

The water shuts off and with that his stream of thoughts gets cut off as well.

Tommy glances at Aeolus and smiles when he gestures for Tommy to hop off the counter.

As he moves Tommy glances at the time that is displayed on the stove and notes that their patrol starts in about thirty minutes.

“I’m gonna go change Tommy.”

Tommy nods, “Okay, I’ll just be here.”

Aeolus nods and his eyes crinkle into the tell tale sign of a smile, “Be right back mate.”

Aeolus walks into the bedroom that SBI shares and Tommy assumes he stores his costume in there so nobody can find out his identity accidentally by him bringing it home.

It’s smart and Tommy is sure all of them do it.

Once the door closes Tommy makes his way back over to the couch, flipping through the channels before settling back onto the one of the news networks.

He watches as they talk about the weather and some random break in and it’s all so boring and mundane in a way that Tommy can’t explain.

The women drones on about home security and locking your doors and Tommy wonders how stupid people must be to not do that already.

He’s probably about five seconds away from chucking the remote at the TV when it switches to some story about a mom and her baby and something about a robbery when Aeolus walks back into the room.

Tommy looks up at him, eyes scanning the costume as though he has never seen it before. He honestly can’t help it; it’s just so gorgeous in such an intricate way that Tommy cannot help but wish that he could watch the way the fabric flows forever.

He does look away though, instead moving his eyes to look back up at Aeolus.

Aeolus looks at Tommy expectedly and Tommy smiles as he pulls out the black mask that he has been using.

He knows it probably would seem weird to anyone else that he isn’t wearing the suit made for him, but that’s because the people that run everything don’t want the public speculating too much before his debut.

Of course there are going to be speculations when the top hero suddenly has someone running around besides them, but nobody knows enough about Tommy to have anything more than murmurs of a new hero.

It adds to the mystery, at least that’s what Hannah told him when he asked about it.

Tommy doesn’t mind either way, he kind of likes being a shadow. He is just something that follows, stands behind, and waits for the sun before it shows itself. 

They walk towards the elevator and Aeolus pushes the button for down. He always does and Tommy always lets him. 

It’s a system and Tommy isn’t going to mess with it.

The doors slide open with a quiet woosh and both of them step into the waiting elevator: Aeolus first, then Tommy. Once inside Aeolus presses the button for the ground floor and just like that they're off.

Quiet music plays overhead and neither of them speak. They never really do when in elevators. Maybe it’s because Aeolus knows Tommy doesn’t like to be trapped, maybe it’s for a totally different reason. Tommy will never really know.

The doors slide open once they settle on the bottom floor and Tommy steps out briskly with Aeolus following behind.

They go out of one of the side entrances of the tower to try and avoid being swarmed by people out front and then they stick to alleys and lesser known streets as they make their way to their patrol district.

The walk there is fairly peaceful for a walk through the alleyways of a city; the sounds of cars fill their ears and sometimes the chatter of people add to the cacophony of noises that the city produces like a bad DJ.

They eventually get to the edge of the area they were assigned and from there they hop onto the roofs to get better views.

Aeolus has his communicator on and ready for if any suspicious activity is reported and besides that they just kind of have free reign to roam.

From the top of the roof Tommy looks left and right, trying to determine which way to go. Aeolus stands behind him, a hidden smile on his face.

“Let’s go to the left.”

Aeolus nods, “Sounds good, mate.”

And they go left. They hop from roof to roof and they pause and they look around and reassess and listen for someone to come through on the radio.

Tommy revels in the way the wind ruffles through his hair and he watches with poorly veiled awe as Aeolus flies from roof to roof with the wind lending him a hand.

And as they jump and their breaths run short, Tommy still thinks he could never get bored of these. The adrenaline that pumps through him and the way the race against yourself calms the chaos that sprints through his veins and the way Aeolus pauses to make sure Tommy is still there.

They all make the tiredness and the achiness so much more worth it. Some patrols might end with nothing, but he still feels fuller than he did before them.

Right now they stand atop a roof, the wind weaves between them and ruffles their hair.

Tommy looks out over the city, smiling at the place he’s sworn to protect now. 

Aeolus scans the city beside him. His uniform waves behind him and Tommy just knows this is the kind of scene that someone would capture for a movie.

He looks towards Aeolus, admiring the way he just radiates power. Everything about how he stands and looks staring out at the city. He looks like a hero in every sense of the word. It’s cinematic and awe inspiring.

Aeolus glances at Tommy and Tommy can feel the smile that the man wears like a badge. 

“Where to next?”

The question leaves him mouth the moment they lock eyes.

Aeolus looks back out over the city, scanning left to right before looking back at Tommy.

“It’s been slow today, I think we are good to hang out here for a few minutes before looping our way back to the tower.”

Tommy nods and then he just plops down. His legs swing over the edge and Aeolus chuckles at Tommy as he too sits down. 

It’s quiet. That’s what Tommy notes as he swings his legs back and forth. He looks oveer at Aeolus again, studying the way he sits there and soaks in the sun as it slowly begins its long descent over the horizon. 

It is still high in the sky, but its moving down slowly, making its goodbyes and exiting as it pleases.

Aeolus breaks the silence, “The tower has been investigating the Pit.”

Tommy nods stiffly, glancing over at Aeolus before looking away.

“I figured.”

“They’re planning a mission, one where someone would have to infiltrate the Pit to bring back information for the tower so that we can take it down once and for all.”

Tommy’s breath stutters for just a moment, his body pauses, and his heart skips a beat.

“You’re going to send someone into the Pit?”

Aeolus nods, “It’s our best way to obtain information.”

The wind rushes between them and encases them, protecting them from the rest of the world.

“Who are they going to send?”

Aeolus pauses, it’s the one time he’s shown something more than just the quiet hesitancy in his voice.

“That’s what I actually wanted to talk to you about.”

Blood rushes into his ears.

“They were thinking about sending you.”

Tommy’s world falls apart.

“Why me?”

His voice is quiet and meek.

“You’re new, powerful, and most importantly young. They trust your abilities and they think that with your age that you will be able to blend in the best.”

It makes sense. Tommy knows it makes sense. He hates that it makes sense.

“I—“

The words never make it out of his mouth.

“You don’t have to decide now.”

Tommy doesn’t know what to do, what to say, who to be.

He nods regardless.

“You have until the planned debut to decide. They need to know before it though because if you go through with it your debut will have to be later so the Pit doesn’t suspect anything.”

Tommy stares out at the city. The wind wraps him in an embrace and the sun is lower than before. He looks down at the ground, watching the way his legs dangle and people walk beneath him.

He thinks about what Aeolus has just proposed and what it would mean for him.

He doesn’t have to answer now. He has to remember that.

“I’ll— I’ll let you know before then.”

Aeolus nods and he doesn’t push and Tommy releases some tension he didn’t realize he was holding.

It’s not long after that that Aeolus stands and Tommy knows it is time for them to head back. The day is still young and the night has not yet arrived.

They have things to do.

Tommy has things to think about.

The walk back isn’t something Tommy bothered to remember. Maybe he should have, but he doesn’t. 

All he knows is that he ends up back at the tower maybe thirty or so minutes later.

Aeolus leads them inside and Tommy follows after and one thing leads to another and soon they are eating something.

That’s when Tommy starts to grasp how real this all is. He has a bowl of chicken noodle soup in his lap, his mask is off, Aeolus is sitting on the far end of the couch watching the TV wordlessly.

Tommy glances down at the bowl that warms his lap, frowning when he finds it half empty. Nothing is right. He doesn’t know how to explain it, but nothing is right.

He glances at Aeolus, trying to read something behind his eyes or in his posture or just something.

He finds nothing.

The TV is playing some soap opera looking show and Tommy looks away from it, opting to stare back down at his food instead.

He hesitantly grabs a spoon before taking a sip. It’s still warm and Tommy is kind of confused as to why he has chicken noodle soup in the first place, but he isn’t really in a place to ask questions.

The soup slides down his throat easily, it soothes an ache in his body and Tommy lets himself relax into the couch.

His eyes fall back onto the TV. Watching the way the people move and gasp dramatically and the way the music ramps up before a big reveal.

Tommy takes another bite of the soup.

He has a choice to make. Save them or save himself. Tommy knows what he should do. He knows he should accept the mission.

Tommy is selfish though, he always has been.

He does things for himself, he took this job for himself, he lives for himself.

The thought of agreeing terrifies him. It’s the right choice, but he doesn’t know who it is right for.

In some other world, the answer might be easy. 

It isn’t in this world though and that means Tommy is stuck with a question that opens a dam and releases a flood.

Tommy looks at Aeolus again before glancing down at the soup.

“Why did you give me soup?”

His question feels out of place. His voice is too harsh for the peace of the environment.

“You seemed like you needed it. Soup always helps.”

Tommy smiles softly at the soup, the reasoning is stupid and that is what makes him smile.

“That’s stupid.”

Aeolus tilts his head, “Is it helping?”

Tommy looks into the broth and noodles and carrots that swirl around in the white bowl.

“Maybe.”

“Then it isn’t stupid.”

Tommy nods, “I guess it isn’t.”

They fall silent again after that. Tommy sips his soup and Aeolus watches his show and it stays like that until Tommy empties the bowl.

Once his spoon scrapes an empty bottom the peace is broken as Tommy stands and makes his way into the kitchen. The water from the sink that he turns on rushes in his ears and soaks his hands.

Aeolus comes up behind him and Tommy glances back as he grabs a sponge to put soap on.

“Are we still going to train today?”

Aeolus shakes his head, “No, I think you deserve to go home early today.”

Tommy tilts his head, “We didn’t do anything though?”

“We didn’t, but you have a big decision to make. You deserve to think it over without sitting here.”

Aeolus gently grabs the bowl and the sponge out of Tommy’s hands and slides in next to him to wash them.

“Oh.”

Tommy looks at his wet hands, closing them gently before moving to grab a paper towel. Aeolus wants him to go home. 

He wants to give Tommy the space to think without the pressure of the tower. It’s more considerate than anyone has ever been.

It plants more conflicting thoughts in his head.

Tommy looks back at Aeolus, “I guess I’ll go home then.”

Aeolus nods, hands scrubbing at the bowl.

“See you tomorrow, mate. And remember no one will be mad if you say no, we know it’s dangerous.”

And Tommy wants to believe him, he wants so desperately to believe the saccharine sweet words that fall from Aeolus’ mouth.

He wants to, but he doesn’t know if he can.

He turns to leave instead of answering, it’s easier. He may be a coward, but he is also a survivor and this is all he knows.

Aeolus doesn’t say anything more and Tommy doesn’t really give him the time to even try either as he presses the button on the elevator. 

He waits for the elevator and the moment comes he throws himself inside of it.

It is only once he is inside and the doors have closed that he remembers that elevators aren’t really his forte. 

Tommy closes his eyes as the elevator jerks downwards and he steadies his breathing as it carries him down. 

He doesn’t even understand the fear, he isn’t claustrophobic or anything, he just hates the lack of control of it all.

If anything happens and he is in the elevator he has nowhere to go, nothing to save him. It’s statistically one of the worst places to be if an attack or something happens that means people need to either fight or get out.

Okay. He needs to stop thinking about that.

The elevator comes to a stop and as the door slides open Tommy is already halfway out. The tension he was holding slips out and he lets himself take an easy breath as he walks briskly through the lobby.

His mind runs, but his body walks.

He doesn’t rush home. He doesn’t need to. It’s still early, Tubbo and Ranboo are probably doing something somewhere and Tommy just has time.

Normally he feels like he is grasping for just another second, but today it feels like time is almost moving too slowly. He is trapped in the storm and the time ticks by slower and slower as the wind swirls around him and encapsulates him.

Tommy lets himself get lost, he lets his legs carry him and his thoughts float in the middle of the ocean like a lifeboat that got carried away by the rapid currents.

His thoughts feel futile, they feel pointless, they feel hopeless. He can go or he can not. It’s as simple as that, but the decision means so much more.

The Pit is a scary place, nobody really willingly goes unless they’re really poor and need shelter and food that they will provide for a cost, and sometimes that cost is your life.

Tommy is strong, he knows he is, but the Pit is stronger. He doesn’t know if he is strong enough to face it.

He turns into a park. He needs to sit and just settle himself with his thoughts. The grass in the park is cut short and the trees stand along the paths to encompass the walker. It’s nice. 

Tommy assumes it was a part of that one Nature Recreation Act that was put in place a year or two ago in order to get more parks and nature areas built in and around the city.

He thought it was dumb at first, but now he finds that he is glad there was something here. It’s its own little area, away from the city, away from the noises that bombard him.

He walks through the park, relishing in the way that some of the sounds fall away, not all, but some. The park isn’t that big, but it’s nice.

There is a playground set at the back end and just some walking paths and the occasional bench or two, but what catches Tommy’s eye is the little pond that sits in the middle.

He makes his way through the grass and to the pond, sitting on the bank and glancing into the calm water.

A few fish swim in the water, causing soft ripples as their tails propel them around.

Tommy smiles at them. Their life is so simple, they just swim and eat and swim again. They don’t have to worry about things like jobs and apartments and life-altering decisions.

Tommy wishes he was a fish. Well, not literally. He doesn’t want to be confined like a fish in a pond, but he wants the ease of it all.

There are so many choices for him to make, so many and none of them seem right.

Maybe none of them will ever be right, maybe Tommy needs to learn that.

The fish swim around. Tommy’s thoughts swim with them.

The Pit. It’s notorious amongst both the poor and the rich. The poor turn to the Pit for shelter, safety, a tiny bit of money. The poor go to the Pit when they are desperate.

The rich go for entertainment. They watch the poor and the powerful fight and they fund the Pit. Without them, there would be nothing.

Tommy could go in for the mission. He could dismantle it and help the people that are stuck and condemn the people that watched.

He could do it. 

He should do it.

But, there is that pull in the back of his mind that screams danger. It’s unsafe, he could get killed, he might not be able to survive it.

The other side of him though talks with reason. He is powerful, he can fight and his powers are strong. Tommy is resourceful, he has been poor, he can act the part.

Tommy looks at the way the water reflects his face back at him. He looks at the conflict in his eyes and the tension in his shoulders.

He glances at the time on his phone.

Then he makes a choice.

He is going to go to Las Nevadas.

Tommy stands from the side of the pond, taking one last glance at the fish before turning and walking out of the park.

He is maybe twenty minutes away from the casino, and Tommy knows this is irrational, but he needs an outside opinion. His brain is clouded, he needs someone to cut through the fog.

His feet hit the sidewalk with a harshness, he carries himself with an urgency, and he forces himself to dispel the battle waging in his mind.

He just has to make it to Quackity. He needs someone who knows enough to help yet not enough to be too biased.

Aeolus can’t help him, because no matter what he says, he is a hero and he will want what is best for the mission. Tommy is what is best for the mission.

Quackity, however, will give Tommy facts for both sides, he will lay it all out for Tommy and then allow him to make a choice based off of that.

Tommy needs the facts right now, his emotions are flooding his brain and it’s all too much and he knows he has two weeks to decide, but he can’t think.

People surround him as he makes his way out of the busy side of the city and into the chiller area before the area by the casino.

As he walks the people thin out and Tommy tries to breathe as he walks towards his destination. He needs to breathe. 

He sucks in a breath, letting the air collide with his throat and feeling the way his lungs expand just slightly as he just breathes.

He is fine. This is all fine.

Tommy continues to walk. He just has to get to Quackity, he just needs an answer. 

He pushes himself to move faster, his calves burn and Tommy feels fatigue from the patrol earlier slipping into his muscles. He pushes on.

The streets begin to crowd again, but Tommy doesn’t let himself relax yet. He needs to make it inside.

He barrels through the front doors of the casino.

Chest heaving as he walks up to the closest guard. He puts on a face of confidence and he hides the exhaustion in his body.

“I need to speak to Quackity now.”

The guard huffs, “He’s in a meeting.”

Tommy sighs, “Tell him it’s Tommy and I need to see him as soon as possible.”

The guard nods and picks up his Walkie-Talkie.

“Tommy is here, says he needs to see you as soon as you can.”

Tommy can’t hear Quackity clearly, but he can tell he is speaking.

The guard hums as Quackity talks before nodding and putting the Walkie-Talkie back into his belt loop.

“He said he can see you in five minutes, until then you can wait upstairs in his lounge room.”

Tommy nods, taking a deep breath before speaking, “Okay. Let’s go there then.”

The guard nods sharply and then turns and begins to walk. Tommy follows closely behind, still trying to calm his racing heartbeat and the thoughts that threaten to take over. 

He needs to be in control right now, he can’t lose himself just yet. The guard leads him towards a door at the back of the casino, in between two of the slot machines. 

He takes out a key and inserts it, twisting it and unlocking the door to reveal a staircase. The guard holds the door open and Tommy steps inside.

The door thuds as it closes behind them, but Tommy doesn’t look back as he begins to walk up the stairs.

His legs ache dully, but Tommy pays no mind to it. He has dealt with a worse hand. 

Their footsteps echo off the walls and Tommy glances back only once to look at the guard as they move up.

The stairwell isn’t long, and they eventually come out to an area that looks much like a living room. There are two plush couches and another two arm chairs that sit in the room.

A brown coffee table lies in between them and a TV sits idly across from all of them. There’s some paintings on the wall, but besides that the room is pretty bare.

Tommy looks back at the guard, trying to figure out if he will stay or leave.

“Quackity will come up here when he is done, I will be at the door waiting for him.”

Tommy nods and the man leaves and then he is alone.

He sits down on one of the couches, sinking into the plush of the red velvet material with a sigh. He searches around for a remote for the TV.

His eyes scan the other couches and eventually he stands up to go look in the few drawers of the coffee table and the TV stand. 

He opens the first drawer to find absolutely nothing. Tommy closes the drawer with a frown before opening the next.

This one has a few magazines inside of it, but nothing more besides that. His hands slide over the dusty covers and he pushes them to the side to ensure he isn’t missing anything.

His fingers brush something harder and Tommy moves to push the magazines to the side before the door opens and he slides the drawer closed.

“Where do you keep the remote in here?”

Quackity is barely through the door as Tommy’s voice cuts through the quiet air.

“Oh. The TV is just for show.”

Tommy snorts, “You’re telling me you bought a whole TV just for show?”

Quackity nods slowly and Tommy can almost sense the embarrassment dripping from his skin.

“Yeah…”

Tommy laughs before sitting on the couch again, trying to act relaxed and probably failing.

Quackity moves around the couch to sit on the opposite end of Tommy and they kind of just look at each other for a brief moment before Quackity breaks the silence.

“What did you need Tommy?”

Tommy pauses, it feels stupid now, his stress that is. He still feels it clawing at his throat and bubbling up in his stomach, but it feels dumb that he came here now.

He was almost panicked when he made the choice and now that he is here he finds he has regrets.

He should back out, but he owes Quackity more than that. He doesn’t want to waste his time and while his issues aren’t that big of a deal, not doing anything would be the biggest waste.

“Uh— it’s kind of dumb…”

Quackity sighs, “You can tell me Tommy. It was obviously important enough that you had to come here.”

Tommy nods slowly, he can do this.

“Yeah, well, I don’t really know how to say this, but the heroes want to send me into the Pit to gather information so that we can take them down.”

The words come stumbling out of his mouth, streaming together until they are almost incomprehensible.

Quackity pauses as he processes the words. He doesn’t say anything for a moment and Tommy knows he is thinking over his words carefully.

“Do you have a choice in the matter?”

Tommy nods slowly, “I have two weeks to decide, he says watching carefully as Quackity continues to think over what he should say.

“What do you need my help with?”

The words aren’t harsh, they just ask for more information and that is what allows Tommy to relax just a tad.

“I need you to give me facts for both sides, pros and cons, just something. I— I can’t think right now, the question just bounces around my mind and it never settles enough for me to just be logical.”

His chest rises and falls and he forces himself to relax.

“I see. I can do that.”

Tommy sighs, relaxing into the couch. He just needs to talk about this, he needs to know what he is getting into from an outside perspective.

“Thank you.”

Quackity seems to understand that Tommy needs this and he seems to understand that Tommy doesn’t want a response from his pleasantries.

“Okay. If you were to accept these are the possibilities: you could get hurt, killed or you could survive. From there if you survive relatively unscathed you can either successfully take down the Pit or you can fail.”

Tommy nods.

“If you don’t accept then you would definitely be safe for now, but the Pit would continue on unless the heroes decide to go in blind.”

Tommy nods again. Those are his choices. He isn’t quite sure what he wants though. Does he want the security of life more than the takedown of the Pit?

He hums as he leans back into the couch.

“What do I do though?”

Tommy can feel the way Quackity frowns at his question.

“I can’t decide that for you Tommy. You have choices to make and they’re hard. There’s nothing easy about this choice, but it’s your life and you are in control. This is your choice and your choice only Tommy.”

A sigh escapes his lips. 

“I don’t want to make this choice though.”

“Then don’t.”

Tommy looks at Quackity, “What do you mean?”

“You have two weeks. If you don’t want to make the choice now then don’t.”

Tommy frowns, “What if I don’t want to make the choice later either?”

“Well, eventually you have to choose. It’s inevitable, but for now you don’t. Think it over, give yourself the time, don’t rush into it. You have two weeks, so give yourself two weeks.” 

Tommy mulls over the words, letting them settle before he speaks again.

“Maybe you’re right.”

“That’s why you came to me, yeah? Cause I’m always right?”

Tommy cracks a smile, “I don’t quite think that is right.”

He laughs as Quackity pretends that Tommy actually hurt him.

“I can’t believe you would say that about me!”

Quackity puts a hand dramatically on his face as he rolls around a bit.

By the end of his act, both of them are laughing and Tommy finds a weight has been lifted from his shoulders. 

And as their laughter filters out and their stomachs ache from the joyous memories made, Tommy looks at him again.

“Thank you Quackity, you always know exactly what to say to help me.”

The energy in the room shifts to something more fond than before, less of an explosion of joy and more of a quiet happiness and contentness.

“That’s what I’m here for Tommy. You’re always welcome here.”

Tommy smiles, it’s soft, not so brash as they are under the scrutinizing eyes of others.

There’s nothing he could say in response to that, and there’s nothing he would want to say even if he could manage to formulate something.

So, instead of another exchange of words, they just sit. They enjoy each other's presence and Tommy lets the idea that he doesn’t have to jump into a decision yet really take root in his brain. 

He stares at the ceiling. There isn’t anything interesting, it’s just a ceiling, but it gives him something to look at.

Quackity stays on the other end of the couch and it’s nice to just be in the presence of someone sometimes. 

Tommy just lets himself relax, he calms his racing thoughts and he finally doesn’t feel like he is running from something that will never come.

He has time. He doesn’t need to do anything right now. It’s a reminder he desperately needed and one that Quackity was able to give him.

Eventually though, the comfortable silence that they relish in must come to an end. Quackity has other meetings to attend to and Tommy should probably go see if his roommates need help moving in and their lives must go on.

Quackity stands first when the time comes and Tommy follows swiftly behind. They don’t exchange words, it’s more of a silent understanding that their time is up for today.

The walk down the stairs is quiet, just the sound of their footsteps echoing off the walls. It’s only when they reach the bottom and the door is less than a foot away that Quackity pauses and turns back towards Tommy.

“Remember, I’m always here for you.”

Tommy nods softly, “Thank you.”

Quackity smiles under the mask that he wears still despite Tommy knowing his name, and despite that Tommy knows it isn’t out of distrust but out of habit, “You’re stronger than you know, don’t forget that.”

Then the door is being pushed open and the rush of the casino comes crashing into them as they walk out. Quackity turns down towards his office and Tommy turns towards the entrance and that is where they part.

Tommy weaves through the gamblers and he makes his way to the front doors, stepping out of the harshness of the artificial lights and into the gentle glow of the sunset. 

He heaved a breath into his lungs, feeling the way they expand against his chest, how it feels just a little easier than before.

The crowds surround him and Tommy tries his best to avoid them, weaving through groups and sticking to the outskirts. 

He pretends that he has to get home to help Tubbo and Ranboo move in, but as he travels, he knows deep down that they have probably already gotten everything in already.

Tommy is too late.

He pushes forwards anyways, a sliver of hope still resting inside of him. Maybe he can help them unpack, or make space in his already empty kitchen drawers, or just something.

The crowds thin and Tommy pushes onwards, wishing on the falling sun that he won’t be completely useless in the moving process.

Tommy might not get a second chance at a friendship like this. He can’t afford to screw it up. He just can’t.

The buildings become more domestic as the businesses turn into houses and eventually the houses turn into his apartment building.

He hops up the steps and pushes through the front door, brushing past the lobby and into the stairwell.

He follows the routine and the routine leads him to his front door. This is where the routine ends. There are voices on the other side. That has never happened before.

Tommy hopes it will happen for a long time after this.

He slides his key into the lock, twisting it and then pushing the door open gently. As he steps inside, the chatter slows to a halt and Tommy meets eyes with Tubbo and Ranboo who sit on the couch.

“Hey guys, sorry I’m home so late. I meant to be here to help you guys move in.”

He kicks his shoes off and walks over to them, expecting some kind of disappointment at his failures.

“It’s fine man, you had work.”

Tommy wasn’t expecting that. His mouth falls open in a way that makes him look very much like the fish from that earlier pond.

“I— well— are you sure it’s fine?”

And Tubbo nods. That’s that. It’s a done deal. They’re fine, they aren’t mad and the more Tommy thinks about it the more he wonders why he held this fear.

Of course they wouldn’t hate him for not helping them move in, only someone crazy would get made over something like that.

Tommy mentally berates himself. He needs to stop being so dumb.

“Oh, well I’m still sorry. Have you guys already had dinner?”

Both of them shake their heads and Tommy beams.

“Well I can DoorDash us something and then we can watch YouTube while we eat.”

Ranboo smiles, “That sounds nice.”

Tommy relaxes at the same rate that Ranboo comes out of their shell, it’s slow, but eventually it will all be normal.

“Epic! What do you guys want?”

And from there, the night is easy.

They get some random fast food chicken and Tubbo puts on a different guy from Grian’s videos whose username is GoodTimesWithScar. 

Tommy settles into the couch, letting the videos wash away his worries and allowing himself to rest for the first time today.

He forces himself to shelve the worries and anxieties for another day and he gives himself room to enjoy some bonding time with his new roommates.

Scar’s voice pulls him into a calm nature and pulls him closer towards sleep. He doesn’t even realize he is falling asleep, not as he watches the video through slow closing eyes.

And it isn’t until the TV has long been shut off and Ranboo and Tubbo finally find the courage to shake him that he realizes his fatal mistake.

“Mmh— sorry.”

The words are slurred as they spill from mouth in his sleep-ridden state.

“Let's just get you into your room.”

And Tommy remembers nodding and stumbling through his home and crawling into bed with his phone plugged in next to him.

He remembers the lights being shut off and the door being closed softly and then the rest of it is merely a fantasy.

Dreams of warmth and friendship and something that had been missing for far too long.

He dreams of a home, one that he thinks he has finally begun to find.

Chapter Text

Tommy is not running late today. 

If he tells himself that enough then it becomes a fact.

Trust.

Now, is he shoving people out of the way in order to get to work on time? For sure! He isn’t late though!!

He just likes to shove people, okay.

And because of his great hobbies, he makes it to work on time.

Not that he was concerned about that or anything.

However, now his concerns lie in something different. His heart pounds against his chest as he walks through the doors and past the security and into the elevator.

It’s a bad mixture of stress and his heart actually having to do work from his quick jog to work (for fun! It was a fun jog!). 

Either way, his heart pounds and his chest heaves and he can’t really tell if it is from his excursion to work or the daunting question that looms over him everytime he so much as thinks about work. 

As the elevator rises, Tommy begins to think it’s the latter.

He hasn’t made a decision and he doesn’t really plan to anytime soon, but he can’t help but worry that Aeolus is going to be mad or just everyone is going to be mad.

Someone is going to be mad.

Tommy can’t help but believe it. The thought wraps its arms around his brain, constricting his flow of thoughts and forcing it to be the sole survivor.

The elevator stops and Tommy forces himself to breathe. He has time, Aeolus said so, he won’t be mad.

He can’t be mad. He just can’t.

Tommy won’t know what he will do if he is mad. 

The doors slide open and Tommy slides out of it, steps slow and measured and that faux confidence he mastered so long ago slipping on as easy as putting on socks.

He enters the living area, shoulders back and head up, but his eyes give him away. They scan nervously, searching for Aeolus before landing on nothing.

Aeolus isn’t here yet. Tommy sighs. He is safe for now.

He moves to sit on the couch, not quite relaxing into it, but trying to look relaxed enough.

He really needs to invest in acting classes because he is sure he looks about as stiff as a board.

His phone is his only saving grace as he scrolls through the Twitter dot com and tries to ignore the way he is watching the elevator out of the corner of his eye.

What Tommy doesn’t expect though is for Dolos to walk through the metal doors instead.

Tommy whips his head up, eyes wide as he stares at Dolos.

“Hi?”

Dolos laughs as he walks into the living room with the confidence of someone who has fought the sun and won.

“Hey, Tommy!”

He sits and Tommy sits up straight as he looks at the hero.

The way the hero sits reveals nothing, he could be here to almost manipulate Tommy in a way with his deception to make a choice or he could be coming to take Tommy to train or he could just be here because it’s his floor.

Tommy’s imagination runs wild and the silence that encapsulates them feels never ending.

Luckily, or maybe unluckily depending on who you’re asking (and you’re asking Tommy so the answer is unluckily), Dolos speaks.

“How have you been Tommy?”

The look Tommy gives Dolos is absolutely filled with suspicion.

“Fine?”

Dolos tilts his head and the more Tommy looks at him the more Tommy thinks he looks like a cat hunting for prey.

“That sounds like a question.”

“Maybe it is one.”

Dolos hums at the answer, his eyes piercing into Tommy in a way that reads every piece of him, even the parts he has buried deep.

“You’re an interesting kid, Tommy.”

Tommy bristles, “Not a kid, loser.”

The laugh that escapes Dolos' mouth is followed by a suppressed flinch from Tommy.

“You know, I’ve been wondering about you.”

Tommy sinks into himself, the tone in Dolos’ voice wilting any confidence he pretends to have.

“Oh?”

His voice doesn’t waver as much as Tommy thought it would.

“Yeah. I’ve been wondering how exactly a boy as young as you just shows up in the hero tower, a boy as young as you comes in here trained and poised with a power strong enough to take down top heroes, how a boy like you rises from ashes and burns bright like the sun.”

Tommy pauses. Dolos thinks Tommy is suspicious, he doesn’t understand how Tommy exists.

There’s an underlying question in Dolos’ sentences, Tommy knows he wishes to know of Tommy’s past.

Tommy will not bend to his will.

“Aw, how cute you’re curious about me!”

Dolos looks at Tommy, his gaze harsh enough to cause a flower to wilt in the peak of Spring. 

“Then, I see this same kid outside of a major fight when all civilians were warned against going outside, but you were there.”

Tommy looks away from Dolos’ eyes, settling to look at the black screen of the TV that cannot give him the salvation he desires.

“So, tell me Tommy,” and the words he speaks compel Tommy to look at him. His eyes seem kind, his words sound soft, yet Tommy knows it’s all just deception.

“Why were you there that night? What is up with you?”

Tommy looks away from the rich brown eyes that are so deceptive. They force Tommy into a false sense of calm and make Tommy believe he can trust the hero.

He can’t. People aren’t to be trusted easily. Trust is valuable in a world like this, and Tommy really only has so much to give.

“I was just out Dolos. There’s nothing more to it.”

Dolos scoffs, “Don’t lie.”

And Tommy smiles, “I live in the area, you know that’s true. I was out, didn’t see the warning, got caught up in the aftermath.”

The brown eyes slice into his words, trying to pick apart the fallacies of the sickly sweet tale of innocence that Tommy spins.

“See, Tommy, the thing is I don’t believe that for one second. You aren’t as innocent as you say you are and I want to pick you apart and figure you out.”

Tommy looks straight into Dolos’ eyes, a challenge forming between them as Tommy steadies himself and rebuilds his shield of confidence. 

“Well, Dolos, that’s fine by me. We all have secrets to be uncovered, even you.”

Then, Tommy does what someone would call a “girlboss move.” He stands up and he leaves.

Dolos doesn’t move from his spot on the couch. He watches Tommy curiously and Tommy returns the favor by saluting Dolos goodbye as he steps into the elevator doors.

Tommy presses a random button and the doors close just as Tommy makes a move to flip Dolos off.

The doors slide shut just before he can really pull it off. Tommy thinks the message got across though.

He glances at the button he pressed, it’s for the fifth floor. He actually hasn’t gone to the fifth floor yet.

The elevator hurtles towards the mystery floor and comes to an abrupt stop before the doors slide open.

His eyes are met with a shining white floor and metal tables that line the walls. Gadgets hang on the walls and blueprints and stuff line the tables.

It’s messy, but it feels fairly organized in a way as well.

There are people rushing around in lab coats and Tommy watches in awe as they all just move and talk and tinker. 

Someone brushes past him and Tommy watches the way they rush into a room, typing something on their tablet.

It’s mesmerizing.

They’re all just so focused and it’s almost like Tommy is invisible to them as he peers into their livelihoods and their days.

Tommy walks further into the lab, steering clear of people and doing his best to not disturb anyone or anything.

He thinks he is doing a good job until his eye catches on a key that hangs from the wall. It stands out, it looks too ordinary for the place, too normal.

Now, because Tommy is staring at the key, trying to unlock the puzzle that has just formed in his head at the sight, Tommy runs right into one of the scientist lab people.

“I’m so so—“

Tommy’s eyes latch onto the man and the way his eyes crinkle and the kindness that rests in the crevices of his face.

“It’s no worries! You’re Tommy, yeah?”

Tommy looks at him with apprehension, scanning the man’s body for any signs of malice.

“Yeah, I am. Who are you?”

A chuckle slithers it’s way into his ears and Tommy feels the warmth that encompasses him at the noise.

“I’m Sam.”

Tommy tilts his head, studying the man before deciding that “Sam” suits him.

“It suits you.”

Sam smiles softly, “Does it?”

Tommy nods, “Yeah.”

A silence falls only for the briefest of moments before Sam snatched it away just as quickly as it came.

“What are you doing down here Tommy?”

Tommy walks past Sam and continues to look at the wall, while Sam tidies up his desk.

“I was making a dramatic exit.”

Sam stands up before leveling Tommy with a look that just expels confusion and honestly probably some disappointment.

“Do I want to know what that means?”

Tommy grins something devilish, “Nope!”

A sigh escapes the elders mouth and Tommy laughs a bit at it.

“So, what are you working on here?”

Tommy peeks over Sam’s shoulder, curiosity getting the best of him as he attempts to look at the papers on Sam’s desk.

Sam pushes Tommy away slightly with a smile, “Let’s go find Aeolus for you.”

Tommy frowns before nodding.

“Fineeeeeee.”

He makes sure to drag out the word just to be kind of petty.

Sam snorts before gently placing his hand on Tommy’s shoulder and leading him out of the lab.

Some people send them glances as they walk out and Tommy ignores them because he is just too cool like that.

They walk up to the elevator doors and Sam presses the button and they stand there awkwardly and wait for the elevator and when it opens Aeolus is staring at them.

“Hey!”

Aeolus blinks a bit before looking at Sam.

“Why do you have my child?”

Tommy goes to squawk about how he is not a child, but Sam starts talking.

“Your child found me.”

“Not a child,” Tommy mutters under his breath as he stands next to Adam and across from Aeolus in what must be one of the most awkward moments he has experienced.

“Why did Tommy find you?”

Sam shrugs, “Don’t know, something about a dramatic exit.”

Aeolus sighs and then looks at Tommy.

The best response Tommy can give is an awkward smile and a thumbs up before he slips into the elevator.

“Seems like it’s time to go!”

He slams his fingers on the close door button before pressing the button with the nine on it. He’s just too smooth.

Aeolus laughs as the doors close and Sam shakes his head silently.

“Mate, what were you doing down there?”

The question is tinged with leftover laughter that makes Tommy smile.

“I had to make my dramatic exit and somehow ended up on this floor.”

Aeolus shakes his head with a laugh, “Of course you did.”

Tommy aggressively shoves his head to the side to look at Aeolus, “What's that supposed to mean???”

Aeolus snorts, “You’re very dramatic, kid.”

Tommy looks back at the doors with a huff, “I’m not that dramatic.”

Tommy can hear the smile when Aeolus speaks next, “If you say so.”

The elevator rumbles to a halt.

“I do say so.”

The doors slide open and they step out only for Tommy to realize one major fact.

Dolos is still on the couch.

“God, don’t you have anything better to do?”

Dolos snaps his head towards the elevator and Aeolus snaps his head towards Tommy.

“No.”

Tommy sighs before looking at Aeolus, “Can we leave, I can’t afford to be in the presence of losers.”

Aeolus laughs and Tommy smiles sheepishly.

“No can do.”

Tommy frowns, “Why not?”

“I actually have to talk to Dolos.”

Tommy looks back at Dolos, “You have to talk to him ?”

Dolos speaks up again, “I am his teammate!”

“No one asked you.”

Dolos huffs before turning back to the TV.

Aeolus starts actually walking onto the floor and Tommy follows begrudgingly behind.

“Yes, Tommy, I do actually have to talk to Dolos.”

Tommy sighs, “That’s a bummer. You probably lose brain cells during those conversations.”

Dolos squawks about how he isn’t dumb and Tommy is the dumb one and a whole bunch of other stuff that Tommy ignores because he, quite frankly, does not care at all about anything Dolos says.

Aeolus ignores Tommy’s remark and also Dolos’ complaints, instead just walking fully into the living area and plopping down onto the couch.

Tommy begrudgingly follows behind before throwing himself as far as possible from Dolos while also leveling a glare at the man.

On the TV there’s some singing show playing and Tommy watches as some band takes the stage and begins their one and only shot on that stage to win over the hearts of the judges.

It’s weird. Tommy doesn’t know why, but it just is.

And he isn’t really talking about the show, because that’s fairly normal, but just right now.

Aeolus sits next to Dolos and they’re whispering to each other and the people are singing on the TV and Tommy has so many more choices than he has ever had before, but he has one really important one that he can’t quite figure out how to answer.

It’s weird: life, that is. Life is weird, it’s abnormal, this isn’t what Tommy is used to.

He’s training to be a hero, they want him to infiltrate the Pit, he has roommates and a mentor and whatever Dolos and Ares are becoming and he has people and options and his life just doesn’t feel so desolate anymore.

It isn’t just him and chaos anymore. His chaos weaves through the people that have chosen him and Tommy realizes that for once he isn’t so lonely.

When he makes a call, he isn’t answered by his echo.

And as Tommy watches Aeolus laugh and Dolos punch him lightly, Tommy realizes how alive he really feels.

Life doesn’t feel like it’s just passing in a breath; it doesn’t just feel like a moment to be forgotten. He aims to remember the days and he has memories to make and he feels more alive than he has since he was just a kid.

He hasn’t felt feelings like this since he was five and making friends at recess, since before life got complicated and everything crumbled beneath his fingers.

The dust of his life past languidly moving away from him in the wind, his fingers grasping desperately at the air as though there is a perspicacity to his movements, as though he could salvage the life that jumped from his grasp as easily as a dolphin slips through the ocean tide.

His life isn’t easy now, don’t get him wrong. He is still fighting to grasp the childhood that was whisked away from him with the speed and elegance of a cheetah on the prowl, but he is alive.

Blood rushes through him with vigor and he smiles more than he did before and he has choices and friends and he feels so alive, so human.

It’s Aeolus’ voice that pulls him from drowning in the sea of his thoughts that crash like waves during a storm.

“Hey, Tommy, what do you think about training your power today?”

Tommy grins in a way that makes him look akin to the Cheshire Cat at the inquiry.

“I would love to.”

Aeolus beams in a way that’s so outwardly that Tommy can almost taste the smile hiding beneath his mask.

“Perfect!”

Then Aeolus turns to Dolos and basically drags him up.

“Do I have to go P— Aeolus?”

Aeolus shakes his head in a way that screams: father.

“Yes, you know it would be good to see how your powers will work with his.”

Tommy tilts his head, “What? Are you scared?”

Dolos whips his head to look at Tommy, “No.”

And that is enough motivation to pull him off of the couch and towards the elevators.

Tommy smiles smugly as they walk down the hall, raising his hand up in the shape of an L to mock him.

Dolos huffs as they come to a stop in front of the elevator. Aeolus ignores them and presses the button, staring straight ahead as Dolos and Tommy stare at each other, trying to will someone to move if only to win a stupid stare off.

The elevator door slides open and Tommy somehow manages to step into the elevator without breaking eye contact.

Dolos, however, trips walking into the elevator and stumbles directly into the door frame.

Tommy doesn’t even bother to hide his laughter.

Aeolus just sighs before pulling Dolos inside and pressing the button for floor four.

The elevator lurches downward, causing Tommy’s laughter to bubble off as he breathes and focuses on the people around him.

This is fine!

Luckily, the elevator comes to a halt soon enough and Tommy can file off of it at a very normal rate that does not draw any suspicion.

Ever.

Aeolus and Dolos stroll off of the elevator next, and Tommy misses the glance they send each other as he continues onward.

“So, where are we gonna train today?”

Tommy turns back towards them with a dramatic flurry.

“I think we’ll just go into one of the training rooms. I have to try and see if anyone is willing to join us so you guys can practice your powers together, but you can just go into one and I’ll find you.”

Tommy nods before looking at Dolos expectantly.

Dolos pointedly avoids looking at Tommy and instead just walks into a room, leaving Tommy to scramble to follow him like a lost puppy.

Tommy jogs to catch up before walking step in step with Dolos as he picks a room to enter. 

The door slides open with the push of a button and Tommy steps inside leaving Dolos to lag behind as Tommy scans the walls.

He finds a staff on the walls and grabs it, testing the weight of it in his hands before putting it back up and looking over at Dolos.

“So, what exactly is your power anyways?”

Dolos lifts an eyebrow up at the question, “Don’t you already know?”

Tommy turns back to the wall, walking as he looks at the weapons and tools, “Obviously, but what are the specifics?”

“I can deceive people, mainly their perception of me. I can make myself seem friendly, I can make them believe they should trust me, and even, if I try really hard, I can make them see me differently.”

Tommy nods, soaking it in.

“Interesting. How much effort does it take to make them believe you are someone you aren’t?”

Dolos walks up next to where Tommy has stopped to glance at the various knives that sit on display.

“A lot, I can only do it for short periods of time and I can’t use it on big groups of people. Normally I just settle to make them feel like they can’t look me in my eyes or to misremember how I look or act.”

Tommy walks into the middle of the training room now, plopping down on the floor and staring at the ceiling.

Dolos comes and sits next to him; Tommy stifles a smile.

“That’s cool.”

He feels the way Dolos nods.

“What about your powers?”

Tommy looks towards Dolos before looking back up at the ceiling. There isn’t anything that interesting to look at, but it’s easy to just stare.

“I mean, it’s chaos. There’s not much to it. I just make people feel kind of disoriented, they can’t predict my movements, and overall I’m attracted to chaos and chaos is attracted to me.”

Dolos nods, “I guess I can see why Aeolus thinks our powers would work well together.”

Tommy hums, thinking about it a bit more.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. If we work together, your ability will cause people to be under the influence of chaos and my power will deceive them further until they are so disoriented that they can’t really do anything.”

And it makes sense. Their powers together should flourish with each other, adding to their abilities to create one that is totally unique.

“Huh, our powers are like brothers.”

He bumps his arm against Dolos as he sputters.

“What????”

Dolos sits up and Tommy just looks at him with a smile.

“I mean they work well together if we want them to, but they could clash and it’s kind of like brothers. Similar, but not the same.”

Dolos tilts his head, cogs turning in his brain as he uses what is probably his last brain cell to conjure up a response.

The universe, or maybe just Aeolus, has other plans for him.

That is because Aeolus comes strolling through the door and behind him is…someone Tommy doesn’t recognize.

Wow. Tommy really hasn’t interacted with anyone.

Aeolus seems to realize the fact that Tommy’s socialization skills are at a subzero level.

“This is Aimsey.”

“Hi, I’m Aimsey!”

Tommy nods, “I’m Tommy.”

Cool. He’s so good at this.

Aimsey smiles and this is one that Tommy can see because Aimsey made the excellent choice of using a mask that covers the eyes and not the mouth.

“I use all pronouns by the way.”

Tommy smiles, “That’s cool dude!”

And that settles that. Aimsey enters the room and Aeolus follows and then they all just stand around staring at each other until Aeolus decides that he should, in fact, say something.

“Aimsey has so graciously agreed to participate.”

Aimsey glances at Aeolus before looking at Tommy with a smile that spells trouble.

“I actually believe you bribed me.”

Aeolus looks at her, slapping their arm.

“Oh shut it. Anyways, Aimsey is here and you guys are going to figure out how to use your powers together!”

Tommy nods, “Okay then.”

Dolos tilts his head, “Are we just using our powers or what?”

“That’s for you guys to figure out!”

Then Aeolus swiftly walks out of the room.

“Oh.”

Aimsey laughs and Tommy looks at him and Dolos sighs and then they all just stand there.

“So what are we gonna do here boys?”

Aimsey is the one that kind of breaks the teetering silence that arrived after they finished laughing.

Tommy smiles, “I guess we just go.”

A glance at Dolos is all he needs to know it’s time.

Tommy glances at a window that he knows Aeolus is watching them through, throwing a coy smile in the general direction before reaching inside of him and unraveling the chaos that lies in waiting.

It reaches out slowly as he smiles at Aimsey. He feels the way it pokes at the energies in the room before Tommy redirects it towards Aimsey.

It honestly doesn’t take him much energy to do this. It’s as easy as breathing. 

Tommy looks over at Dolos, holding his power back briefly to confirm Dolos is doing his job.

Dolos looks at him and nods shortly and Tommy takes that as his sign.

His power seeps into Aimsey and Tommy watches as she slowly loses composure. 

It’s not noticeable enough on its own until afterwards when you ask a person, but with Dolos’ power in play the deceit layers onto the chaos and they make a perfect picture.

Neither of them bother to even fight Aimsey, knowing that with the confusion from both the chaos and the deceit that it would be pointless anyways.

The fight is unfair, they would win with ease.

It’s obvious by the way Aimsey currently stands trying to fight a wall of bows and arrows.

Tommy pulls his chaos back, leaving only the deceit behind.

“Ayo, Dolos.”

Dolos nods and does whatever he needs to do to pull his power back and within minutes Aimsey is back to the world of reality.

“Aimsey?”

It’s Dolos who speaks first whenever Aimsey seems all there again.

“Woah.”

Tommy smiles softly, “How do you feel?”

Aimsey looks at Tommy, “Bro, that was so weird. Like the world was funky.”

Dolos sits down, prompting everyone else to sit down as they chat.

“Okay Aimsey, you’ve felt my power before, how did it differ with Tommy’s in play as well.”

Aimsey sits for a moment, pondering over the question.

“I felt your power first, I could tell you were deceiving me, the world felt wrong but I couldn’t figure out why. Tommy’s power was slower, harder to notice. It almost molded itself to fit me in a way, if that makes sense?”

Tommy nods, he knows that his chaos isn’t the same for everyone, he doesn’t control what it does, just when it comes and who it goes to. 

Dolos looks at Tommy for a further explanation.

“My power isn’t like yours where I can choose what happens, I can only control where and when it goes.”

Dolos nods, “Hm, makes sense. Continue Aimsey.”

“Okay, um, so I guess once Tommy’s power had settled, I only knew it was there because I could no longer pick out what was real and what was a false reality. I was very discombobulated if you feel me.”

A hum sounds from Dolos and Tommy tilts his head.

“That’s kind of cool.”

Aimsey nods, “It was really weird, I don’t even know how to explain it, but I know if we had to fight I would have lost.”

Tommy laughs, “Oh definitely, you were ready to fight the bows hanging on that wall over there.”

Laughter sounds through the air, bubbling up and bursting, “There’s no way man.”

Tommy smiles, “Yes, way.”

Dolos snorts and then the doors slide open again, Aeolus sauntering in as the laughter dies.

“That was good!”

Tommy laughs, “That is such a dad thing to say.”

Aeolus shakes his head at Tommy’s words, “No it isn’t.”

Dolos decides now is the time to pipe in, “Oh it definitely is.”

Aimsey nods along and it’s just nice as they all chat and Aimsey talks more about how it felt and Aeolus talks about the possibilities and Dolos makes quips and adds information.

Tommy doesn’t really have to talk all that much, he can just sit back and listen and sometimes he has to say something, but most times he doesn’t.

They hang out there for a bit, Tommy doesn’t actually know how long, but eventually they make the group decision that food is a necessity.

Tommy’s stomach grumbles quietly and Dolos makes fun of him and overall it’s a good experience. He might even go as far to say that he hates Dolos slightly less, if he ignores the whole interrogation thing that happened earlier. 

As a collective bunch, they poke fun at each other and Tommy can feel the vibrant energy that just radiates off of them as they walk towards the cafeteria area.

They do have to get into the elevator and go to the first floor and maneuver their way around that to get to the eating area, but Tommy finds that his chest doesn’t seize when he enters the elevator.

He barely even notices that he’s in there. Aimsey talks to him and makes him laugh so hard that he forgets he is on an elevator until the doors slide open and they all must exit.

He missed this kind of thing more than he realized. Just laughing and making dumb jokes and talking about important things and eventually unimportant things.

He missed the leisureliness of life. 

The cafeteria is semi-full when they enter. The noise in there isn’t overwhelming and that’s something Tommy is glad about.

People murmur softly around them in groups and as they walk by occasionally Aeolus or Dolos or Aimsey will stop and say a quick, “Hello,” to someone before continuing on toward the lunch line.

As they step into the line, Tommy very quickly realizes that this cafeteria is just like the ones at school, but way nicer.

They have actual food here!

Let’s just say this is way nicer than most places Tommy has been to get free lunch!

He will not elaborate on that either.

Tommy squints as he reads the digital menu that sits at the beginning of the line. The options are basic, but Tommy just knows they are going to be good regardless.

He winds up choosing chicken tenders. You can never go wrong with chicken tenders.

(Anybody who says otherwise is wrong and you should refer them to the statement above.)

Dolos judges him profusely as he yoinks a thing of Jello as well, but Tommy actually, fun fact, does not care about what Dolos thinks!

Especially considering the man got one of those fried fish things. Who even gets those?????

Eventually they wind up at some table where Tommy and Aimsey happily eat their food whilst Dolos and Aeolus realize the fatal flaw in this plan.

Tommy looks at them, chicken tender in his hand, “I can leave if y’all wanna eat.”

Aeolus stares at Tommy, “What?”

Tommy blinks.

“I can leave so you can take off your masks and eat.”

“Oh.”

Tommy tilts his head. This is a very odd conversation.

“Sooooo… do you want me to leave or?”

Dolos cuts in all of the sudden, “Yes, actually.”

Aeolus punches Dolos in the arm, “No! You can stay.”

Tommy glances between them before looking at Aimsey who just shrugs before taking a bite of his burger.

“I’ll just go…”

Then as quickly as possible Tommy scoops up his food and dashes out of there, tray and all.

It isn’t until he is standing in the middle of the hallway with a half eaten tray that Tommy realizes he has nowhere to go.

That is how he winds up back on the SBI floor, eating his food while he scrolls through the channels on the TV.

Then Ares walks through the elevator doors.

Tommy looks up, the empty tray sitting in his lap and some random reality TV show is playing. 

Ares snorts at the scene, “You know normally they leave the trays in the cafeteria.”

Tommy gives an awkward sort of smile, “Rules are meant to be broken.”

He sets the tray down on the table with a sigh as Ares walks into the room fully. Now that he is actually standing in the room, Tommy sees that he is actually in full uniform.

Now, if you’re asking Tommy, then he is going to say that he thinks Ares’ costume is really over the top.

Who needs a full velvet cape????

Besides that, Tommy had no grievances with Ares, especially after he made popcorn for them.

Ares goes into the bedroom and Tommy decides that obviously they aren’t going to have a conversation today. 

That’s perfectly fine by him! 

He looks at the show playing on the screen, forcing himself to pay attention until he can figure out something better to do with his life.

Ares comes back out in sweatpants, his own merch hoodie, and a casual mask that most of the heroes wear when with Tommy.

He walks into the kitchen area, plopping a seat at one of the island stools before grabbing some kind of newspaper out of his pocket and a pen from literally nowhere.

Tommy watches him with mute fascination and very loud confusion.

“What are you doing?”

Ares grunts, “A crossword.”

Tommy frowns, “Oh.”

Tommy turns back to the TV, trying to ignore the scratching of a pen on paper and the extra presence in the room.

He fails miserably at that.

Tommy turns around, glancing back at Ares before making a very impulsive decision.

He stands.

Ares sends him a kind of confused glance before turning back to the crossword puzzle.

Tommy, very sneakily, makes his way into the kitchen where he grabs himself a glass of water while trying to look as unsuspicious as humanly possible.

He thinks he definitely pulls it off.

He takes his glass and moseys on behind Ares where he, again very sneakily, peaks over his shoulder.

Ares grunts, “What are you doing kid?”

Tommy bristles, “Nothing!”

Silence falls between them as Tommy continues trying to read the clues.

“Also not a kid!”

Ares shakes his head and then turns back to his crossword puzzle.

“Three across is penis.”

A sigh sounds from Ares, “Tommy, there isn’t even a three across on this puzzle.”

“Oh. Was I close?”

Tommy slides into a stool as he says it, a wide grin on his face as he looks at Ares.

“Well, considering you gave an answer when there wasn’t a question, I’ll have to say no.”

“Darn. Maybe next time, yeah?”

He tilts his head as he says the word, a mischievous grin spread across his face. Ares looks at him before snorting and shaking his head softly.

“Maybe next time, kid.”

Tommy punches the hero softly, “Not a kid, man!”

Ares goes back to the crossword, methodically going down the options and quickly filling out the ones he knows for sure and pausing on the ones he doesn’t before jotting down ideas to the side of the clue.

Tommy watches in awe, he was never a big crossword guy, but it’s kind of cool when other people do it.

Maybe that’s just how things are when you watch someone do something they’re good at, but either way Tommy finds that he isn’t that bored watching Ares.

And it’s kind of fun yelling out absurd answers and sometimes actually good answers that make Ares do a double take.

“Fifteen down is racecar right?”

Ares looks at Tommy, ready to quip back with a dry response about his idiocy.

“No— wait. Yeah it is.”

Tommy practically jumps out of his chair.

“Really?”

Ares nods, “Yeah kid.”

Tommy beans and Ares looks at him with a look in his eyes that Tommy cannot really explain.

Then the elevator doors slide open and Aeolus and Dolos walk in. Tommy sighs, scooting away from Ares and allowing him the space to actually do his crossword in peace.

Dolos glances between the two of them before mumbling something to Aeolus and going into the bedroom.

Tommy watches him curiously. Dolos is odd in a way that irks Tommy, he can’t figure him out, he doesn’t know what he wants from Tommy.

The man disappears behind the door and Tommy muffles his sigh as he looks back at Ares.

The guy is back to do his crossword puzzle, which means Tommy is left to just talk to Aeolus.

“How was your lunch?”

Aeolus tilts his head, “It was good.”

Silence.

Yeah, Tommy really doesn’t know what to do.

“Do we need to do more training or anything today?”

A furrow of Aeolus’ eyebrows is all Tommy needs to see before the answer comes out, “Not really…”

Tommy nods, “So whats the plan for the rest of the day?”

“You could probably just go home, continue to think about your decision, rest, you know all the normal things people do I guess.”

There’s warmth in the statement as the words tumble out of the older man’s mouth.

Ares snorts from where he sits, “Like you would know about what normal people do.”

Aeolus whips his head to look over at Ares, “I know what normal people do!”

Without missing a beat Ares quips back, “You’ve been a hero for basically your whole life, you don’t know what normal people do, especially not normal eighteen year olds.”

Aeolus’ shoulders drop, “Okay, maybe I don’t know.”

Tommy tilts his head, “When did you become a hero?”

Aeolus jumps, almost like he forgot Tommy was there in the first place.

“Oh, I practically grew up training to be a hero. My parents worked in the tower so when I developed powers it was really the only option.”

“Oh.”

Tommy thinks for a moment before talking once more.

“Do you like being a hero?”

“Of course I do.”

“No, but like, do you like it because its what you’ve always done or do you like it because you find a passion in it?”

Aeolus tilts his head and both him and Ares have a look in their eyes that Tommy can’t quite decipher.

Dolos walks out, glancing between all of them, “Am I disturbing something?”

Tommy shakes his head, “Nah, I was just leaving.”

He turns around and basically books it out of there.

Quiet chatter can be heard as soon as he leaves and he can only assume they’re talking about him.

He can pretend it doesn’t hurt.

The elevator doors chime open, washing out the noise of their voices that don’t quite carry all the way to his ears.

The doors slide close and he takes a deep breath.

Today is going…fine.

Yeah. It’s fine.

He figures he can just go home and lay around and wait for Tubbo and Ranboo to come home from wherever they work and everything will be great.

He thinks about Aeolus though, how he mentioned giving him the time off to think.

It almost makes him feel guilty that he hasn’t thrown a decision back at them yet, even if it’s only been a day.

But, he can’t help it.

He isn’t supplying an answer fast enough, and he knows nobody could feasibly make this choice so quickly.

Yet, he still thinks he can defy gravity and make an impossible choice in an impossibly short amount of time.

The doors slide open and Tommy steps out cautiously, unbridled fear coursing through his brain. He’s scared, but he doesn’t quite know what it is that is making his heart beat out of his chest.

As he walks, he realizes it’s more than just one thing.

It’s the mission and disappointment and Dolos and his roommates and just waiting for it all to come collapsing down on him.

It’s suffocating, the way the fear just blankets him.

It’s crazy to him that living can be so scary, that there’s so many unknowns, that nothing is guaranteed. He isn’t used to this, he isn’t used to the fear that comes running after freedom.

His footsteps join the symphony of noise in the lobby, and he lets the waves of sound push him out the door and away from his thoughts.

The streets aren’t necessarily busy, but he isn’t alone. 

That’s what he needs right now. He needs the push of a person behind him and the quiet conversations that fill a busy sidewalk and the rush of cars as they zoom down the street.

He needs something to snuff out his thoughts, to snuff out his fear.

His motions are careless as he walks down the road, slowly making his way towards his apartment. He knows there’s a bus that runs at this time, but he can’t be bothered to catch it.

Not when his thoughts are following him so closely.

He tries to refocus himself, to take his mind off of the world.

It’s hard. He doesn’t know what to do, what to think of, who to be.

His legs begin to ache as he walks, but he can’t find the strength to stop and breathe. He’s almost afraid of what will happen if he does.

Instead, he keeps walking. His apartment has to be close, his sanctuary, his home, his one safe place, it has to be close.

His eyes scan street signs, creating a mental map as he turns down another road. Another left and then straight for two blocks before making a right and then he should be on his road.

And that’s what he does, he takes a left and goes straight for two blocks and then takes a right. His apartment building stands, unassuming, among the rest of the buildings that line the street and Tommy smiles as he walks up to it.

He’s home.

He walks into the building and up the stairs and to his door and when he opens it, he finally lets himself relax.

This is the one place where he can breathe, where freedom doesn’t feel so suffocating, where he doesn’t feel the pressure of life as it bears down upon him like the sun on a relentlessly hot summer day.

Music is playing softly throughout the apartment and Tommy pauses at the smell of something cooking. He kicks off his shoes and looks towards the kitchen, surprised to find Ranboo standing next to the stove.

“What are you cooking?”

Ranboo glances up, smiling softly before responding. “Just some spaghetti, it’s one of the few things I know how to make well and I figured it would be nice to make us all some dinner.”

Tommy smiles back at him, “That sounds wonderful. Is Tubbo home?”

Ranboo shakes his head, “Nope, he doesn’t get off for another thirty minutes.”

Tommy nods before going to his room to change out of his work clothes and into something cozier, like his Spider-Man pajamas.

He walks back out, watching the way Ranboo hand makes the spaghetti sauce. He hops onto the counter to watch the way he cooks and overall it’s just peaceful and calm and nice.

“What does Tubbo do for work?”

Ranboo is straining the noodles when Tommy breaks their comfortable silence.

“He is an apprentice at some auto shop a few blocks down, he helps fix cars and stuff.”

Tommy nods along, “That’s pretty cool.”

Ranboo hums, “Yeah, Tubbo loves technology and stuff, but this is the closest he could get without a formal degree.”

“Why didn’t he get a degree?”

“Life.”

Tommy frowns, “Oh.”

“Yeah, it happens to the best of us.”

“What did you want to be? You know, before the whole life thing?”

Ranboo frowns as he pours the noodles onto three different plates. 

“I had always dreamed of being a teacher.”

“You would be a good teacher.”

A smile, it’s tender and soft, “Thank you.”

A silence falls for a brief moment while Ranboo stirs the sauce as it simmers in the pot.

“What did you want to be before all the life things?”

Tommy frowns, furrowing his eyebrows at the question. What did he want to be? He doesn’t even know, he never thought about his future much before now, he didn’t really have one before now.

“I don’t know.”

“You had to have had something.”

Tommy shrugs his shoulders, “I didn’t have much time to think of the future, I had to focus on the present.”

“That’s a shame.”

“Yeah.”

And then the silence falls and Tommy is left with his thoughts. He is left thinking about the money he has in savings, the stuff he hid away slowly in case he needed to run or hide, he thinks about his growing paychecks as an up and coming hero.

He thinks about all the dreams that never got to enter the real world.

“You know,” his words are wistful and cautious as they enter the quiet air of the kitchen, “I could always pay for you guys to go to school. I have the money.”

Ranboo whips his head up, an alarmed look slapped across his face, “What?”

“I said I could—“

“No, I heard you the first time!”

“Then why’d you say what!”

“Because I’m confused!”

Ranboo pulls the sauce off the burner at the same time that Tubbo comes walking down the stairs.

“Like I said, I can pay for it!”

Tubbo kicks off his shoes, “Pay for what?”

“For you guys to go to school!”

“What?????”

“Why is this so confusing for you guys?”

Ranboo sighs, “Tommy we just can’t let you do that.”

“But why?”

Tubbo butts in this time, “Because it’s expensive and we can’t be a burden like that on you.”

“But I’m offering! I swear I can afford it, like fairly easily.”

Ranboo looks skeptical, “How though?”

“I have a savings fund and also my job pays pretty well, well enough that you could both go to a community or online college and get degrees to pursue your passions.”

“But what about your passions?”

“Tubbo, my passions are long forgotten, I have new ones and new goals and I don’t need this money or a degree to reach them.”

“But you can’t just pay for us to go to school!”

Ranboo seems very distraught as they pour the spaghetti sauce onto the three plates, but Tommy ignores that.

“Yeah, I can!”

Tubbo sighs, “We don’t want you to.”

Tommy’s face falls. He doesn’t understand why. Sure, he barely knows them, but he wants to help his roommate, is that wrong?”

“Why?”

Ranboo grabs his plate and moves to sit at the island.

Tommy moves to grab a plate and fork as well while Tubbo responds.

“Because, we don’t want to be in debt to you or anything. We don’t want to have to rely on a practical stranger, no offense.”

Tommy slides into one of the chairs at the island, frowning at the words.

“Oh. I just want to help though, I don’t want anything in return.”

Ranboo puts his fork down as Tubbo grabs his plate and makes his way over, “It’s not that we don’t want your help, or that we don’t appreciate it, it’s just that we aren’t used to people offering anything without wanting anything in return.”

And that is something Tommy understands. He may not understand how friends work or roommates or just people, but he gets that.

He knows that people are selfish and that they do things for their own gain. He never wants to be that though, he never wants to step on other people in order to raise himself up.

“I— yeah I get that, but just… will you think about it?”

And he looks at them, hopeful eyes as he stares at two people who have already done so much for him in so little time.

“Yeah, yeah, we’ll think about it.”

And that’s all Tommy needs. 

He just needed them to say they would consider it, to consider his motives, to consider his attempts to build a friendship.

“Okay,” he smiles as he says the word, it’s tender and it reaches out softly to try and construct a new relationship with these people who have stumbled into his life. “Thank you.”

Ranboo smiles back at him, spaghetti sauce all over his face, “Thank you.”

Tubbo swats Ranboo, “Wipe your face, you look dumb.”

Tommy watches as the two interact: it’s glaringly obvious that they have known each other for a long time. It’s obvious in the way they joke around and push each other and bicker like two people who have been married for half a century.

It’s obvious in the way Tommy has never had anything like that. It’s obvious in the way he aches for a relationship just like that, for people that are undeniably his and he is undeniably theirs.

He hopes one day they can be his people. Maybe not today, probably not tomorrow, and almost certainly not in the foreseeable future.

But, one day.

One day is good enough for him.

They eat their food and they laugh and they just get to know each other. 

It’s homely: the way their voices fill the apartment.

It’s warm: the way the food settles in their stomachs as they laugh together.

It’s different: the way that they just kind of click together, like pieces of the same puzzle.

And eventually they part ways, Tommy goes into his room and Tubbo and Ranboo go to theirs, leaving the apartment to fall into solemn silence.

The silence washes over Tommy, bringing a rush of calm before it reveals the swirling storm of thoughts that had hidden behind the noise.

He had almost forgotten about it all, about the conversation with Dolos and the question that looms over him like the blade of a guillotine.

Tommy flops onto his bed face first.

Life is hard.

That’s his verdict of the day. 

He rolls over to stare at his ceiling, sighing into the quiet air as he contemplates all his life decisions.

The Pit.

Yeah. That’s an issue. 

It’s been an issue. Tommy knows this, everyone else knows this. The issue, right now, is that Tommy has to decide how he wants to deal with this.

He doesn’t want to decide.

So, he simply decides he won’t do that today!

Simple solution!

He’s so good at decisions!!!!!

Tommy sits up now that he has simply decided that all his issues are not issues for today and makes the choice to get ready for bed now.

He brushes his teeth and he throws on the same pajamas that he wore the night before and he thinks about his breakfast for tomorrow (that’s very important) and then he hops into bed, barring the near mental breakdown.

Overall, a pretty good night!

You know, he went home and then got dinner made for him and then offered to pay for his roommates to go to college and then told himself that he wasn’t allowed to have a mental breakdown and now he’s here!

Yeah! That’s a good night!

Tommy opens his phone, scrolling through YouTube before settling on playing a video of some guy playing sudoku.

He has a nice voice. Don’t judge him.

His phone is then set on his nightstand, the video playing softly throughout the room.

Tommy dreams of chains and blood that night.

Chapter Text

Tommy is sweating when he wakes up.

His mind still flashing with the images that his subconscious conjured up.

Blood. So much blood.

He breathes. It wasn’t real.

He tried to run, but he couldn’t. They wouldn’t let him.

It wasn’t real. He knows that.

He glances down at his wrists.

Chains bind him in place. A person stands in the doorway, their shadow looming towards him.

He’s fine. He’s okay. It’s not real. 

He ducks, blood is dripping down his face.

He walks into his bathroom, flicking the light switch on.

His breaths are ragged as he tries to breathe. It’s all too hard.

His hands rest on the counter and he looks up at himself in the mirror.

There is blood on his hands. They shake as he looks at them.

His eyes are sunken in, he doesn’t look like he’s slept. 

He splashed water onto his face, trying to wash away the images that plague his mind.

An explosion sounds, chaos erupts.

He scrubs his hands for blood that won’t be there.

Tommy dries his hands on the towel, giving himself one last glance before walking back into his room to grab his phone.

He glances at the time, wincing when he realizes how little time he has.

His limbs still feel heavy, but he isn’t tired. Everytime he closes his eyes he sees it all again.

Tommy throws on a pair of clothes that looks nice enough and he brushes his teeth, carefully avoiding looking at himself.

When he enters the living area, Tubbo sits on the couch eating a bowl of cereal.

“Hey.”

Tubbo glances up, a brief look of concern flashing over his features before he covers it up, “Hey Tommy.”

Tommy nods and then grabs his keys and opens the doors, “Have a good day Tubbo.”

There’s a moment of hesitation before Tubbo responds, “You too, Tommy.”

Tommy shuts the door behind him, leaving Tubbo behind and attempting to leave his nightmare behind as well.

His footsteps echo through the stairwell, and for once he wishes it wasn’t so quiet in there.

Footsteps pound through the room. He needs to hide.

He shakes the memory from his mind.

He’s fine.

He pushes through the door at the bottom of the stairwell and into the lobby of his apartment, rushing to get outside, to feel the wind brushing through his hair.

His hands push against the glass and he relishes in the breeze that hits him the moment the door cracks open.

It’s real. This is real.

His feet hit the pavement with a thud and he tries to let himself breathe with the wind. He has to be fine. He can’t show this kind of weakness.

A left and then a right, another explosion shakes the ground.

He takes a left.

This is all fine.

That’s what he tells himself as he walks to work, that’s what he tells himself when the security guards pat him down, that’s what he tells himself when he elects to walk up the nine flights of stairs to SBI’s floor.

It’s fine.

He just— he hasn’t had a nightmare like that in a long time. It’s fine though, he can cope. He did before, he will now.

His legs burn as he walks up the stairs.

It’s so hot. The fire scorches him.

His chest heaves in air as he pushes himself upwards.

He can’t breathe, there isn’t enough space. He needs to leave.

Tommy ignores the nightmare that plagued him, that weighs down his bones, instead he focuses on the burn and the ache and his need to get to work.

He tells himself that he could take the elevator, but this is just endurance and exercise. He tells himself that he’s gotten better and that tight spaces don’t scare him. 

He tells himself that the nightmare didn’t set him back. It didn’t. He’s strong. He’s stronger than his past. He survived for a reason.

He trudged past floor eight. Voices sound from the other side; he keeps moving.

This is fine.

One more flight.

He’s so close.

He’s so close. The door is right there. He just has to—

Tommy pushes open the door for the stairwell, finding himself in a hallway he had yet to explore on the SBI floor.

The elevator leads straight into the living room, but the stairs lead right into a service hallway behind the walls of their floor. 

Tommy walks down the hall, listening closely to figure out where exactly he is. The hallway is vast and empty, and quite large. It’s hidden well, considering Tommy didn’t know it was there, and he is well aware of the fact that most people don’t take the stairs unless absolutely necessary.

This is an escape route.

The entrance to the stairwell on the first floor is hidden well and Tommy only knew to find it because he knew he would need them one day.

Today was the day.

His footsteps echo against the walls, but he ignores the silence. He walks down the hallway, looking at the various doors. 

His mind works to figure it all out, to determine which doors lead where.

Based on the placement of the stairs, he can determine that he is probably near the back, presumably the area he has never entered: the area past the bedroom.

He doesn’t go in that bedroom ever, but he knows there is more to the floor. The building is too large for such a small floor.

Tommy is now aware that some of it is taken up by this hallway that seemingly has a door that leads to each room that can be locked.

Each of the offices and the bedroom and whatever lies behind it.

Tommy walks past the door that must lead to that room though, he can’t bring himself to go in. He doesn’t know why he can’t, maybe it’s a guilt thing or a fear thing. There’s no telling.

Anything could be back there, their privacy is behind there. He’s never been invited back there and therefore he will never go in.

Privacy is something everyone deserves.

They burst into his room, the door never meant anything anyways.

He knows that better than anyone. He continues to walk until he hears voices through the walls and that’s when he decides he must be closer to the offices.

“Where is Tommy? He’s usually not this late.”

Tommy winces, he didn’t really consider how late he was currently.

Dolos is the one that chimes in after Aeolus’ statement, “Maybe he got lost.”

“Don’t be dumb, I’m worried about him.”

Tommy furrows his eyebrows as he begins to walk away towards the closest door.

“Why are you worried about him?”

Tommy pauses, he knows he shouldn’t eavesdrop, but it’s about him so it’s fine…probably.

“He’s one of us Wil.”

Wait. Tommy shouldn’t have heard that. It wasn’t a full name, probably, but he shouldn’t have heard that. They didn’t want him to. It wasn’t his time.

He basically runs towards the door, trying to convince himself that he just misheard that sentence because he was listening through a wall.

Yeah. That’s what happened. He doesn’t know anything about them at all and that’s fine! That’s great! Yeah!

He turns the knob on the door, sending a silent prayer to the God of Chaos that this thing will open.

It does.

He sends his thanks back because he might not believe in a lot, but chaos has always had his back.

When he shuts the door, he takes a moment to look around.

He’s in one of the offices. He doesn’t stick around to figure out whose.

He bursts out the door and stands in the hallway. 

Aeolus and Dolos both turn and look at him.

“Tommy????”

“Hey, I took the stairs. Did you know you got a secret hallway back there?”

Aeolus nods slowly, “Yeah, I did.”

Dolos tilts his head, “Why did you take the stairs though?”

Tommy swallows down the fear, “I wanted to.”

“That’s weird, most people don’t want to climb nine flights of stairs.”

“Well, I did,” he snaps.

He doesn’t want to be judged for this, he doesn’t want Dolos to make fun of him for this. Anything but this.

“I’m just saying—“

“Dolos, cut it out.”

Aeolus’ voice is sharp as it cuts through the air, slicing Dolos’ sentence in half with the effectiveness of a butcher's knife through a chicken's head.

“I’m just saying—“

“No. Look at him.”

And Dolos looks at him. 

His eyes scan Tommy. Up and down, side to side, a scrutinizing glare. 

Tommy has half the mind to wither under it.

“What about him?”

“Dolos.”

“Okay, whatever.”

And Dolos walks away, turning into the kitchen area.

Aeolus walks closer.

“Are you okay?”

Tommy nods, “Fine.”

Aeolus sighs, but Tommy can tell he isn’t going to push: he never does. It’s the nice thing about working with him. He believes in waiting for Tommy to come to him.

Tommy will forever appreciate that.

Aeolus nods and then walks away and Tommy follows him. 

Dolos resides in the kitchen, sitting on his phone with a casualty that almost shocks Tommy.

“Have you eaten today Tommy?”

Tommy goes to say, “Yes,” but his stomach answers for him with a very audible growl.

“No….”

Aeolus nods, “Yeah, I figured as much.”

Aeolus moves easily around the kitchen, cooking up something simple for Tommy while Tommy sits there and just kind of stares at him.

He doesn’t really know what else to do because he is definitely not going to strike up a conversation with Dolos.

Sadly, Dolos didn’t get this memo.

“So, what’s up with you?”

He couldn’t save them.

“Nothing.”

“No, somethings wrong. Why don’t you just tell us?”

Voices sound, but he doesn’t know where they’re from.

“It’s not for you to know.”

Tommy doesn’t want to think about it, he doesn’t want to remember.

“Oh, come on. Don’t be a baby.”

Tommy snaps his head up, “I said it isn’t for you.”

He can’t escape, every door leads him nowhere.

Dolos smiles, “ Why don’t you tell me Tommy?”

And Tommy can feel the power, he can feel the deception in the phrase. He knows it isn’t saccharine and sweet like honey.

He knows that it doesn’t have good intentions.

He enables his chaos. It may not seem helpful in this situation, but it has a mind of its own, chaos always knows how to help when it can.

The tendrils of chaos reach out, latching onto Dolos.

“How about no?”

They grip Dolos, probing around and trying to figure out just how to help Tommy.

Dolos growls quietly, “ Tell me. ”

They push and pull and eventually they retreat slowly.

Tommy smiles. Chaos always prevails.

“No.”

Aeolus turns around, “Dolos do you want anything?”

Chaos is more predictable than people think. Tommy knows this tale, he knows that Dolos is confused, he doesn’t know what to expect. 

“No, I was just asking Tommy about his day.”

Tommy smiles, “Yeah, he wanted to know about my walk here.”

Dolos tilts his head, confusion obvious in his features.

“Yeah, I was.”

Tommy knows it worked and for that he is grateful for the chaos that lives within him.

Aeolus tilts his head, a knowing look in his eyes.

“Whatever you say.”

The smile is obvious in his tone.

He slides a plate of eggs and toast towards Tommy, “Here you go.”

“Thank you.”

Tommy takes a bite of his toast as he watches Dolos and Aeolus. There’s not anything in particular that he is searching for, but he watches regardless.

The way they interact is familiar, but not in a way that Tommy can identify. They joke around and they act like how you would expect two people of a team to act, but there’s more to it.

They just seem to act in a way that’s different from people on a team. They are closer than that. 

Tommy knows he is probably dissecting it all too much, but he can’t help but latch onto this weird feeling.

He eats his food, continuing to just watch them.

“Have you had your check-up yet?”

Tommy tilts his head as he shovels egg into his mouth.

“No…”

“Dolos. You know you have to get on that.”

Dolos glances at Tommy, “Can we have this conversation another time?”

Aeolus looks at Tommy and nods, “Yeah, sure.”

Tommy looks back down. This is fine!

He decides very suddenly that he is done with his food.

“Thanks for the meal, I’m just gonna go train now!”

And then he runs away.

What can he say, he’s just very responsible like that.

It isn’t until he is in the elevator that he recalls the exact reason that he didn’t take it this morning.

He can’t breathe. He can’t— it’s so small. He can’t—

He slams his finger on the button for the fourth floor and then promptly prays that this elevator will just go down.

It does go down.

Then it stops.

That is…not good.

Yeah. This is really not good.

Tommy tries pressing some of the buttons, blanching when he realizes none of them will open the doors or make the elevator move.

This is fine.

Yeah.

He presses the button that calls the technician.

This is so okay.

This is great.

He also presses that alarm button.

Because he really does not fancy being here for a long time.

The bell rings above him and he just really hopes that someone comes.

If he had to guess he is probably around floor 6 or 7 which is…unideal, but it could be worse.

He knows people on those floors which is good and this is good.

“Hello?”

Tommy jumps at the voice, “Hey.”

“My name is Eleanor and I am here to help you.”

Tommy nods despite knowing that she won’t be able to see him.

“We have a technician on the way, do you know what floor you are around?”

“I think floor 6 or 7.”

Eleanor hums before typing something, “And how many people are in the elevator?”

“Just me.”

He’s alone and it’s so dark and quiet and—

“Okay, just stay calm sir.”

“Tommy. Call— call me Tommy.”

“You’ll be okay Tommy.”

Tommy nods, yeah. This is fine.

“Thanks.”

“Just stay there Tommy.”

“If I could go anywhere I would.”

He laughs bitterly.

His thoughts feel so loud that he almost wonders if they could echo off the metal walls that surround him.

Tommy tries to keep his breathing even. He does nobody any good if he is panicking.

He refuses to panic.

He is better than that.

He breathes in and then out. 

“How long do you think I’ll be in here?”

“No longer than 30 minutes.”

Okay. He can do that. He can survive 30 measly minutes.

He’s strong. He’s brave. He can do this.

“Okay. Thanks.”

Yeah. He can do this.

A silence falls over the elevator. Tommy listens to the way his breaths bounce off the walls.

He tries not to let that rattle him.

He closes his eyes, head leaning against the cool metal.

This is okay.

The metal is scorching when he grips it, his hand releases it.

The metal is cool. It’s cold. It’s not hot.

This is okay.

He breathes. 

The air catches in his throat but he forces it out anyways.

In and out. 

He is fine.

“A technician should be there shortly.”

Tommy nods. He knows she can’t see him, but he is afraid of what will happen if he speaks.

In and out.

Inhale and exhale.

He has this.

Someone knocks softly.

“Tommy?”

Tommy doesn’t recognize the voice.

“Hi, I’m Danny. I’m a technician and I’m here to help you out and get you out of there.”

He breathes and then he forces himself to find the strength to speak.

“Okay.”

Tommy listens as the man attempts to pry the doors open.

He breathes.

“How are you doing?”

“Fine.”

The man hums.

“Okay, I almost have the doors open. Luckily for you, the elevator stopped pretty close to the sixth floor so you should be able to just hop out once I get through these doors.”

That’s good. That sounds good.

“Okay.”

He breathes. 

The way he sucks air into his lungs is primal, it’s ragged, it’s hard.

He can do this.

He listens to the way the metal grates. He listens to it like it’s an answer to his prayers. He puts his faith into the sounds of Danny working the doors open.

He has to. It’s the only thing keeping him sane, keeping him breathing.

Tommy puts all his hope into one man. He puts his faith into someone he doesn’t know because he needs to put his faith somewhere. 

It’s childish, but he just has to.

He prays that someone will save him. He needs someone to save him.

Faith is a dangerous thing: people play with it when they know you have it. Tommy knows this.

He still has faith though.

They laugh at him as he rounds the corner. He was never going to be fast enough.

Tommy watches with bated breath as the elevator doors slowly open.

This is it.

He breathes. 

Danny slowly cranks the door open, careful to pry open a space just big enough.

As he does so Tommy realizes that he was right. He’s just slightly above the sixth floor. All he has to do is jump just a tad and he’s out.

The door opens just a little bit more and as Tommy gets a better and better view, he finds that breathing becomes easier.

He’s so close.

“Okay, you should be able to get out now.”

Tommy stands on shaky knees. He can do this, he’s so close.

He walks over to the edge. He looks at the drop.

It’s maybe a foot.

He hopes out.

He’s so good.

“Okay, I’m going to work on figuring out what the issue is so we can get this all worked out, but you should be good to go.”

Tommy nods, “Thanks.”

“No problem.”

Then Tommy very quickly walks away and finds his way towards the stairs. He pretends that his hands don’t shake.

He pushes into the stairwell, listening to the way the slamming of the door echoes throughout the concrete tower of stairs.

He slides down against the wall, staring at the way his hands shake.

He’s showing too much weakness.

You can’t be weak. You know this.

He just— he can’t help it.

Tommy places his head in his knees, his hands shake, he takes a breath that rattles his lungs.

A door opens somewhere in the stairwell.

Tommy should have known that these stairs would be busy. Every single person is going to have to use one of the stairwells that are located around.

He straightens himself up. He’s fine. He’s fine.

Footsteps fall, bouncing off the walls.

He pushes himself to his feet, ignoring the way his legs shake.

Tommy moves towards the stairs slowly. He can do this.

He places a hand on the railing. It’s not because he’s weak, it’s just a precaution. That’s what he tells himself at least.

The footsteps get louder.

They aren’t his.

He hasn’t even taken a step yet.

Tommy takes a breath. He is strong.

He takes a step.

A person rounds the corner.

Tommy pauses. This is okay.

“Tommy?”

It’s Dolos.

This is not okay.

Tommy looks up, forcing a smile onto his face, “Hey.”

“Are you okay?”

Tommy scoffs, “I thought we already established this.”

Dolos tilts his head, “You just got stuck in the elevator though, right?”

“Yeah? What of it?”

Tommy pretends that he isn’t still shaken from it.

“I mean, that’s kind of scary.”

Tommy shrugs his shoulders, but it’s hard to act relaxed when every part of his body is tense.

Dolos doesn’t say anything for a moment, his eyes scanning Tommy for a sign of something. What? Tommy isn’t quite sure.

“Let’s go upstairs.”

His voice is softer, in a sense. 

“Why?”

Dolos shrugs before moving closer, “Why not?”

Tommy frowns at the response, looking at his hand that loosely grips the railing.

“Okay.”

He takes a step towards Dolos. His legs struggle to move, but he forces them to. He refuses to show this weakness.

He can’t let Dolos of all people know how much this is affecting him.

Dolos gives him a look, but he doesn’t say anything. It’s almost weird. Tommy almost wishes that he would poke at him and inspect him and voice his thoughts.

He doesn’t like this version of Dolos.

“Why are you being so quiet?”

Tommy doesn’t mean to let the question out, but it’s either that or focusing on the way he still shakes at the thought of the elevator.

“What do you mean?”

“You aren’t doing your normal thing of questioning every single thing I do.”

Dolos pauses, “I don’t always do that.”

Tommy takes a cautious step, hoping his legs won’t give out from under him, “Yes you do.”

“Oh.”

Tommy pauses, “Why are you shocked by that?”

Dolos looks back at Tommy from where he stands a few steps above him, “I just didn’t realize I did that.”

“Okay, but why aren’t you doing it now?”

They move up a few more steps, rounding the stairs and making their way towards the eighth floor.

“I just don’t want to.”

Tommy sighs, taking another step.

“Okay.”

“Okay.”

And that’s that.

They walk up the stairs, Dolos pausing every few steps to make sure Tommy is making his way up all right.

Normally Tommy would snark something back at him, but he honestly doesn’t really have the energy to banter with Dolos right now.

He doesn’t have the energy to do a lot of things right now. That includes walking up these stairs.

However, through a force of sheer will and spite, Tommy continues to walk up the stairs. What can he say? Spite is his number one motivator.

Now, is he struggling? Of course! Will he stop? Definitely not!

He will defeat the stairs!

He collapses when he takes the next step.

Or the stairs will defeat him!

Dolos whips his head around, “Tommy?”

Tommy looks up from where he lays on the stairs.

“Hey.”

“Why are you on the floor?”

“It’s cozy down here.”

Dolos makes a humming noise, “Did you collapse?”

Tommy laughs, “No, I would never.”

“Then stand up.”

“No, thanks.”

“Okay, but if you could stand you would.”

“But, I don’t want to.”

Dolos sits on the stairs.

“Then we’ll just stay here.”

Tommy nods, “Yep.”

And they sit there. Eventually Tommy finds the strength to at least sit up.

Little wins in the stairwell.

Dolos doesn’t talk, which is…weird, but he does sit on his phone a whole bunch.

Tommy figures out why when Aeolus comes down the stairs.

He looks up.

This is great, it’s like a party.

“Sup.”

Aeolus sits down, “Hey, Tommy. How are you feeling?”

Tommy shrugs. His legs feel like jelly and his head is spinning and nothing makes sense.

“Pretty okay!”

Aeolus nods, “So, can you stand?”

Tommy nods, “Of course I can!”

He thinks if he stands he would take a nice tumble down the stairs.

“So, why don’t you stand and we can all go upstairs.”

Tommy shakes his head, he is not doing that.

“Nah. This is fine.”

Aeolus tilts his head, “Come on Tommy.”

Tommy shakes his head with more fervor this time.

Aeolus sighs, “We can’t stay here all day Tommy.”

“No, we definitely can.”

Dolos looks at Aeolus, “Do you want me to text him too?”

Aeolus nods, “Yeah, he’ll be able to carry him probably.”

Tommy tilts his head, “What?”

“Tommy, we gotta go upstairs and you obviously won’t walk so we have to get you upstairs somehow.”

Tommy huffs, for one, he definitely can and would walk, he just… doesn’t feel like it, okay?

Secondly, he doesn’t like that idea.

“You know what! I think I can walk! It’s fine! Let’s go!”

He tries to stand.

He immediately collapsed onto the floor.

Good effort!

“That was on purpose!”

Both of them look down at him.

“Okay, yeah text Ares.”

Dolos nods, “On it.”

Tommy sighs, this is great.

“I’m fine!”

“Tommy, you just collapsed.”

“Okay, what’s a little collapsing! Things collapse all the time! It’s fine!”

Aeolus shakes his head with a laugh, “Okay, Tommy. Sure.”

Tommy resigns to his fate.

He’s fine though!

“Hey, Aeolus, don’t you have a patrol right now?”

Aeolus waves his hand flippantly, “I asked someone else to cover it.”

Dolos nods. Tommy just sits there some more.

This is great!

Footsteps sound in the stairwell, they’re heavy, but Tommy can tell that they aren’t heavy by nature.

Ares is here.

That’s his conclusion.

And Ares is here! Tommy looks up as he rounds the corner. This is great! He can get off the stairs!!

Because, shockingly enough, they aren’t that comfy or cozy.

Big shocker, he’s aware.

Ares looks at all of them sitting on the stairs.

“So, why are we having a meeting on the stairs?”

Tommy looks up from where he lays sprawled across the stairs, “Cause why not?”

Ares grunts, “Aeolus, what’s happening?”

He shrugs, “Tommy can’t walk.”

Ares looks at Tommy, “Why?”

Tommy shrugs, Aeolus shrugs, and the Dolos, ugh he hates Dolos, decides to put in his two cents.

Nobody wants his pocket change.

“He got trapped in the elevator and I think it’s freaking him out a bit.”

Tommy makes a noise of indignation. 

Ares just nods, “Cool. Do you need me to carry him?”

Aeolus nods.

“Cool.”

Then he just walks over and scoops him up.

“Hey! I can walk!”

“No you cannot Tommy, we both watched you collapse seconds into your last attempt.”

“Lies and slander against my name, I will sue you!”

“Sure, you will.”

Tommy huffs. Ares ignores him and continues to walk up the stairs and the other two follow behind them.

This is fine!!

It’s even more fine when they come up the stairs and into the super secret service hallway and into the actual apartment through one of the random doors.

Tommy didn’t really pay much attention.

It’s a specialty of his.

Ares throws him into the couch. 

“Hey! Be careful, I’m special cargo!”

Ares snorts, “Yeah, okay.”

Aeolus and Dolos look at each other, doing one of those odd little eye conversations before Aeolus enters the kitchen and Dolos goes to the couch.

“So Tommy, elevators, eh?”

Tommy looks at Dolos, “Elevators.”

They both nod. 

Tommy finds he likes Dolos when he isn’t being super annoying and obnoxious.

“You know, you aren’t too bad when you aren’t being the most annoying person I’ve ever had the displeasure of speaking to!”

Dolos squawks for a moment, “WHAT???”

Tommy shrugs, “I said what I said.”

Ares nods, “He said what he said.”

Aeolus comes back in with water.

“I’m not annoying???”

Aeolus hands the water to Tommy, “You’re kind of pushy sometimes, mate.”

Dolos sits up, “You can’t all gang up on me!”

Tommy smiles, this is nice.

“No, we can.”

Aeolus nods in agreement.

“I think that you should reevaluate yourself,” Tommy says with the cheekiest smile.

Dolos flips him off.

“Woah! How dare you!”

Dolos shakes his head, “You all suck.”

“You suck more!”

Tommy blows a raspberry at Dolos.

“Tommy, stop acting like a child.”

Tommy frowns, “Okay, but like I’m basically a child.”

Ares chimes in, “You’re 18.”

“Okay?”

Ares seems to understand his point.

“Okay, yeah.”

Aeolus sits on the couch, “Drink the water Tommy.”

Tommy kicks his legs around, “I don’t want to.”

Dolos looks at him, “Don’t drink the water, it’s poisoned and you’ll die.”

Tommy drinks the water.

“Why did that work?”

Tommy smiles, “Spite.”

Everyone in the room seems very disappointed in him.

“Do you…do a lot out of spite?”

Tommy nods, “Leads to a very chaotic life!”

Dolos hums, “Yeah, that clears.”

Tommy whips his head around, “What is that supposed to mean?!?”

“Chaos follows you and you follow chaos. Knowing that makes a lot of what you do make more sense.”

“Okay, whatever.”

Dolos laughs, “Don’t be upset that I’m correct.”

Tommy glares at him, “You don’t have to psychoanalyze everything I do.”

Aeolus sighs, “Can you boys stop?”

Tommy opens his mouth, but then Dolos speaks.

“He started it!!”

Tommy’s mouth drops, “You started it!”

“Nuh uh!”

“Uh huh!”

“Boys!”

Both of them shut up.

“You’re such a Dad.”

Ares snorts, “Y'all are idiots.”

“Okay, but Dolos is more of an idiot than me, right?”

Ares glances between them, as though he is actually measuring their levels of idiot.

“Nah, it’s pretty close.”

Tommy’s face drops.

“I’m not an idiot!”

Ares just levels him with a look.

Tommy decides he doesn’t have the energy to fight for his smarts.

Aeolus looks around the room at them though, “Tommy, do you need to go home early?”

Tommy waves his hand, “Nah, I’ll be fine.”

Aeolus tilts his head, “Fine, doing what exactly?”

Tommy shrugs, “I don’t know, thinking.”

Aeolus nods, “What you thinking about.”

“Well, considering just a few days ago you asked me if I wanted to go undercover in the Pit, that takes up at least half my brain space.”

“What takes up the other half?” Dolos asks absent mindedly.

“Elevator.”

Dolos nods.

Aeolus looks more than concerned.

“Tommy?”

“Yeah?”

“You know you’re allowed to say no, right?”

“Well obviously, but I have to decide if I want to.”

Ares decides to speak again, “What are your pros and cons right now, might help you decide.”

“Uh, pros I could help take down the Pit. Cons, I would be in the Pit. Pros, I wouldn’t be in the Pit. Cons, I wouldn't be helping take down the Pit.”

Ares nods, “Yeah, seems like a predicament.”

Tommy nods, “A predicament indeed.”

Aeolus looks like he’s frowning, Tommy assumes he is frowning.

There’s an awkward kind of silence that surrounds them, like the hush that falls over a classroom when someone says something out of pocket.

“So…what are the plans for the rest of the day!”

All three of the heroes share a look, “I think you should just go—“

Tommy cuts Aeolus off, “Nope!”

Ares sighs, “Yes, Tommy.”

Tommy shakes his head, much like an insolent child, “No. I don’t want to have to go home early again .”

Dolos looks at him, but he doesn’t say anything. Tommy doesn’t have the energy to assess what that means.

Aeolus looks like he is about to relent when Ares steps back up, “I’ll walk you home Tommy.”

Tommy sighs, “It isn’t about that.”

“Then what is it?”

And that is a question Tommy doesn’t really know the answer to.

He shrugs.

“What if I buy you food?”

Now, Tommy is never one to succumb to bribes, but what can he say, he likes to eat.

“Okay, fine.”

Ares nods once before he turns back to his team, “I’ll be back in like 30 minutes or something.”

Both of them nod, but Aeolus is the one that says, “Be safe mate.”

Ares nods and Tommy kind of just stands there and nods too.

He’s so good at this.

And then he is back in the stairwell, but he can walk this time! Big wins for the Tommy community!!

They just walk in silence, the only sounds filling their ears being the sounds of their footsteps and breaths as they echo off the concrete walls.

Tommy should have expected that; Ares has never really been one for chatting.

They push out of the door at the bottom of the stairwell and Tommy welcomes the noise that bombards them with open arms.

They walk through the lobby, side by side, step in step.

And then they push into the afternoon rush of people that walk and shove and talk on the sidewalk.

It’s a cacophony of noise that fills their ears. Tommy embraces it, he always does.

Ares seems far less comfortable, but he masks himself well.

Tommy pushes through the brunt of the crowd, turning to watch as Ares follows him.

“Hurry up!”

Ares grunts, “No!”

Tommy laughs and Tommy imagines that under the mask that separates them, that Ares quirks up the corner of his lips at the interaction.

They continue on until the crowd thins and they can hear their thoughts once again. Tommy isn’t quite sure if that is what he wants, because his head is filled with flashes of the nightmare and memories of the elevator and just—

Yeah, he doesn’t really want to have to hear those right now.

They walk down, Tommy filling the silence with mindless chatter if only to avoid having to actually think about his life.

Ares nods and hums and says little things when it matters, just to show that he is listening, and Tommy appreciates that.

A McDonald’s comes into view. Obviously they enter it.

It also turns out that when you walk into a McDonald’s with a hero means that people are going to stare at you. Maybe Tommy should have predicted it, but he was busy having a crisis or two earlier.

So, in his defense he didn’t have time to consider that!

Either way, Tommy just ignores them in favor of cutting the line. If they are going to gawk they might as well get line cutting privileges as a reparation.

Ares follows awkwardly behind Tommy, obviously not agreeing with this great idea of Tommy’s.

He looks like he is about to say something when Tommy cuts him off before he can ever begin.

“I will have another mental breakdown!”

Ares seems to relent after that one.

“Okay, what do you want, Tommy?”

Tommy glances at the menu, scrutinizing it as though he has never stepped foot in a McDonald’s. After a moment Tommy glances at the worker, who seems to be in awe at Ares which is kind of lame in Tommy’s opinion.

“Can I get a ten piece nugget with a medium order of fries, a medium sprite and a small Oreo McFlurry?”

The worker blinks at him, “Yeah. Anything else for you guys?”

Tommy shakes his head before looking back at Ares just to make sure.

“Yeah, that’s all.”

Ares steps forward, swiping his card and leaving a nice enough tip for the poor cashier before following Tommy to go fill up his drink.

Tommy sips from the cup as he waits for his food, refilling it as he goes so it never gets low. He’s a genius.

Their number gets called up and Ares walks up to snatch the bag from the worker. Tommy gets the pleasure of watching the worker freak out when Ares touches his hand.

Honestly it’s almost embarrassing, but Tommy won’t judge…much.

And then they leave, a very successful trip!

So now they are walking down the road and Tommy happily eats his chicken nuggets and slurps his Sprite. Overall, he’s having a much better time now than earlier.

McDonald’s is the solution to every problem ever.

Or so Tommy thinks.

It turns out that even though villains don’t tend to do stuff often, tonight is one of those nights where they decide to crawl out of whatever hole they hide in and make themselves general nuisances to everyone.

Today that person is 5up, some random villain that just kind of does whatever. Tommy doesn’t even know what his power is if he is being honest.

Either way, Tommy ignores him. Ares gives him one of those looks before shrugging and following Tommy. Maybe he should try and fight the villain as a hero in training or whatever, but Tommy’s McFlurry is far more important than 5up.

And then the McFlurry flies out of his hand because of a dumpster flying towards him.

He also drops his chicken nuggets. That was so not okay. If there wasn’t a villain currently attempting to fight Ares then Tommy would definitely have a mental breakdown over that, but he can shelf that for later.

Ares sighs, “I’ll be right back, stay right here.”

And honestly Tommy does plan to do that.

Life has other plans for him though because another villain appears. A girl named Hafu who…Tommy also doesn’t remember her power.

In his defense, the villains don’t normally villain.

So now Tommy not only doesn’t have a McFlurry or his chicken nuggets, he decides that this day was doomed.

The villain stares at him, “I’m going to take you hostage now.”

Tommy blinks, “What?”

“I said I’m going to kidnap you, because obviously Ares cares and we need some money, don’t worry.”

“Wait, can I tell my roommates I won’t be back tonight?”

Hafu sighs, “No, this is a kidnapping.”

“Oh. Okay.”

So yeah Ares is fighting 5up and Tommy is getting kidnapped! Pretty solid!!

Tommy watches as Ares fights 5up. It’s not very interesting, but it’s cool nonetheless.

Hafu is also actively dragging him into an alleyway. She has his right wrist in a tight grip, which sucks because he can’t eat his fries. 

That’s so rude of her, but he won’t tell her that.

“So, where are you going to take me?”

Hafu sighs, “Shouldn’t you be like freaking out?”

Tommy shrugs, “I’ve had worse kidnappings.”

Hafu seems like she aged five years at that statement.

“I— okay, I’m going to knock you out now.”

Tommy tilts his head, “Are you asking me for my consent or—“

Then she whacks him upside the head with her baton. Maybe Tommy should have seen that coming, but in his defense now his head hurts.

Oh and she’s standing over him, checking his pulse, all that jazz.

This is a great kidnapping.

Tommy blinks, he definitely has a concussion.

Black spots swim in his vision.

“Why are you still awake????”

Tommy promptly passes out—comedic timing has always been his specialty—black filling his vision as the world fades out.

Chapter Text

When Tommy comes to his head is absolutely pounding .

He also has not a single clue where he is.

That’s good.

He blinks, trying to stop his head from spinning.

This sucks.

Concrete walls surround him and Tommy groans.

These kidnappers are always putting him in the most boring places in existence.

“Hello????”

His throat is scratchy. Maybe if he still had his Sprite this wouldn’t be happening.

A door opens on the far right side of the warehouse, a shadowy figure standing in the doorway, back lit by the light that shines through.