Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Reddit would consider Tumblr… a friend. maybe. As far as he could tell Tumblr didn’t think much of him- embarrassing considering the small but existent pedestal Reddit held him on but whatever. Reddit, Tumblr, and 4Chan seemed to be the last anonymous sites out there, as far as Reddit knew. and 4Chan was beyond antisocial so once again, that just left Tumblr. 

Reddit’s home was collapsing. The carefully built in technology he’d curated over so many years to help everyone he could was getting outlawed, and as a result every part of his home that relied on it was collapsing. Which was… most of it, really. 

But… Tumblr wasn’t open to taking in people for charity, he’d made that very clear when Twitter was in an eerily similar situation. And those two used to be matesprites. What hope did Reddit have in comparison? 

All this to say that Reddit had been standing outside of Tumblr’s door for nearly an hour, and it was starting to snow. Worst he could say is no, right? Well, that wasn’t true. He could say ‘ew’.

Taking a deep breath and brushing the powdered snow off his shoulders, Reddit knocked. 

The door slammed open, and Reddit was greeted with the blade of an axe to his face. He screamed and backed up, hands shooting up innocently. “I’m sorry I’m sorry! I’ll-”

“Oh.” Tumblr lowered the weapon, placing it against the wall. “Thought you were another bot. What are you doing here?”

“Um…”

Tumblr took a step out into the cold, shivering slightly under his suit jacket and eyeing Reddit intensely. “You’re not a bot, right? What’s five (5) times five (5)?”

“...25?”

Tumblr nodded, absconding the single step back inside. “Firefox, it’s cold out here. Come in, dude.” 

Well, Reddit was allowed inside for the moment, and he gratefully took it, kicking his boots against the welcome mat as he stepped in. “I don’t know if you heard but, Spez-” 

“Oh I heard ,” Tumblr spat as he shut the door. “Another fucking corporation fucking over disabled people to make a quick buck.” He shook his head in disgust. “Can I offer you a drink?”

“Sure?”

Tumblr headed into the kitchen without another word, and after a moment of standing in place stupidly, Reddit decided the best course of action was to follow a few feet behind. 

“congrats on the protesting, by the way,” Tumblr stated as he rummaged through the cupboards. “Takes guts to cost a corpo that much money.” 

"th-thanks." Reddit twiddled with his thumbs and hid his smile in his hoodie. "but, because of all that my house is… well it's a mess. it's falling apart, the lights aren't working, and the locks have all been changed so…" 

Tumblr sighed, pulling a carton of some strong-smelling drink from the cupboard and pouring two cups. "What is it with everyone coming to me when faced with homelessness? I'm honoured, maybe?" 

"I mean- I don't think Spez will keep this shit up I just need a place to crash until… if you have the space, I mean." 

Tumblr pushed the drink into Reddits hands, just listening for now as he leaned against the counter and downed his own drink in seconds. 

Reddit took a single sip before immediately deciding never to do that again. "bluh… anyway, i, uh…" Reddit spoke quickly, as if that would make the next sentence any less embarrassing. "I enjoy a lot of your content and made quite a few snoos after you so I should be able to acclimate-"

"ah, stop you flatter me," Tumblr made a show of fanning his cheeks dramatically, playful grin making Reddit feel all sorts of pale things he was desperately trying to ignore. "multiple? I knew about r/Tumblr but… oh, I guess there's r/CuratedTumblr and r/196, practically. and... r/TumblrCringe." 

Reddit had no excuses for that. 

"but I know a lot of my bigger users carry fame across your platforms as well so clearly you've got good taste." Tumblr hummed thoughtfully. "I'll think about it. where are you staying right now?" 

well, a few minutes ago he was staying outside of Tumblrs door. and before he walked over he was living on his own porch leaning against the locked door. but mostly he was living nowhere and bouncing around to distract himself from the fact that he was living nowhere. 

"oh," was Tumblrs subdued response to Reddits silence. "how long do you think you'll…?" 

"48 hours, hopefully." 

"well… that's not long at all. I got a couch you can sleep on until then and… you're a hell of a lot more respectful than Twitter was…" he patted Reddit on the arm with a smile. "let me show you around." 

Reddit let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding before following Tumblr further inside the house. "thanks." 

"not a problem! stay as long as you need." 

Chapter Text

another bot. Tumblr groaned, pulling himself out of bed. the doorbell rang again- admittedly unusual for bots. they usually knocked, but they were known to evolve every now and then. 

he headed out of his room clumsily, past where Reddit was sprawled on the couch. it'd been far past the 48 hours he'd initially given, but neither had yet to mention it. not that Tumblr minded- in all honesty he'd love to accept Reddit as a more permanent roommate, but until this bot problem was solved he felt bad even offering. so he didn't. 

right, bot problem. Tumblr turned his attention back to the front door, grabbing the axe that always stood nearby. with a shake of his head to wake himself up, he readied his weapon and opened the door. 

"don't swing don't swing!" yelped a voice on the other side the moment the door was even cracked open. 

Tumblr recognized the voice immediately, and swung anyway. 

Twitter screamed and backed up so fast he slipped and fell on his ass. "I said don't swing!" 

hearing the commotion, Reddit wandered over, but he stayed a few feet away so Tumblr ignored him for now. 

"how many times do I have to tell you?" Tumblr snapped, readying his axe to be thrown at the trespasser. "you're not welcome here!" before he could throw it in Twitter's stupid face, Reddit grabbed his arm and stopped him just in time.

…fair enough, that was probably too far. nevertheless, Tumblr glanced over to glare at Reddit, only to falter when he found something resembling pity in his expression. what, for Twitter? 

well, if it was anyone else, Reddits pity would be warranted. Twitter looked particularly pathetic, the pouring rain sticking his clothes to his too-thin frame. He was shaking as he slowly got back to his feet, but knowing Twitter that could very well be an act. 

"look, I-" 

"I don't wanna hear it!" Tumblr interrupted. He didn't throw his axe, but he did point it at Twitter's throat and successfully got him to back up. "just… get the hell out of here before it starts to hail. alright?" he might actually feel bad if he had to leave Twitter out in the hail. That wouldn't stop him, but he would feel bad. 

however, at the sound of this, Twitter's eyes got all wide before he began crying.  

well, fuck . Tumblr sighed, reluctantly dropping his weapon by the door. "Reddit can you… make some drinks?" 

-

"alright," Tumblr began, hoping to get this over with as quickly as possible. "What did Muskrat do this time?" 

Twitter shivered underneath the reluctantly provided towel, making no effort to try and prevent water from dripping onto the floor. he glanced over to the kitchen, where Reddit could be heard stirring, to the couch where Reddits laptop still laid open, to essentially everywhere except Tumblr. 

"he said I can only stay in the building for eight hours a day- enough time to sleep, but… I-I've been wandering around for the past few weeks while I'm kicked out but then I heard it was going to hail today so I…" he conveniently trailed off as Reddit dropped some drinks on the table between them. 

Tumblr nursed his cup while watching Twitter through narrowed eyes. 

Twitter thanked Reddit, took one sip, then made a face. "um, is this…?" he smartly cut himself off at Tumblr's expression, quickly backpedaling. "I mean, thanks! um… thanks." 

he took another sip, made that face again, and placed the cup back on the table. 

"look," Twitter continued as though nothing had transpired, "I know I'm not welcome. I'll fuck off as soon as the weather clears up- I just need a roof to stay under for a few hours." 

Tumblr snorted. "I've heard that before," he snapped without thinking, only realizing his mistake when Reddit flinched beside him. 

it threw Tumblr off his guard just long enough for Twitter's story to actually sink in. 

"wait, he's only letting you stay inside your own damn house for eight hours ? Is that legal?" 

"w-well not kicking me out really!" Twitter explained quickly. "I can stay if I paid an even higher rent I just, can't afford that right now…" he glanced down, suddenly quite invested in the uneven flooring that he poked at with his shoe. "I'm looking for a new place to stay but no one's really… yeah…" 

again, Tumblr felt conflicted. someone getting screwed over by their landlord was exactly the kind of person Tumblr would want to help. 

but that someone was Twitter. Twitter, who'd broken up with Tumblr the second he'd hit a hard place. Twitter, who tried for years to form a kismesitude with him as if the freshly broken off matespritship didn't still hurt like hell. Twitter, who had dropped in years later expecting to be welcomed with open arms and recoiled in shock when he wasn't. 

it was difficult to believe that was the same person shivering and still on the verge of tears in his living room. 

Tumblr sighed, massaging his temples. all these old emotions were giving him a headache. "look. I can offer you a warm meal and a shower but the second the rain dies down you're out of here. alright?" 

Twitter accepted the offer all too eagerly. 

-

the rain promised to die down, but not anytime soon. the sun was thoroughly set by the time hail finally made itself known, and so Tumblr was left scrambling for anywhere that Twitter could stay. 

"isnt this a spare bedroom?" Twitter asked, opening the door across from Tumblr's bedroom. 

it wasn't, of course, and by the time Tumblr had wandered over to see what Twitter was talking about, the guest was staring in shock of the room before him. 

oh course- the crab room. some threatened to escape in Twitter's stupidity, and while Tumblr considered himself a supporter of free range, the house simply wasn't a good environment for them. 

Tumblr gently shooed any runaway crabs back to the habitat he'd carefully crafted for them before shutting the door. "no, that's the crab room." he explained unnecessarily. 

Twitter looked embarrassed at first, before crossing his arms and deflecting. "well- how was I supposed to know that??" he snapped. 

Tumblr considered this, before leaving the hallway. he caught Reddits attention as he scrambled to find a pen and paper, and within a few minutes he managed to label the door with 'Crab Room'. 

"that's not really necessary," Reddit noted. "I mean, he already knows-" 

"it's perfect!" Twitter interrupted, taking the pen from Tumblr's hand. "let me just…" he took to the paper, adjusting it to say '#CrabRoom' before looking at Tumblr with a smile so bright and unabashed it was stirring up years old feelings. 

"just like home," Twitter hummed before continuing on to find a place to sleep. 

-

"I know it's not the best but…" 

Twitter made little acknowledgement of Tumblrs words except to walk into the garage. it was cold, water pooled near the door, and there was nothing to lay on, exactly. 

"well, goodnight Twitter!" Reddit called, but again Twitter interrupted. 

"what- there's no mattress! You can't actually expect me to sleep under these conditions!" 

"there's an air mattress right there," Reddit countered. "in the boxes." 

Twitter glared at him, then turned his full focus on Tumblr. "Tumblr? you're just gonna leave me here?" 

Reddit snorted, but between Twitter's big gold eyes and helpless expression, Tumblr found himself caving. "well, we could help set things up a bit… I guess." 

Twitter broke into a grin as Tumblr headed into the garage. 

together- more or less- they positioned boxes at the entrance to keep out the water, filled up the air mattress, and found a heated blanket deep within a box to provide warmth. 

"there," Tumblr stared coldly, manual labour flipping him from helpful right back to irritable. "how's that?" he did his best to communicate through tone of voice alone that he would be flopping into his own bed regardless of the answer. 

"it's… liveable," Twitter confessed. "but it just, doesn't feel like home." 

"that's because it's not home," Reddit exasperated, and Twitter deflated. 

"oh… right. and I'm leaving tomorrow anyway so… yeah. sorry." Twitters gaze fell to his feet, looking quite saddened and pathetic. 

Reddit turned around to leave him to his room.

"well…" Tumblr began reluctantly. "maybe we could do something ." 

Twitter's eyes lit up in relief. 

-

Tumblr was becoming very, very bad at kicking people out of his house. 

the weather outside was sunny, but here Twitter was, leaning against Tumblr on the couch, watching cartoons together. the commercials were unfortunate- Twitter had plugged in his streaming services instead of going with Tumblr's tried and true pirating, but it was… slightly more convenient than pirating. so long as Twitter was paying. 

to say they were watching cartoons together was an overstatement. Tumblr was watching cartoons on the TV, and Twitter glanced over occasionally. but for the most part, he was watching a completely separate movie on his phone, earbuds stubbornly plugged in. 

occasionally, Tumblr would manage to catch his gaze when Twitter's attention wandered over to the big screen, and he would blush and turn away. 

it filled Tumblr with a sort of irrational hope that maybe, if he could make Twitter comfortable enough… he could forget about home and forget about Muskrat altogether. was it selfish to hope Twitter would just stay with him instead? was it foolish to remember wistfully of when they were matesprites, stupid to hope for those times again? 

Twitter pressed himself closer to Tumblr as the end credits for the episode played, and his ethical concerns were quickly chased away. 

Chapter Text

Twitter didn't end up staying. while Tumblr let him stay rent free, he saved up enough money to leave and never turned back. 

Reddit wasn't entirely sure how to help his pale crush get over the fresh-again red breakup, but suggesting he undo all the little changes around the house he'd made for Twitter's benefit so soon after he'd left probably wasn't it. Much as the off-blue curtains made him feel sick, he refrained. 

Tumblr sniffled and glanced up at the sound of the knock at the door. 

"I got it," Reddit reassured him, patting his leg before getting up to answer the door. 

Reddit didn't know how to use Tumblr's axe, so just pulled his nunchucks from his strife specibus as he placed a hand on the doorknob. he knew more tricks than he did actual offensive maneuvers, but he could probably handle a bot. 

however, the person he opened the door to was very much human. Reddit took longer than he'd care to admit to place a name to the face. 

"Ao3?" he decided on eventually. in his defense, he was too distracted by the blood soaking his shirt, despite the hand Ao3 kept flush against the presumed injury.

at the name Tumblr came running to the door, just in time to watch Ao3 collapse. 

-

Tumblr had a nearby laptop open to wikiHow and YouTube videos on first aid, though with the blood rushing in his ears he could hardly hear them. 

"should we take off his shirt?" Reddit asked once they had Ao3 inside and laid on a swath of towels, quickly becoming blood-soaked. 

"n-no," Tumblr decided reluctantly. "it'll just reopen the wound… I think." 

Reddit touched carefully along the bloodied shirt until he found the wound- a dip in skin that made an awful fleshy sound when he pulled away. under Tumblr's watchful gaze he pressed a spare towel against the wound. 

"be… be careful," Tumblr whispered, glancing over at the video currently playing. "um… maybe next we should…" 

"we should make sure he's hydrated," Reddit offered. "it'll help him replace the lost blood." 

"right! how can I help?" Tumblr asked. 

under Reddits instruction, Tumblr left and returned with a rag of cold water to drip into Ao3s mouth. 

"you're doing great," Reddit offered lamely. "we can't do much else until he either wakes up or the bleeding stops." 

the bleeding stopped first, as it turned out. the videos were turned off as Tumblr blindly followed Reddits advice through his panic, eventually locating a first aid kid Reddit had packed when he moved out that would hold them through. 

when Ao3 did wake up, it was slowly, and hours later. Reddit was nowhere in sight, and Tumblr was passed out on the couch. Ao3 glanced down to where Tumblr's hand was gripping his. when Ao3 absent-mindedly rubbed his thumb along Tumblr's palm, the man stirred then woke up suddenly. 

"Archive! you're awake!" he yelped, stumbling off the couch to get closer to Ao3. "Reddit left a bit ago to get more supplies and I said I'd watch but… I guess I kinda… are you okay?" 

Ao3 nodded and tried to sit up, giving up on that idea quickly when a sharp stab of pain humbled them. 

"what happened?" Tumblr asked. 

"'m not sure," Ao3 slurred unhelpfully. "I was… working. then…" he thought for a while then shook his head, regretting it when the movement made him dizzy. "I'm not sure. I was hurt." 

"by what?" Tumblr pestered gently, "did a server blow up? or-" 

"n….no. definitely got stabbed." he pressed a hand against the injury in question, finding only dried blood and bandages. after a quick test of wriggling his fingers and toes, he decided the damage wasn't too severe. "the server… I gotta get back to work. …do you have any painkillers?" 

"I'll, um, I'll ask Reddit," Tumblr offered, sending a quick text on his phone. "you don't know who did this? wait- you're not going to work in this condition actually."

Ao3 shrugged. "I have my suspicions." he made no further argument on the topic of going to work, so Tumblr assumed he had won. 

"I thought you were living with Twitter?" Ao3 asked instead, and Tumblr winced. 

"he, um, moved out."

"oh." 

"we broke up."

"oh." 

"again."

Ao3 offered a look of pity, reaching forward just enough to press his palm against Tumblr's cheek. Tumblr put his hand over his and felt just a bit better. 

the door clicked open, and reluctantly Tumblr pulled away to greet the only other person with a key. 

"Hey, Reddit. did you get the painkillers?"

Reddit shuffled awkwardly. "um… yeah." 

once Ao3 was sufficiently drugged up, the drowsy side effects kicked in quickly, leaving Reddit and Tumblr to watch cartoons on the couch while Ao3 rested. 

"I didn't know, um, you and Ao3 were pale," Reddit conversated hesitantly. 

"oh yeah," Tumblr replied distractedly. "since forever." 

"that's cool… that's cool."

Tumblr only nodded in response. "this episodes one of my favorites," he announced as the intro played, and the conversation died. 

-

"don't you want to find out who did this to you?" Tumblr tried in a desperate attempt to get Ao3 to stay longer. "make sure they never do it again?" 

"that doesn't matter, Tumblr," Ao3 replied. he was high on painkillers and a little unsteady, but capable enough of walking to think himself ready to leave. "I'm okay now, I'll save up for some kevlar or something. it'll be fine." 

"you- you said you had an inkling of who it might be. tell me that much, at least?" 

"what are you gonna do with that information?" 

when Tumblr didn't reply, Ao3 just sighed. "I know their strifekind was a sword. I don't know exactly what kind but… that much I can offer you." he started to walk away again, but Tumblr wasn't having it. 

"Archive I need you." 

"is Reddit that bad a roommate?"

"no! no, he's great. but…" 

"then you'll be alright," Ao3 reassured. "thanks for taking care of me, really. without you, I… but you know I have work. the servers have probably exploded without me." 

Tumblr faltered reluctantly, so Ao3 stopped just long enough to reassure him. "visit me soon, okay?" 

-

Tumblr pushed the laptop aside to fall onto Reddits lap. "what a week." he complained idly. 

"um, hey Tumblr." 

"at least you're not leaving me," Tumblr mumbled, before quickly sitting up. "you're not leaving me, right? you're not just saving up money to buy your old apartment back?" 

"uh, no. moderating doesn't pay and… I'm pretty sure my old apartment got sold off." 

Tumblr winced. "right. sorry. I just… I'm glad you're here."

Reddit offered him an odd look. "you are?"

"of course I am!" Tumblr sighed and leaned back against the arm of the couch, staring up at the ceiling. "just between you and me, I don't think I do very well without roommates." he fell quiet for a long moment, lost in thought. "plus… I think by now you're like, one of my closest friends." 

"we're friends?" Reddit countered, and Tumblr actually laughed at that. 

"Of course! Of course we're friends! Firefox…" he sat up to wrap his arms around Reddit. "like, my best friend!" he was aware the statement sounded dumb and childish but decided to ignore that for now. "that's cool, right?" 

"...yeah," Reddit decided slowly. "that's cool."