Chapter Text
Tommy squinted to see his keys and wiped a smudge of blood from his face. He hated this part of getting home. Jumbling with the keys made more noise than he was comfortable with. And despite the fact he’s not scared there is a small part of him that checks to make sure he has his pocket knife, and looks over his shoulder. Maybe subconsciously he avoids corners, alleys and smaller places. Checking to make sure the cars that were coming weren't slowing down, checking rooftops and behind corners.
He wouldn't admit that maybe, he was even just a bit, scared when walking home after his shift. Tommy didn't even know what being scared felt like, fuckin' what's fear? He doesn't know.
When he finally opened the door to the apartment he sighed in relief, it was almost funny how stressful simply getting the door open was. He attempted to be as quiet as possible, closing the door so slowly it was painful. The apartment was quiet, though Tommy was vaguely aware of the slight snoring coming from the bedroom next to him where his two roommates were asleep. It was comforting. The humming of the AC, the occasional beep from the fire alarm that they haven’t changed in years. He was home.
The bag made a soft thud when it hit the floor of his room, where a few months ago he won a bet, so while his two roommates had to share a room, he got one all to himself. Setting down his phone on the charger and kicking off his shoes. Tommy grabbed an oversized hoodie with ‘the blade’ in red bold letters against a black background and black pajama pants.
Leaving his room he walked down the hallway and to the bathroom where he caught a glimpse of himself. In the mirror were tired eyes staring back at him, a bruised cut on his face right on his lower lip where he took a hard hit to the jaw.
Oh.
Ow.
It probably just looked bad in the light, yeah, that’s all. He ignored the nagging of dread that his roommates would ask about what happened. Splashing some water on his face, and brushing his teeth he looked at his reflection once again. This time, it somehow looked worse, but that was a tomorrow Tommy problem, tonight Tommy wanted to sleep.
Walking back into his room he looks around, walls peppered with posters, a window on the right wall and his closet next to the bed. He liked his space, and he was tired.
Ranboo's alarm would go off soon, startling Tubbo in the process. They’d get up, Tubbo would hop in the shower, and Ranboo would start on breakfast.
Tommy let out a soft sigh after he flopped down on the bed.
He lies on the bed, looking up and just lets himself think for a bit, he had tomorrow off, he was probably going to help Tubbo seek employment. Ranboo was working at Nikis bakery, and Tommy had already charmed his way into working at the local library. Tubbo was the only one with nothing to do during the day.
Tubbo often complained about being home alone and bored, when he got a chance, he’d eat lunch with Ranboo, or bug Tommy at work, but nothing too time-consuming. It wasn’t going to be that hard to get Tubbo a job. The hard part was getting him to keep it, his hybrid traits were relatively unnoticeable, his fluffy hair covered his horns and his goat ears were only noticeable if you took a good look at the boy.
Ranboo, he had a harder time with it, he was tall and had a long black and white tail, his hair was a dark brown with half of it being white, and he had one eye that was green and the other a light brown. His discoloration on the left of his skin and tail made it hard for him to find someone willing to look past that. Thankfully, they eventually found someone willing to hire, the bakery down the street owned by Niki, another hybrid, was kind enough to help out.
Tommy stares blankly at the ceiling, the mattress held him softly. The bed was comfortable and warm. Blankets pulled up to his shoulders, while cool sheets stopped him from overheating. The gentle buzz of the ceiling fan wiring round and round. His eyes grew heavy, he let his thoughts bore him to sleep.
The morning light hit his face, gently moving him from sleep, his eyes fluttered open. The ceiling fan was still buzzing, he rolled over to the edge of his bed and stands, wiping his eyes he notices the blood on the pillow where he slept.
“That’s a problem.” He mutters to himself. Tommy wasn’t going to bother with it right now, it was his day off and he didn’t want to wash today. Ranboo had already left for work, meaning Tubbo was almost certainly in the dining room. Tommy left his room, which opened into the dining room with Ranboo's and Tubbo's room right next to his.
“Mornin’ Toms” Tubbo said, sitting at the dining table, YouTube videos playing on his phone that was propped up on a cup of what is almost certainly coffee. Following that he had a sandwich on a small plate, odd breakfast. “G’morning tubs, sleep well?” He replied groggily. “Yeah, took me a while to fall asleep, have you been watching the news?” Tommy pulled out a chair sitting down across from him, giving him a questioning look. “Apparently there’s a new vigilante around, there calling him Icarus bro took down some illegal underground weapon thing, some cops even got busted for being apart of it.” Tubbo continued.
Oh shit. He’s Icarus.
“Just last night actually, he has some solid moves, oh he has gravity powers too! Seems alright, prime knows we need someone other then the fuckin’ heros, anyway the police are pissed he’s doing there job for them” Tubbo says the last part before taking a bite of his sandwich.
Oh. Double Shit.
Tubbo finished chewing and continued “I think there calling him that because, because he fell off a billboard” he swallowed the bit of sandwich and continued “even the heroes are on the look out” Tubbo looks back at Tommy with a pointed glance.
Oh. Triple shit.
“That’s crazy man.” Is all he can muster, Tubbo goes back to watching his YouTube video and eating his sandwich not seeming to care about the face Tommy’s making. “I’ll join you in a second, I think I’m gonna shower” he felt dirty, he was supposed to stay under the radar. He didn’t want to be a big name, he wanted to protect his roommates, his family. Tommy wanted to use his power for good.
Living in the 3d lowest district of L’manburg was hard enough. The district was underfunded and hero’s only patrolled hear if they were looking for villains. It was hard to survive when you just make enough money for rent. When people need money they’ll do anything to get it. It was dangerous. He wanted to make it safer
Walking into the bathroom, he strips off his pajamas and starts a hot shower. Today was going to be a long, long day.