Chapter Text
Chapter one: morning routine
The apartment was never quiet.
Ranboo was woken by the sound of someone rummaging around in the kitchen and Tommy's obnoxiously loud snoring from the bunk above them.
With a groan, they rolled out of bed and stretched, their black hair sticking up in every direction.
They reached up and knocked against the metal railing of the top bunk. "Come on, Tommy. You're going to be late if you don't get up."
Tommy's only response was to roll over and pull his blanket over his head.
Ranboo sighed. "Right."
With one quick tug, they yanked the blanket completely off the bed.
"DUDE! WHAT THE HELL?" Tommy shouted, squinting against the morning light.
"You've got ten minutes.”
“I've got, like..." Tommy grabbed his phone from the nightstand and stared at the screen.
"...Oh."
Ranboo folded their arms. "Yeah. 'Oh.'"
Tommy launched himself out of bed so quickly he nearly fell off the ladder. His golden curls were sticking up almost as badly as Ranboo's own hair, and he was still wearing the faded T-shirt he'd probably had since high school.
Tommy pulled on a hoodie that was noticeably too big for him. Then made his way towards the kitchen.
Ranboo followed rubbing at a headache that hadn't been there when they went to sleep.
The smell of toast filled the apartment.
Tubbo stood over the counter, screwdriver in one hand and a slice of bread in the other. The toaster sat in pieces.
Tubbo barely looked up. His dark curls were tied back in a messy ponytail, and the sleeves of his green sweater were pushed to his elbows, exposing grease smudges on his forearms.
Tommy stopped dead in the doorway. "...Tubbo."
"Morning." Tubbo mumbled clearly been awake longer then the other two
"Why is the toaster disassembled?" Tommy asked very confused
Tubbo looked down at it. "...It was making a weird noise."
"It's a toaster." Tommy said flatly
"Exactly.” tubbo chirped
Tommy blinked. "...I don't think that answers my question."
Tubbo just shrugged. "It answered mine.”
Ranboo pinched the bridge of their nose. The headache had only gotten worse.
Tubbo noticed immediately. "Headache again?"
"...Mm."
Without another word, Tubbo slid a mug of coffee across the counter.
“Thanks” Ranboo said gratefully, taking sips of the coffee.
Tommy stared at the dismantled toaster before looking back at Tubbo. "...I'm just going to pretend this is normal."
"It is normal," Tubbo replied, sliding another screw into a small pile.
Ranboo opened one of the cupboards. "...Do we have any bread left?"
Tubbo frowned.."...I may have forgotten to buy groceries."
"You had one job!" Tommy exclaimed
"I had several jobs." Tubbo shot back
"You had one important job."
Ranboo sighed and reached for their wallet. "I'll stop by the store after work."
Tommy immediately protested. "No, you bought groceries last time."
"And the time before that," Tubbo added.
Ranboo shrugged. "You two are terrible at remembering."
"We're broke," Tommy corrected.
"Speak for yourself," Tubbo muttered.
"You literally spent forty dollars on replacement parts yesterday." Tommy explained
"They were necessary." Tubbo replied
"They were for the toaster!" He said
Ranboo begin to pack their bag for work and getting ready to walk out the door.
Everyone got their things together
Tommy grabs his backpack bag.
Tubbo stuffs a laptop into his messenger bag.
Ranboo picks up a neat leather satchel full of files. They all head toward the apartment door. Tommy reaches for the doorknob.
Ranboo stops him. "You forgot your lunch."
Tommy blinks. "...I made a lunch?"
"I did."
"...Oh."
Tommy smiles. "Thanks, Boo."
Ranboo rolls their eyes. "You'd survive like six hours without me."
Then the trio walks out together.
At the bottom of the apartment building...
They split off.
Tommy hops onto his bike.
Tubbo heads toward the bus stop.
Ranboo walks toward the archives.
While Ranboo made their way to work they felt their phone buzz, ranboo for the phone out of their pocket and read the first notification. .
BREAKING NEWS
VOID STRIKES AGAIN
Ranboo stopped walking.
For just a second, the noise of the city seemed to disappear.
They stared at the headline.
Then, without opening the article...
They locked their phone.
And kept walking.