✓ Updated

Song: Fallen

Artist: Imagine Dragons

A/N:

-Tommy acting OOC because of his mental state and unsurety about his current situation.

-Chapters will be around the ~1000 mark but may vary depending on the chapter topic.

-Next chapter I should have finished up your design/ref and can post what I envision the reader to look like :)

-Thank you for choosing to read my story 💕

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• CHAPTER TWO•

| Tentatively |

He stirred from his slumber unbelievably comfortable. Tommy felt like he was floating for fucks sake, and it took his brain a groggy few moments to come into itself. Slowly Tommy rolled over onto his back with an exhale.

He gave long, heavy blinks.

His lips trembled as he stared at the ceiling. It was spruce. A lot of the house was spruce, he noted. The bedroom itself was relatively plain, unused. Untouched. Tommy has the feeling his saviour doesn't have visitors very often.

There was only a little decor, a crow handmade plush, paintings, a chesterdraw that was empty. He's been unable to resist the urge to snoop through the room last night. He...needed to be sure it was safe, that there wasn't anything that could hurt him. but in the end, he found nothing—it was just a guest bedroom.

The bed was one of the most comfortable beds he had slept in since his own childhood bed when...when he had still lived at home with Phil, with Wilbur, with Technoblade.

(His chest aches unequivocal but, like he had grown used to, ignored it.)

But he felt sluggish, like his head had been stuffed with cotton but in a good way; exhausted still but in a good way, his body ached in the way you know meant you slept amazing.

For the first time in months, Tommyinnit was fucking safe without the worry of anything.

A sob threatened to escape at the realisation. Holy shit. He had really done it.

He had run away.

Panic hit him suddenly, squeezing his chest tight as to what Dream would do when he next visited and figured Tommy had made a run for it. Would Dream come looking for him? Would he go to the others in L'Manburg and see if he had fled there? Even when he had been banished and a kill on sight order was in place if he would ever do so?

...Would Dream go to Tubbo?

No, no, Tommy forced himself to take a deep breath and hold it then release, like da—Philza had taught him all those years ago.

("Always take deep breaths when you feel a panic coming on, it helps oxygen get to the brain and helps relax you," Philza smiled gently, rubbing a hand up and down his back to comfort him.)

Fuck, Tommy really didn't want to think about da—Philza, or Tubbo, or Dream. Not Wilbur or Techno; he didn't want to spare another thought about them and yet—

His mind returned.

His thoughts always fucking returned.

Why? Why wasn't he good enough? What had he done wrong? He was just a fucking kid.

He pretended the stuttered breath he sucked in didn't happen.

Honestly, Tommy's surprised he even psyched himself up to go through with running. He hadn't been in the right mental state for a long time now, long before his exile if he's being honest with himself.

Maybe it started when Tommy had agreed with Wilbur to build L'Manburg. All they had wanted was independence from Dream's manipulations and attempts to scare them into compliance.

...But had Dream really been all that bad? At first anyway?

Tommy frowned, sure the guy was a total prick when he wanted to be but up until Wilbur arrived in the SMP region, Tommy had gotten along with most people, Dream included. Then that whole drug shit, which had been hilarious at the time but—

What had they been thinking?

Honestly, none of them should have ever agreed to create L'Manburg. They had been out of their depth the moment Wilbur had suggested the damn idea and look where it had landed them all because of it.

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He could smell the cooking bread from his room and that had been what finally prompted him to slide his legs over the edge of the bed and stand.

He hesitated a beat—fuck, what was her name?

He racked his brain in momentary panic before—

Y/N.

Her name was Y/N.

He breathed a sigh of relief, not wanting to embarrass himself by having to ask for her name again. He really didn't want her to think he was stupid and forgetful.

Tommy winced, not that being forgetful was bad, since Ranboo kinda suffered from memory problems but—well, it would be embarrassing.

He's greeted with a warm smile, "Good morning, Tommy."

"'orning," he mumbled sleepily with a smile that just felt awkward. He was sure it looked awkward as well.

"Bread will be ready soon," she tells him before adding: "I have plans to head into the Nether today. If you don't mind, I'd like to still go?"

Tommy blinked in confusion—what was she talking about?

Clearly, his confusion was visible because she chuckled, "No one ever tell you they'd be busy before?"

Oh.

Oh.

"I know that," he snapped back, harsher than he intended and guilt hit him, (See this is why everyone hates you, so fucking rude. Why can't you just be a normal person—) in an attempt to cover the fact her words had gone over his head.

Y/N hummed again, which just agitates him. Why? Because he was expecting her to bite back with her own retort. But she didn't. Not many people did that. Then again, Tommy was a passive-aggressive person to be around. His mere presence seemed to annoy most people.

Did she have experience with other people like him? Or was she just a really chill person?

̶L̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶P̶h̶i̶l̶ ̶c̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ ̶b̶e̶.̶

"I—" he started and stopped just as abruptly. He fidgeted in his seat, "Could I join you?"

Y/N blinked in surprise, nodding,  "Of course, if you want. I have some spare armour lying around, it may fit you."

Again, Tommy expected to be rejected. Again, he didn't know why.

̶T̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶a̶ ̶l̶i̶e̶.̶ ̶H̶e̶ ̶k̶n̶e̶w̶ ̶w̶h̶y̶.̶ ̶B̶e̶c̶a̶u̶s̶e̶ ̶p̶e̶o̶p̶l̶e̶ ̶c̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ ̶b̶a̶r̶e̶l̶y̶ ̶t̶o̶l̶e̶r̶a̶t̶e̶ ̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶p̶r̶e̶s̶e̶n̶c̶e̶.̶

"Thanks, promise I won't be a burden," he says it jokingly but his chest aches.

He doesn't miss the concerned furrow of her brows and he quickly changes the subject before Y/N could question him about his phrasing, "What's it exactly you need from the Nether anyway?"

"I'm running low on Blaze Powder and I'm hoping to see if I can loot a Wither skull too. I want to get a second beacon going on my property."

"A second one?" Tommy's impressed, not just anyone could go up against a Wither go casually. He certainly hadn't. ̶H̶e̶ ̶k̶n̶o̶w̶s̶ ̶T̶e̶c̶h̶n̶o̶ ̶h̶a̶s̶.̶

She waved off his praise with a small humble smile and arm rub,  "It took me forever to get the first one."

"It's still impressive."

Colour crept into her cheeks and Tommy almost wanted to laugh in disbelief at the downplaying of her actions.