Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Tommy wheezes unable to breath, he has been running for almost an hour and the sun has nearly set. He knows he should've stayed back in the SMP, grab the axe from his hiding spot, and fight. But he can't do this anymore. He’s so tired. Tired of the fighting, The blames, The hatred, The nightmare, everything. He wants to help everyone but he can't, he doesn't want to be a hero, to die again, to live a tragic life. Despite his protests, he wants to be a child, to make flower crowns, to be able to smile and laugh without consequence, to be cared for and loved unconditionally. Not seen as a burden, a soldier, a monster.

The threadbare backpack held whatever stuff he could grab as soon as the alarm went off, some food, gapples he convinced Ran to give to him the last time he visited them, his worn mushroom cow stuffy, and one of Wilbur's old sweaters. His wings cramped underneath the blue woolen cardigan he wore but he couldn't stop to take it off now. Not when Dream can catch up to him at any point. Nearby, he hears a branch break,  Lightning crackles around his hair and ear feathers due to his panic and the adrenalin in his system. He closes his eyes to focus on pushing himself faster, only for one of his feet to get caught on his other ankle and him to fall, he never hits the ground.

When he comes into consciousness, all he feels is cool, a temperature in-between cold, and lukewarm. Pleasant and grounding, but eerie. Because he doesn't feel any surfaces around him, as if he’s floating, and as he opens his eyes, that’s exactly what's going on. He’s floating, in what looks like a vibrant galaxy, both dark and light, with air both hard and easy to breathe simultaneously.

  There was a giant woman before him, with soft tan skin, floor length hair as black as the void, with vivid purple eyes peeling out from underneath her skull mask, one hidden underneath the starry veil cascading from her shadow hued sunhat, falling just past the middle of her back. She wore a mermaid style dress, made of black silky fabric, and deep violet chiffon bell sleeves that were long enough to fall close to her feet, and matching sash around her waist, both covered in a glowing constellation and star pattern, the same of which is on her veil.

Hearing a loud but soft giggles, he realized he was staring and looked up at her. She looks so familiar but he can't remember where he could have seen her. She felt like home . 

“Welcome back, my little prince,” Her angelic, warm voice cooed in pure adoration, as like a mom talking to her child.

His eyes widen as realization comes across him, “Mama?” He asks hesitantly, feeling his eyes water, hoping it's not a trick ( It obviously is, I mean, Wilbur always says she hated him and that's why she left ) He tries to ignore the stupid voice in the back of his head. The self depreciation one, that always believed every small thing Dream or Wilbur said.

“My darling boy, my sweet little lightning bolt” Her voice turning brittle as her eyes go teary. “I’m so, so sorry”

All of a sudden, he was now being nestled in hands slightly bigger than his whole body, cradling him to her cheek, Tommy unable to stop himself from chirping softly at her, unable to mind the manhandling, she was his mama . 

“ My baby, my baby boy, my little nestling ” She cant help but let out a sob, “I failed you, I failed you so much , you needn’t have suffered this much” 

He tries to hug her cheek, “It's okay, because I'm with you know right? I can just stay here?”

His heart drops as she shakes her head softly, careful not to hurt her baby, “ I can’t , no matter how much I wish that’s possible, XD won’t allow it even if I plead til the death of the universe.”

She moves Tommy to one hand, and takes off her mask, wiping them with the other, amethyst eyes gleaming tearfully at him. “But, I might be able to do something, You are so so important, that there is a you in every universe, so I might have to alter things slightly, but I can find you a new universe, one where you can eventually heal and be happy”

“But what would happen to the other me? One of Dad’s books said that 2 of the same person can't live at any given time, or universe?” At least that's what he remembers it saying, it feels like forever since he last visited him.

“That’s true, I would have to alter your code a bit to settle you there, basically change your name, and alter your genetics just slightly, making you basically register as a twin, or a clone of some sort. I have a friend in the universe I think will be best to send you, if you agrees, you will awaken in a house just a little aways from the city, named after L’Manburg,” She says, “You will have fully legal documents, food, water, money, books to understand the new place, and a memory journal like Ranboo’s to read how your destiny choose your path in that universe, to explain everything to you, and to help you blend in.” 

Tommy nearly groans at the books part, the only reason he even reads in the first place is because he didn't have much to do back then, since Tubbo ditches him, and doing nothing caused his anxiety to flare up with possible, though improbable and slightly senseless, scenarios. Before perking up after a second, “How do you know all that already? Weren't you just unsure, a second ago?”

She sits, in a way that feels like she's breaking the Universe, since mermaid dresses shouldn't allow that sort of movement, but next thing he knows, she’s sitting down on the  ‘floor’, and he was resting on her knee. 

She lets out a giggle before explaining, “Death is intertwined with time, death is yesterday, today, and tomorrow, so I just let it wash over me.”

He nods in confused, false understanding, though he didn't actually understand at all.

Mama suddenly grimaces, “ It’s time for you to go, the Me of that universe is human, though she shares a good portion of memories with me, though not the future. She should be able to help you out , and the friend who is gonna help me set you up, is named Clara Smith, she can help you with finding a job once you are settled. Once you're awake, choose your name, and it will be cemented into the legal documents and those who supposedly ‘met’ you’ s memories. But be warned, Dimension Traveling is dangerous and can have nasty effects,” She says, Tommy barely able to keep up with what she is saying, but nods as soon as he processed it, and opens his mouth to ask a question, her face fills with panic, “He has sensed you, goodbye my dear child” and everything goes black.

Chapter Text

When he woke up, It was slow and calm. He was surrounded by warmth, with what felt like Techno’s wolf fur blankets (Which he remembers, he always made as a way to keep his wolves around even after their passing, whether of old age, or during battles) but oddly enough, It was softer, making him curl up closer to the blankets, still mostly asleep. It didn’t take long for the memories of what happened earlier to come back to him, causing him to jolt up from where he was tangled up in his blankets and-

CRASH! He threw himself off his bed. Letting out a pained squawk as he tried not to start crying (to not be weak, to not be a burden), air starting to crackle with electricity, he let out an ever so small pained peep following it. He looked around the new room he was in, his new room, forcing his protesting body on his trembling legs, feeling as if his body was torn apart atom by atom and then reassembled. The room had cornflower blue walls, fluffy white carpet ‘That doesn’t seem like a good idea- what do you mean its so pretty- Its too bright- It’s designed by Mumza herself, It’s perfect’ Tommy rubbed his temples, at the slam of sudden voices plaguing his skull, “what the fuck…” He mutters to himself, only to hear several replies ‘Heya- Hi- Hello- It’s Nice to meet- You can hear us!- of course he can, idiot- Hey!- did you not listen to Mumza’ Tommy froze, “Mumza sent you?” ‘Yes, I- YUP! She asked us to keep an eye out for you to help you out- We are chat- It’s so nice to meet you officially darlin’ “To meet me officially? What do you mean? do you guys have names?, and one at a time please, yall are causing a migraine.” Tommy pushed down the panic trying to rear its head out from nowhere.

The voices toning down in a way that almost seemed like whispers before- ‘ I’m Draven. I’m Rodrick! Though you can call me Rody! And I’m Aelia, sweetheart. To put it simply, baby, we were souls that your eldest brother had…lets say put to an end. Your mama had asked us to help you along in this new life of yours, and just to say- YES! Do you know how hard it is to stay in a head with a bunch of angry souls that became psychos, especially in your murderers head? Yeah no fun. Now baby, I know you didn’t just interrupt me. Sorry Grandma…’ Tommy snorts slightly in disbelief but just shakes his head. He slows to a stop as he spots a journal and a bunch of papers. He walks over to the Table they are on, “What the?” ‘Ah, you might not remember everything from before, The journal is your “memory book”, It will tell you about your designed past in this world, though I suggest doing your papers first, they are important. You have a visitor coming later,’ “A visitor?” He wonders for a second but grabs the papers to look at them; a birth certificate, the mother labeled “Jane Doe”, a passport, and a ID, all blank where his name should be. “Something that starts with T is Probably best… Theo… Theodore? No…Teddy? Definitely not. Why is thinking of T names so hard,” He groans. (“Welcome Home Theseus!” Techno’s voice from forever ago echos in his head.) Should he? It was basically a second name to him. But he was disowned by his father so he couldn’t be allowed to- ‘You can be called whatever you like baby, I just know your mamas gonna give your pops and brothers a tush-whooping soon enough. Would you like that name? Theseus is such a cool name!’ He DID like Greek mythology after all, quite a lot actually, but he never had a way to express such interests safely. “Yes… My name is Theseus. Hmm. Theseus Kraken Innit. It sounds nice” ZAP. He looks down and his name was now on his papers. Tom- No Theseus smiles.

CLACK CLACK. There was a knock on a door, he leaves the papers there and heads out of the bedroom and downstairs, trying not to pay attention to the surroundings, knowing every small thing is setting off his anxiety. Once he gets to the door, he tries to calm himself down before opening the door. ‘Please don’t be Dream. Please. Lady Prime if you’re there-’ “Hello there,” A gentle woman’s voice hummed. Theseus finally notices the sting in his eyes and tightness in his chest. He takes a deep breath, and looks at the person- well people. 2 alien hybrids, a short, though taller than him, lady, with dirty blond hair and violet eyes. She wore a knee length pale lilac dress and had a name tag that read ‘Clara | She/Her | Fem terms | Welcome Committee’ and some pins reading, ‘Lesbian Astronaut’, ‘Crew Mom’, and ‘THEE cool mom’. Behind her, was a tall boy his age who he immediately recognized, Purpled. He couldn’t help but stare, He didn’t have all the scars, Theseus remembered, his hair was more golden blond, and their eyes were not dull. He wore his signature purple hoodie, alongside black jeans, and combat boots. They also wore a name tag and pins ‘Purpled|He/They| Masc Terms|Intern|Welcome Committee’, ‘Don’t touch my UFO’ ‘Space enthusiast’, and ‘Proud Space Freaks Club Member’ They were so different, it was so odd. He snapped out of his head to a familiar chuckle. ”Uh umm Hello Um I’m Theseus. I use He/him currently” He stammered. ‘Talk about Embarrrrasssssing. Rodrick. Rody, Leave the poor baby alone’ Clara smiles warmly, “Hello Theseus, My name is Clara, and this is my son Purpled. I use She/her, and They use He/They pronouns. Its nice to meet you, I didn’t mean to wake you up,” she looks at his clothes amusedly for some reason. Purpled lets out another snort, and Theseus looks down at his clothes, only now fully registering the fluffy onesie he was currently wearing.

His face flushes three shades and lets them in. “Just one second, come on in” And runs back up to his room, and finds the dresser, the ‘table’ from before, and grabs pale blue knee length shorts , and a black turtleneck with a darker blue cardigan, that he remembered making our of Friend’s wool. He then combs through his matted hair with his fingers grimacing, and sticks it in a bun, putting on his socks and shoes, careful with the heavy bandages on his right leg (That keeps seeming to be getting worse everyday). He grabs the journal, made of dark blue dyed leather and gold ink with the words, ‘Life of a Thunderbird’ and ‘do not read’ stamped on it, and starts limping back downstairs. He looks around slightly while he heads to the living room. The house looks so similar to his original home, before his dad became absent, and both his brothers mental health both dropped. He holds his memory journal with his prosthetic hand while using his right hand (missing fingers due to him-) he breathes in for 5, holds for 3, and breathes out for 6, before repeating a few times. He shouldn’t dwell on the past. He shouldn’t. ‘Oh baby…’ “not right now,” He murmurs to Aelia. He skims through the backstory chosen for him; Mother with amnesia who gave birth to twins, grew up poor til he was 5, when while he was out playing, his mom and sick brother got found by their dad and older brothers, leaving Theseus alone, he became a street kid only to be kidnapped and tortured by a so-called ‘hero’ who wanted to relieve stress, for years at a time, til he escaped when he was 13, and was on the run since. Then came the other aspects he needed to know according to Mumza, superpowers, heroes, villains, everything. He pauses at the door frame of the living room to slip the journal into his cardigan pocket. “Sorry for the wait,” Theseus looks at the duo. Not noticing how Purpled eyed his bandaged leg in half-veiled concern. He limped over to the the armchair across from them. “Oh no worries! I was told by a friend of mine, that you need help finding a job?” Theseus Brightens. Something he was use too keep busy and ignore his trau- cough cough- lore. "Yes! I mean Yes Please." Clara nods. “Of course! I have just the place for you! They have been really low on employee’s recently! So They will most likely hire you on the spot!” Theseus snorts, “I doubt they’d like me that much-”

Chapter Text

“Your Hired!” This universe’s Puffy says to him, making him blink in shock. He probably shouldn’t have assumed anything else from any version of Puffy to be honest, and he will never doubt Clara again. She owns a Cafe-bookshop combo with her wife, Niki, who happens to like him in this universe. She offered him 2 cookies! She didn’t even attempt to murder him once!

‘That is such a low bar- Shush.’ “When can I start?” Theseus questions as he wipes his face. “How about tomorrow?” Puffy responds, “Sounds good! See ya then miss Puffy!” He forced himself to stay polite throughout the entire interview and it definitely paid out. It felt like someone trapped him in a balloon though, which was unpleasant. ‘A Balloon? Congratulations on the job, baby! Good Luck.’ Theseus hums to himself as he explores the city, trying to get used to the odd building style and transportation methods this universe has.

BOOM! The area in front of Theseus gets blurry, as air seems to escape him. (“Put you items in the hole tom-) ‘Kid-’ ‘I’m not there, I’m not anywhere close to there but-’ BOOM! (“Tommy, put your items-”) “Tommy! No time to just stand there! We need to go!” Someone suddenly grabs him and drags Theseus away from the echoing explosions, a building collapsing, hitting where he just was a few minutes prior. Once they got several blocks away, the person suddenly stops, causing him to stumble.

“Tommy! What was that?! You could’ve been cru- Wait. Your not Tommy.” Theseus looks up to see Tubbo, or well- this universe of him. Shoulder length brown and blond hair in a mini ponytail at the nape of his neck. Vivid but blank toxic green and a surprised sky blue eye stares right at him. Tubbo wore a black tank top and dull green jeans. He was taller than him, just barely, stocky, and obviously strong. Theseus rubs his sore wrist, where he was grabbed. “No-” He says shakily. “My name is Theseus. and you are?”

“I’m Tubbo! uh- Sorry about that, you were about to be crushed and I thought you were my friend, Tommy, which is kinda funny cuz- well- Hes quite a bit taller than me, honestly he weight a fuck ton more too, to be honest.” Tubbo replies, “Though you do look a quite fair bit like him.” ‘Yooo! Twins arc commencing!! Now Rody, what did we say about yelling-’ “But I’m glad I got you out in time” Tubbo seems to think a bit and a sly grin appears on his face. “how about we hang out for a bit? You seem pretty chill, and I want to get to know you more. Maybe cause some mischief if your interested?” Theseus perks up as a matching grin slides onto his face, “Hell yeah!”

Tubbo's POV:

RadioTerror slammed a knee into Lucid’s stomach forcing him to let go of him. This battle was starting to get risky, he kicks the hero away from him and climbs up the side of the coffee shop he was near. He watches for a second as Ichor creep behind Lucid and throws him through a building., and he looks where Azrael and Storyteller are fighting REM and where FoxFire and DualThunder are trapping Hellfire, only to see reinforcements coming. “Guys! More heroes incoming!” He calls, and presses the enderpearl charm on his jacket. VWRP! He blinks away the distortion as he looks around the base, spotting Ethereal in their purple, black and white costume grinning ear to ear. “It Worked?”.

“Yup!” Voi says , showing the glittering nether star in their hands. “Damn, almost didn’t believe Phil, when he said the plan but it worked almost flawlessly.” he hummed. Watching as members of the Syndicate started teleporting in. “well, I ought to head out, I promised Toms I would hang out with him today.” RadioTerror says while heading towards the break room to grab his stuff. “Ok! Let me know how it goes! Also Kris’s making her famous chili tonight, so make sure to be there for that” “Mm yum! I will!”

barely ten minuted later, Tubbo walks out of the restroom, and stretches his sore muscles, and starts walking to the door, throwing a small bye and explanation over his shoulder to Techno as he headed out of the library. Tubbo takes a bus over to District 12 and heads over to thee park, him and Tommy was suppose to meet at but he wasn’t there. He sighs and slumps over onto their bench, watching as people walk by, only to hear his phone beep with a message.

' Hey Tubs, Got stuck at work, cant hang today sorry’ It read. This was the 3rd time already. He knew Puffy and Niki were low on people, but still. ' Also looks like we might be getting a new person lol’ (A new person? How interesting! Hopefully not a wuss like that Jared asshole.) He hummed darkly as he remembered that bitch.

He sighs and stands up, brushing himself off of imaginary dust, looking around and heading to the bus stop when- BOOM! A building explodes not too far away from him. What the fuck. Tubbo knew they hadn’t planned to bomb this area, it being considered sacred due to him and his friends. He spots Tommy from the corner from his eyes just standing there. (Wasn’t he suppose to be at the cafe!? Shit. Why wasn’t he moving, that dumb ass!) Tubbo bolts over in his direction, grabbing him on the way and pulling him away from the destruction. (Tommy seems lighter than he was this morning.) “Tommy! What was that?! You could’ve been cru-” Oh. Tubbo looks at ‘Tommy’, only to realized that it wasn’t him. “Wait. Your not Tommy.” The boy?, he was looking at was shorter than himself, near skeletal, and covered in a multitude of scarring. They had longish gold and white hair, and dull, weary blank sapphire-blue eyes. They had similar facial features like Tommy, and honestly looked like a mini-him in a way. Just VERY traumatized. He can sense it. (Shit. Phil’s gonna go dad mode.) Tubbo manages to convince The boy, Theseus (oh prime, Techno might have a new favorite brother.), into hanging out with him. (Time for some detective work! MwaHaHa!)

Chapter Text

Theseus and Tubbo giggled as they hid behind a dumpster. “Holy fuck, I cant believe we got away!” Theseus full on gasps for air as he can't help but laugh his head off. His shoulders shake as he tries to calm down his laughter.

Tubbo was chuckling as he patted Theseus’s back, careful to avoid his wings. “I know right, did you see Sam’s face! It was amazing! That was fucking awesome” He took one look at Theseus and nearly burst out laughing again " Breathe! Theseus! Calm down, stop laughing! You need to breathe, man!” It took another 5 minutes til he calmed down enough that he wasn’t actively dying for a 4th time.

“Damn, you must’ve had fun with that prank if you laughed that hard” A familiar voice came from behind them, scaring the hell out of both of them. It was a dead end for Lady Death’s sake. But lo-and-behold, Purpled stood by them with an easy grin on his face. They had his jacket tied around their waist. They take in their bewildered expressions with a small snort.

“Hel-Hello Purpled! How are you today?” Tubbo stammers out, having got rather pale, and awkward. Watching as Purpled tilt his head and raises an eyebrow at him, he looks down at the ground. “Dad’s looking for me isn’t he?”

“Yup! Worried out of his head too, especially with the explosions in town,” they explain, “He looked ready to send a search team after you, so I decided to come and warn you.” Tubbo nods and gives Theseus a quick hug and runs off. Purpled snorts at the expression on Theseus’s face, “You okay there, Birdie?” He hummed.

“Yeah, yeah, but didn’t expect a hug our of someone I just met earlier today, He didn’t give The vibes of a hugger.” ‘or was i just comparing him to his Tubbo?’ he thought. Wait- did Purpled just call him birdie?

“Well, you give the vibes of a sweet abused puppy, so no wonder,” Purpled hums, meeting Theseus’s dead-eyed stare. (I do not give puppy vibes!) Theseus’s wings poof up, ignoring how Rody was laughing in the back of his skull. “Come on, Mom wants to hear if you got the job, she's making a celebratory dinner for you” 

Theseus stares at Purpled, “Why would she do that for me?” He hurries to catch up to Purpled, wincing at the throbbing pain that shoots up his bad leg. The adrenalin from the pranks  and being chased went away leaving him exhausted and hurting. He droops slightly but tries to stay in pace with Purpled. It only takes Purpled a minute to see what state Theseus was in and sighs. 

“Mom’s just like that. Here,” Purpled squats in front of him, “Get on my back.” Theseus freezes, unsure what to do. He really is tired, but being carried is for those that are weak or babies, and he isn't weak or a baby. He wants to be sometimes but thats not allowed. ‘Sweetheart…’ ‘That's morbid’ ‘I don't think you're using the word ‘morbid’ right, Rodrick, But it is sad.’  

After a few seconds, Theseus finally gives in, forcing away any need to argue, he doesn't want to drive Purpled away too. He drives everyone away at some point... He climbs onto Purpled’s back, feeling awkward as he wraps his arms around his neck so he doesn't fall. He can't help but tense as Purpled stands up. Theseus rests his head on their back, folding his wings against his back, to make it easier for Purpled. 

Next thing he knew, he was relaxing, and he blinked, and he was on a soft warm brown couch, Purpled on the floor in front of him, playing a space game on the ‘tv’. (if the memories from the magic book from this morning were right) It was still amazing to see though. This world had advanced so much farther than his ever would. 

There was a delicious smell coming from the open kitchen to his left, with Clara bustling around it, making the dinner Purpled was talking about. How did she know he got the job, though? If it’s supposed to be a celebratory dinner, doesn't she have to wait for the good news? He spots him staring over at her and waves. 

“Hey Theseus! Nice to see you awake! Dinner will be ready in 5 minutes. By the way, Puffy called while you were asleep. She wanted to let you know that it would be best if you go there at noon.” She explained. Oh. That's why. Wait. How did she call? Puffy mentioned something about calling a ‘phone’ and needing a phone number to call, during the interview, but he didn't have one. “She saw us walk you to the shop and just called me instead. I didn't realise you didn't have a phone. I'm sorry about that.”

Theseus shrugs awkwardly, standing up and stretching his sparking wings before he coughs, and attempts to be polite, “It's ok, most people have these phones, yes?” he asks, he looks away from Clara before continuing, “So You wouldn't expect that, I guess.” 

A snort escapes Purpled, and he looks over to Theseus. “That was fuckin hilarious. You are so fuckin awkward, it's amazing,” they say with a huge grin, before bursting out laughing, and dropping the controller at Theseus’s facial expression. “What's wrong, Birdbrain? Cat got your tongue?” 

His wings flare and electricity crackles around them. “Who the fuck are you calling Birdbrain, Bitchboy!” He yells before lunging full-force at him. Next thing he knows, they are wrestling on the floor, trying to keep each other down. It was actually kind of fun. It wasn't like they were actually fighting, and oddly enough, he felt safe. That was probably why he let his guard down.

Purpled finally was able to get a good grasp on Theseus and flipped him over, pining him on his stomach, careful around his wings, but thorough in keeping him down. “Who you callin’ a bitchboy?” He teased, “There’s the gremlin I know you are!” They wait til Theseus goes limp, and then let him go. 

“Dinner’s ready!” Clara calls from the kitchen causing Theseus and Purpled to eye each other and then lunge toward the dining room, shoving each other out of the way, trying to get to the kitchen first. Clara giggles when she looks towards them. “Have fun roughhousing?” She inquires, watching as they both nod, Theseus more wary than Purpled’s. “I didn't know much about what you like so I made a bit of everything,” she explains.

And everything there was. There was a lot of food at the table, from steaks and salad to corn on the cob and mashed potatoes. The food smells so good but Theseus’s stomach begins to feel queasy at the idea of eating. Theseus takes a small amount of food, letting the conversation Purpled and Clara were having wash over him as he forced himself to eat. It helped that they weren't watching him eat but still eating with him, although either way, the food felt wrong in his mouth, like he was back in exile and snuck some food from one of Ranboo’s visits. (Ranboo had always been concerned if he ate enough.)

“Theseus?” A voice shook him out of his head, causing him to jerk slightly as he looked into Purpled’s concerned eyes. “Are you feeling alright? You seemed kinda out of it there, and you look pale,” they explained, before he felt Theseus' forehead. “You are not warm, so no fever, in fact, you're rather cold.” He mused. They tuck in their seat before he walks around the table and helps Theseus out his seat. “C’mon, we can go hang in my room, mom has a few guests soon. I can show you Minecraft,” they say, taking Theseus by the hand and guiding him up what felt like 50 million stairs. Purpled’s Bedroom was cool though, with lilac walls, and black fuzzy carpet, and while he had a lot of technology, it was rather cozy. They turned on his tv and started up his console and prepared Minecraft. 

Minecraft took a little bit for Theseus to get used to, but it was fun. He kept dying to the mobs though, which kinda sucked. Theseus only looked away from the screen when Clara knocked on the door, declaring lights out. He looked out the window, and it was pitch black out. “Shit, I didn't realise the time,” Theseus muttered to himself. 

“Why don't you spend the night, you might not live far, but it's dark out,” Purpled asks. He looks over and boops Theseus on the nose, smiling at Theseus’s confused expression.  “I can see if mom can take you to work tomorrow, and I can show you some of my other games in the  morning,” he suggests. 

Theseus stares at the wall for a good minute, and then looks over to Purpled, feeling self-conscious. Most people got annoyed after a little bit, but Purpled didn't. They actually riled him up when he noticed that he was trying to tone himself down. He slowly nods, “Yeah, I'd like to stay over, if that's ok?” Purpled’s eyes softened just a tiny bit.

“Of course, dumbass, wasn't I the one who asked?

Chapter Text

(Nightmare scene starts here)

Theseus couldn’t move. He needed to run but he couldn't move! Dream was angry. So, so angry. He didn't like it that he left. He could hear his footsteps, light and measured coming in his direction. Theseus could feel as he regained full control of his limbs, falling forward as if a puppet had its strings cut. THUMP.

Dream’s footsteps pause before going faster, building speed with each step he took. Theseus scrambles onto his feet and bolts, twisting and turning through the never-ending  labyrinth of halls. He turns one last corner, and he finally spots a door at the end of the corridor. A potential exit! Thank Prime! He darts over to the door and grabs the doorknob, rattling it as he tries to open it. It won't open. Theseus grows frantic, rattling it harder. 

He could hear Dream getting closer with each passing moment. Dream’s maniacal laugh causes goosebumps to raise on his arms. Right as Theseus was about to give up and accept his fate, a loud click came from the lock, and he rushed into the room., only to freeze in horror at what he saw. He can't help but scream. Blood coats the floor, walls, and even drips from the ceiling. Corpses, mangled and disfigured, but so clearly his friends and family, litter the room in a gory mess. 

“Do you like your present?” Dream mocks cruelly from behind him. Theseus blood runs cold at his voice, and the sound of the door shutting and locking behind him. Theseus couldn't stop staring at one particular corpse’s face. It was his fault for growing attached. Dream grabs his wrist in a bruising grasp, pulling Theseus to his chest. “You really should have thought about what would happen if you left. Right Theseus? So why don't you just-” Dream coos before he is cut off.

“Theseus, wake up. It's just a nightmare,” a familiar voice explains gently. He felt something that wasn't there brush his leg. The voice is firm. Comforting even. It's just a nightmare? It felt so real though, especially Dream’s grip on his wrist, but it made everything else make sense. The nonsensical layout, the sudden unlocking of the door, even the sudden appearance here. It made him feel more confident. He had someone watching out for him. Who’s willing to help him wake up. He rips his wrist from Dream’s grasp as he listens to the kind voice’s murmurs. 

“Meddling brat! You won't escape that easily! I will find you!” Dream growls, and tries to grab Theseus only to go through him. Dream turned frantic trying to grasp him as his voice turned crazed, “You are mine. You belong to me and only me. I will get you back, and you won't be able to escape again.” Cringing at the creepy words, Theseus finally closes his eyes and follows the kind voice, leaving Dream behind him.

(Nightmare ends, vomits scene begins)

Theseus’s eyes flutter open, sitting up slowly before bile rises in his throat. He clamped his hands over his mouth as he heard a faint curse in the background, before a small trashcan was pushed into his hands. Tears drip down his cheeks as he loses the contents of his stomach. A warm hand gently rubs his back as he sobs.  Acid burning his throat and nose as he gagged, and tried to gasp for air between each round of vomit. After a few minutes he was dry heaving. The sight of the gore in his nightmare leaves him sick to his stomach. A distressed trill leaving his lips.

(Vomit scene ends)

 The same familiar voice he heard in his dream just talks, about everything and nothing at the same time, as they hand him a glass of water. He sips it slowly, slowly calming down. He looks up from the glass, only to look Purpled in the eyes. Electricity runs down Theseus’s spine, wings fluffing up. Purpled was okay. That's right. It had been a nightmare. Theseus felt weak, he got sick over a nightmare. He’s been through wars and torture, and now he was crying and throwing up over some gore in a nightmare of all things. He felt pathetic. 

“You feeling better, Thes?” Purpled asks, staring at him with warm and concerned eyes, his hands wiping away Theseus’s tears. Theseus nods, not trusting himself to speak. Purpled glances down for a second onto to pause and gently grab Theseus’s hand and bring it closer to his face, looking at it with keen eyes. Theseus freezes, his wrist was swollen and had a dark bruise of a handprint on it. “You didn’t have this when we went to sleep, did you?” Purpled inquires grimly. He grimaces when Theseus shakes his head, and helps Theseus up. “Come on, let's get you patched up,” He mutters and leads him out of the bedroom.

He leads him to the bathroom, having Theseus sit down as they look for the bandages in the drawers of the spruce and granite counters. Finding the bandages, Purpled kneels in front of Theseus and gently grabs his injured wrist, firmly wrapping his wrist, making sure it wasn't too tight.  Purpled looks up at Theseus and stands up, and grabs Theseus’s other hand. They guide Theseus out the bathroom. 

“Ma made hot cocoa, but I’ll make you some chamomile tea to help with your upset stomach.,” Purpled explains, leading him to the kitchen, pulling out a chair for Theseus to sit. He lets go of Theseus’s hand. They grab a kettle and start the water for the tea. Clara walks into the room, sipping from a green mug as she walks. She perks up as she sees Theseus. 

“How are you feeling? Nightmares suck, don't they?” She asks, she watches as Theseus shrugs and walks over to him and softly places a hand on Theseus’s forehead. “You have a slight fever. Let's hope it goes down in the morning. Let me grab you some Tylenol” She puts her mug on the counter, and walks out of the room, ruffling Purpled’s hair on the way out. 

Theseus stares after her. No one has really cared when he was sick before, especially not enough to get him medicine. The only time he could think of are just some blurry memories from when he was a little kid, with Wilbur trying his best to take care of him. Though now that he thinks back to it, there was that time with Techno after his exile, but Techno was so reluctant that he didn't know if it counted.

 By the time Clara came back in with an odd looking plastic bottle,  the kettle started whistling, Theseus flinching slightly from the loud noise. Purpled’s eyes linger on him for a second, but he doesn't say anything. He just starts preparing the tea, humming slightly as he did so, and Clara passes the bottle to him, careful not to drop it. Theseus carefully read the instructions, squinting to focus on the tiny letters. After double checking the dosage, Theseus takes 2 of them and takes them with  a small bottle of water Clara hands to him next. Theseus can't help but guzzle the rest of the water afterwards, the cool water soothing his sore throat. 

“And it's done!” Purpled exclaims proudly, holding the steaming mug of tea as he walks over. “I added some honey like you prefer,” Purpled explains, “It's really hot, so be careful not to burn your tongue.” He hands Theseus the mug. Theseus stared at the mug for a good second. It was made of Ceramic, and was a bright shimmery blue with the words, ‘I'm blue, da ba de’ on the side. Theseus lets out a snort at the phrase, and blows on the tea, trying to cool it down. 

When he takes a sip, he can't help but let out a hum. It was good, the honey paired well with the floral taste as it usually did, and it was a perfect ratio honey to tea. Not too sweet, not too bitter. Theseus let his eyes flutter shut as he drank. Theseus hardly noticed when he drained the cup for a second. The warmth settled his stomach. He grumbled when he noticed it was empty, settling the cup on the counter beside him, and yawned. Chamomile tea always made him sleepy, but what if he had another nightmare?

“Thes?” Theseus couldn't help but jump as a hand settled on his own. He looks up to see Purpled looking down at him. "C'mon let's go to bed. It’s like 2 am,” Purpled continued, then he noticed Theseus’s facial expression and winked at him. “Don't worry, I’ll be there to protect you from any nightmares!” He exclaims, puffing out his chest and grinning cheekily at Theseus, before he elbows purpled. “Oof-” Purpled retaliated by throwing Theseus over his shoulder and running to the front room with a giggling Theseus and throwing him onto the couch. Clara watches from the kitchen with a soft smile. 

“Okay, enough rough housing. It's time for bed kiddos,” Clara says, giggling when Theseus refuted being called a child. Purpled grumbles something but Theseus barely heard it. His hearing wasn't the best after being close to so many explosions. If someone murmured, or whispered he wouldn't be able to hear them, not that he’d admit it. One thing he was glad with the voices, was the fact that he could hear them so clearly since they were in his head. Speaking of the voices, they were oddly quiet. 

“Come on! Let's head back upstairs!” Purpled exclaims, louder than before, and grabs his hand and leads him up the stairs back to the bedroom, plopping himself on the bed once they are in the room. He does grabby hands towards Theseus, “I promised I'd protect you from nightmares, didn't I?” Purpled says as Theseus  comes closer, grabbing his hand and pulling him next to him, hugs him and lays down, careful with his wings as he cradles Theseus to his chest. 

“What are you doing?” Theseus asks, “How will this help with my nightmares?” He pushes slightly off Purpled’s chest to be able to look up at him with a raised eyebrow. Purpled tenses slightly and looks down at Theseus in concern before speaking.

“Have you never been cuddled before? That's a crime if I have to say anything about it!” Purpled says, pulling Theseus closer, “My parents always let me cuddle up with them when I had a nightmare, It’s always helped me, and it should help you as well.” Theseus supposed that made sense. He never really had anyone to 'cuddle' with. His father had always been dismissive of him, his brothers always busy or cold to him. His mother wasn't in the physical world. Tubbo hated physical contact and Ranboo, well Theseus thinks Ranboo was in a similar boat to him. Not knowing what cuddling was. They had a few long hugs though. The Purpled back in his original universe, while they were close, had been iffy with physical contact due to trauma. Theseus did have to admit the physical contact was nice, it wasn't something he was used too. He couldn't help but let out a small chirp as he dozed off.

For once Theseus wakes up slowly, nice and warm and safe for the first time in forever. He cuddles closer to the warm pillow in his arms. The heartbeat in his ears calms his soul, leaving him boneless and sleepy. It was when the pillow pulled him closer that Theseus realized the pillow wasn't a pillow after all, memories from last night coming back to him. 

Theseus grumbles as his flicker open. Yep. Purpled is the pillow. Heh. Purpled the pillow. Theseus giggles sleepily and snuggles his face deeper into Purpled’s chest, planning on going back asleep when he hears the shutter of a camera. He looks up to Clara who shoves the camera in her purse. She was already dressed and ready to go in a mustard yellow blouse and black leggings. 

“I see you got caught by the cuddle-monster” Clara giggles, “Even though he normally acts like a tough guy, they always were a cuddlebug."  She walks closer and she pats Theseus’s head “I’ll help you with your hair today, after breakfast.” She hums, “It’s time to get up” 

Theseus sighs, but obeys anyway. Normally he’d tell anyone who tried to wake him up to fuck off, but Clara was too nice. Even if she does have blackmail on him. He tries to sit up only for Purpled to hold him closer. Theseus then tries to wiggle free but can’t. Fuck. He’s stuck. Theseus can hear Aelia snort and Rody full blown laughing in the back of his skull. 

“Purpled! Let me gooo!” Theseus whines as he tries to escape, only to be shushed by a sleepy Purpled. He rolls over with Theseus in his arms, trapping him further between them and the wall. Shit. “Purpledddd,” Theseus complains.

“Noo Pillowww! Quiett, Don't move!” Purpled protests sleepily, nuzzling his face into Theseus’s hair. That's when Clara takes pity on Theseus, and she helps him escape, ignoring Purpled’s grumbles. Purpled sits up, grumpily glaring at their mom for waking him up and taking Theseus away from them.

Theseus stands up, stretching his wings outwards. He grimaces as his wings itch. He hasn't preened in a while and he could feel it.  A few loose feathers fell from his wings to the floor. The urge to preen is very strong but he ignores it. There’s no time and he’s not at the nest. 

He pretends not to notice Clara’s concerned stare as he folds his wings and walks past her to head to the kitchen both Purpled and Clara following behind him. Theseus grabs a plate of pancakes and pours some strawberry syrup, the good kind, on them, and sits down. He eats while he listens to Clara and Purpled chat as they eat, telling stories and talking about plans for the day. 

After everyone finishes eating and cleaning up, Clara offers to help get the mats out of Theseus’s hair. Theseus perks up at that. His hair is so matted, that he is kind of worried they will have to cut it, but Clara is extremely patient as she works on Theseus’s hair. She washes and rewashes his hair in the sink every once in a while as she works. By the time they are done, Theseus's scalp hurts but it's the cleanest he felt in a long time. Clara has Purpled grab a mirror and Theseus can't help but stare. His hair went to his mid back, which made sense since he hadn't cut it since the l'manburg wars, and was back to his shiny golden blonde color. Theseus can't help but grin at his reflection, he looks more like himself than he had since before exile. 

“Clara? Can you braid my hair please?” Theseus asks, looking up at her with pleading eyes. He always loved braiding Technoblade’s hair, and had wished to do the same to his own hair back then, but now he can. He always knew he had longish hair, since he could put it up in a bun while matted as all hell, but he didn't think it was that long. His hair is a little frail due to lack of care but it is still quite thick, even with all the hair that had fallen out during the detangling. 

“Of course,” Clara responded, perking up at the thought of braiding Theseus’s hair.  She guided Theseus to a different seat and started braiding his hair into an intricate braid, weaving multiple smaller braids and weaving them into the bigger braid. She softly hums as she does so, creating a soft melody that relaxes Theseus. It reminds him of Wilbur before he became crazy, back when he still loved him. “And done!” She ties off the braid with a baby blue hair tie. “Well we should get ready to go to your house so you can get ready for your first day of work” Clara urges them. 

Theseus hurries upstairs to get changed from the pair of PJs he borrowed, back into yesterday's attire. He heads back downstairs to see Purpled in day clothes. Purpled wore his usual purple jacket and some black jeans with purple and blue patches on them alongside a UFO keychain dangling from one of his belt loops. He also had on black converse. 

“You ready?” Clara asks, pulling on a cardigan as she grabs her keys from the hook. At Theseus and Purpled’s confirmations, She opens the door for the two of them and the two of them walk out, getting into the back seat of the car. Theseus didn't live all that far from them but Clara had insisted she drive him there. 

Once they made it to the house, Theseus gets out and hurries in to get dressed before realizing he doesn't know the dress code. Fuck. ‘Just dress nice dear, it should be fine since it's your first day.’ Aelia hums. Theseus nods and listens to Rody and Draven bicker about what Theseus should wear til he decides on a black button up, a deep blue sweater, and nice black jeans. Theseus rewraps his leg while he is at it. The injured limb made it hard to get on his jeans. He really needed to get it looked at but he knew it would be expensive. He throws on some black leather boots, and grabs all his documents he needed for today, putting them in a deep blue cloth over-the-shoulder bag with a thunder cloud sewn on it.

He locks the door behind him as he leaves the house, careful not to limp as his leg screams at him. The pain intensified now that he is paying attention to it. He enters the car and puts on the seatbelt, and leans back in the seat paying attention more to the voices than whatever Purpled and Clara is talking about. Draven was roasting the shit out of Rody and Theseus can't help but let out snort at one of Rody’s comebacks. 

“Hey Birdie?” Purpled shakes his shoulder to get his attention, and then starts pointing out at all the places he should know. Theseus pays attention, trying to memorize everything Purpled is saying “...and that is where I work” He points at a bar as they pass it  “I just do dishwashing since I'm not 21 yet, but I want to be a bartender with all their fancy tricks” They explain, “ Quackity, my boss, is really nice for the most part except when his ex comes in, then he can be pretty vicious.”

Shortly after, they make it to the bookstore-café combo. Theseus takes a good look at the name, ‘Books n Treats’ was what it was called.  A rather simple name but he missed it the first time he was here. He waves to Purpled and Clara as they left before going in. He loved the vibes everything gave off. The café portion was painted in pale greens and blues, with tons of plants and fluffy rugs and pillows. The bookshop side was more sophisticated in a sense, more tans and shades of gold, with Victorian looking bookshelves that go to the ceiling with fancy ladders to reach the higher up books. 

“Oh you're here a little early Theseus!” Puffy exclaimed, clapping his hands together. “Lets finish your paperwork then we can introduce you to your coworkers and do some training today, sounds good?” Theseus nods, following Puffy into the back, where he spent a good 30 minutes signing and reading through things. After that, she gathers the employees currently working and lines them up, “Ya’ll have a new coworker so greet him with open arms. “

Puffy introduces Theseus to Fundy, Connor and a few others who welcome him happily. She mentions that more will be coming in a few hours to swap shifts and that he’ll meet them then. He was assigned to Fundy as his mentor for training. He follows Fundy around listening to his instructions, starting with putting away books and learning the drinks. Fundy was pretty patient with him, even though he noticed that Fundy got annoyed a few times with how many times he spilled the coffee before Fundy noticed his hands, and went ashen but didn't say anything. Missing fingers sucked, even if it were just the middle ones from when Dream got oh so angry with him. It made it slightly hard to grasp things with his hands. Well, that and his sprained wrist made it hard to hold things as well. 

Hours passed relatively quickly as Fundy taught him the ropes. It wasn't until Puffy pulled him aside, did he know how long time passed. She introduces him to the next shift and Theseus freezes, meeting the eyes of this universe’s Tommy. His twin. Tommy stares at him with a keen eye. 

“Theseus meet Tommy, Ranboo, and Molly, guys meet Theseus, Your new coworker” Puffy says, smiling from ear to ear. Ranboo and Molly wave at him, and Tommy looks at him with curiosity, tilting his head, before grinning at him.

“Hello Theseus” Tommy says, pulling him into a side hug, “ It's nice to meet you mini-me.” Tommy wore a red and white hoodie and khaki cargo pants. Tommy lets go of him. 

“Why’d you call him your ‘mini-me’?” Ranboo asks, confused, fiddling with his hands. He wore the uniform, a pastel blue and green striped shirt and a white apron. He was staring at Theseus intently. 

“It's obvious isn't it? He looks like a traumatized miniature version of me so he’s my mini-me! I'm going to be his mentor he can rely on!” Tommy exclaims excitedly, he rocks back and forth on his feet, and he grabs Theseus's hand and he drags him to the back. “That wall right there has the uniforms, I think a  size small should fit you, If you need anything at all just let me know!” 

Theseus changes in the back and finishes his shift with Tommy's insistent help. Theseus wonders if Tommy recognized him as his twin. If he even supposedly remembers he even had a twin. He was near constantly staring at him the entire shift and constantly called him his ‘mini-me’. They actually had a few customers ask if they were brothers. 

His leg screamed at him at the end of his shift, much worse than before. He just wanted to go home and collapse. He walked out to the front after changing only to see Purpled and Ranboo butting heads, which surprised him since Ranboo seemed rather timid. Tommy sips on a coffee as he watches them fight, 

“What's going on?” Theseus asks, looking at Tommy, whose smile softens at the sight of Theseus. His eyes go back to the fighting duo.

“They are rivals in a way, Ranboo’s boss from his other job and Purpled’s boss hate each other, and they kind of now have a grudge too. Though Ranboo’s boss is my brother, and I’m ninety percent sure he has a crush on Purpled’s Boss, but don't tell them that, their fighting is hilarious” Tommy responds.

 “Theseus!” Purpled calls and walks over to them after he spots them, causing Tommy to tense, until Purpled pats Theseus’s head.”Sorry that you had to see that, Ranboo just likes to piss me off sometimes.” He explains, “Are you ready to go? You look exhausted” 

“ Yeah I am, lets go before I fall asleep standing up” Theseus Responds, hugging Tommy goodbye, and following Purpled out to the car. “Can we grab something to eat, I’m hungry and I still need to make my nest when I get home”