Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Music played throughout the streets of the small village in a small and simple tone that you would hear people humming when they were doing mundane tasks but instead of the normal sounds of villagers going about their days it was quiet throughout the whole town except for the song. People were hiding in their houses with the doors locked and windows boarded up.

Today was what the people often called “day of the monsters”. It was a day where all of the monsters throughout the world were allowed to room the world freely. Many monsters could be seen these days with wings, tails, scales, and many other features that very well do not belong to a human being. Most of the monsters were feared and considered the scum of the earth all except for one that both human and monster wanted.

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Tommy looked out of the window of his work. The cafe was pretty barren today although that probably had something to do with the fact that today was the “Day of the monsters”. It was a really stupid name Tommy thought as he took a customer's order and went to the coffee machine. Couldn’t they have thought off a more creative name? Besides he barely ever sees monsters on his day or at least nothing more than a baby monster. He always felt bad for monsters since they were immortal. They were considered children for a ridiculous long time…now that he thinks about it it's probably why he seems barely many monsters of their literal day.

Technically speaking Tommy was one of these “monsters” the tiny golden wings on his back confirm that but according to Bad he was “special” and then he went on a whole rant about Tommy apparently was a gift from the gods sent to earth to blah blah blah. So, Tommy may have fallen asleep during it but in his defense, it was really boring.

He didn’t want to be a part of any of this. He just wants to have a simple life, not one where he is some “gift from the gods”. Do people not understand that it sounds like the most made-up thing in the world? It sounds so fake and besides he is not letting people decide their opinion on him just by some measly wings on his back. God just thinking it makes his skin crawl with disgust.

“Tommy?” A voice speaks beside him. Tommy looked up and saw Purpled standing there looking at him with an annoyed look on his face. “Have you stopped daydreaming yet? We have a job to do. I hope you remember.”

Despite Purpled being a literal asshole Tommy had to respect him he didn’t act like Tommy was some kind of divine being or anything of the sorts. He treated Tommy like he was any other normal human being. Unfortunately for him, Purpled was just rude to everyone he meets. There was a reason that Tommy took people’s orders even though he has a record for often getting mad at customers but in his defense most people are just plain jerks to him half of the time.

“First off i was not daydreaming and second of all literally like nobody is here the streets are abandoned no sane human wants to go out today and risk getting killed or being turned into one of the monsters that they are so frightened off.”

Purpled leaned against the counter as he also looked out of the cafe window a look of disappointment on his face.

“I don’t get it” Purpled started as he grabbed a coffee, he brewed for himself and took a sip out of it. “This day is boring. You barely ever get to see a single monster or at least not any that are that unusual. It's basically a day where all hybrids can relax without the fear of getting hunted. I've never seen a whole dragon roaming the streets. Why would it start now?”

Tommy leaned against the cafe window and then turned to look around the cafe. It had looked simple enough, but it was decorated with fairy lights and plants all over to try to give the customers the feeling of comfort or motivation. Honestly, he has no idea why they did that, but he enjoys it more than just a boring cafe. This was Tommy’s favorite job he ever had; he only had one complaint, and it was the uniforms. It was simply a white top, blank pants, green apron with white accents, and if their hair was long enough to be put up it had to be. He went through so many hair ties just because his hair was long enough for the company to throw a fit if he didn’t it was such a stupid rule.

“I don’t know because there are no idiots Purpled” Tommy looked straight at him “Think about it they have been in hiding for so long why show yourself now? It would ruin the whole hiding thing” Tommy grabbed a donut from the display case. “After today they are all going to be hunted again just because they're safe today doesn’t mean that they will stay safe.”

Purpled scowled as he hit the counter with his coffee cup before throwing it into the trash. He looked at Tommy considering something before closing his eyes and shaking his head,

“I stand by this Tommy, there is no monster that is more terrifying than a human being.”

Tommy looked at him surprised. He knew humans could be cruel, but he's heard the stories of other monsters, and they sounded a lot scarier than any human being he has ever seen or heard off.

“Really?” Tommy asked hesitantly and uncertain like he was doubting the words that was he being told. “I know that humans can be cruel and all but aren’t monsters supposed to be worse? Isn’t that pretty much the whole thing?”

Purpled looked at him with a look that Tommy couldn’t quite place. It was off like he wanted to tell him something, but he couldn’t for some reason. It was a weird look, and Tommy did not like it. Nothing ever ends well when someone is hiding something and just looking at Purpled’s face it’s something important.

“You'll get it soon enough”

Purpled left not long after that not saying a thing as Tommy watched him walk out the front doors, the bell ringing as he left.

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Tommy left work a few hours later excited to finally get back to his cozy apartment with his roommates who are also his best friends Tubbo and Ranboo. Unfortunately for him it seemed like the weather wasn’t on his side today as it had been sunny as he worked but he swore as soon as he stepped outside it decided that it would be a perfect time to start down poring.

It was already creepy enough with there being no nobody on the streets despite it being 5pm on a Tuesday but unfortunately it is literally just his luck being shitty.

He pulled up the hood of a jacket that a customer had left the other day. It was red and frankly looked amazing so yeah, he is not giving this back. The shoes he was wearing were clearly not made for this type of weather and water was now soaking them. Just his luck he thought as he finally got up the stairs of his apartment.

He opened the door and odd Tubbo and Ranboo weren’t home, or they were actually sleeping for once. He flopped on his coach which admittedly wasn’t in the best shape, but it was good enough why spend money on something that was barely ever used unless they were doing movie nights which they haven’t done in a long while it just had gotten way too busy.

He went to the kitchen to grab a thing of cereal before going over to the couch and flopping into it with an exhausted sigh. He messed with the remote flipping between channels with a bored look in his eye, nothing catching his eye before he just decided to put a cartoon on and be done with it.

It only took a solid 5 minutes before his show was quite rudely interrupted by a news broadcast. The word emergency caught Tommy’s interest. They did use that word often on the news but something about this felt different…Something was wrong.

The news lady spoke as a picture of an individual who looked like a Piglin appeared on the screen. “The Blood God was spotted hunting today, one that so many had longed believed to be dead for centuries was spotted in a nearby forest. We recommend that everyone lock their doors and windows as well as to be on guard. This is a very dangerous individual. If you see him, please report it to the monster hunter committee immediately.

Tommy got off the couch. He didn't care much about this anyway he needed to get to bed was way too tired to care about some random Piglin running around just trying to probably find food. It was admittedly a horrible decision in the long run as the person on the TV explained something about the Piglin was looking for someone in particular who had golden hair and wings.

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The next day at work he met a strange man. He seemed human enough, but something was off about him. The man had PINK HAIR?! Okay listen Tommy is not against colored hair but come on in the city where people get suspicious if your nails are just a bit longer than necessary thing some kind of monster so yeah pink hair was certainly a bold choice.

The man beside the hair was pretty normal; he had a red sweater on, brown pants, and boots with gold laces. Man, just had an interesting fashion choice which Tommy doesn’t judge.

“So, sir, what would you like to order?”

Tommy asked the man who looked at him carefully before gruffly saying.

“A medium pumpkin spice latte with eight shots of espresso, seven pumps of pumpkin sauce, and one pump of maple pecan sauce.”

The man said and jeez that was a lot but who was Tommy to care? As long as nobody drops dead on the floor, he gets paid and that's all that really matters to him.

He started to make the drink as the man went to the corner of the cafe and pulled out his laptop and started to work. He looked like the average college student which probably explains that amount of expresso this man asked for in his drink.

Chapter Text

Beyond all things Tommy has been told about himself, good was just not one of them for a simple reason Tommy could understand he wasn’t a good person. There are people who would contradict him but it's always just been a thing he accepted as fact. Was it perhaps harsh? Maybe but it was a simple mindset he had in case he ever had to do anything bad…like right now to stop himself from coffee at a customer.

He thought the pink-haired man from earlier was bad but at least the man just came in here and drank his coffee well doing work on his laptop like a normal person. This new person though was nothing like that.

It was a man who had brown curly hair and an arrogant look on his face. He knew who this person was. Who didn’t? The self proclaimed monster hunter. An idiot Tommy deduced. Nobody in their right mind would hunt down the monsters. It wasn’t even because the monsters were dangerous and could kill you easily because an excuse like that has never stopped humankind before. It was more about the fact that the monsters had been rumored to be either blessed or cursed by the gods and nobody wanted to pass on the gamble. It was truly a risky gamble especially if you were wrong. All things considered though was that they were all under the same kind of system.

Tommy has noticed it throughout the years just how like humans and the monsters were. When the thought first crossed his mind he doubted. I mean who wouldn’t? Humans have always been portrayed by him as the good guys and the monsters the bad guys that's how it’s always been. He wasn’t the type who changed his mindset often but after seeing people villainizing monsters he wouldn’t blame them for staying away from humankind. Besides he was technically one of these monsters and he acted like any other human being so perhaps they weren’t that different after all.

Was Tommy having this whole revolution in his head to avoid listening to the customer at the counter talking about all of his accomplishments hunting down monsters and bringing them to “Justice”? That would be accurate.

All the stories he was saying sounded so fake? Like he took a random storybook and claimed that he was the knight who slayed the mighty dragon and saved the maiden. Honestly this “Wilbur” guy seemed like the type because why would you bother telling such a story to a random cafe worker? Those stories seemed like the type people would share in a fantasy tavern to a random bartender who was definitely not paid enough to hear these people’s stories.

“Like I'm telling you, I'm going to hunt down all of these horrific beings if it's the last thing I do! Hey! Are you even listening to me, Kid?!”

Tommy looked up from where he was making the guys drink with a bored expression on his face. The guy had his hand on the counter, his arms slammed down like he was about to start some debate. He looked so upset that Tommy would ever ignore his presence. It was almost funny.

“You don’t have to talk to me. I'm just trying to do my job. It was you who started the rant. I had nothing to do with it”

Was that perhaps rude and most likely against the whole “the customer is always right” his previous manager taught him? Probably but there comes a point where i there is already a long line waiting to get a drink and your just blocking counter where it comes to a bit of a problem.

“You are a rude child! Any respectful being would adore my accomplishments and praise my honor! I am a hero in this town! You all ought to treat me as I deserve!”

Tommy ignored him as he started to take more customers. This just wasn’t his problem, and he continued to take orders down. Eventually some older blonde man came in who had emerald, green eyes and a green and white bucket hat apologized for the previous man’s actions and took his arm and basically dragged the man out of the cafe. How odd…Tommy watched as they left an odd look in his eye.

It reminded him of something an old memory perhaps. Or maybe some kind of longing in him he desired. Someone who when he did something stupid like that mouthing off to wrong people or a person who would do that when he did something idiotic. Why is that always the worst people get the best people? It's unfortunate perhaps it's a strategy. Most people who tend to have purer hearts tend to have a harder time saying no and rejecting people especially ones that are their loved ones. Tommy must admit it's smart to take advantage of someone care for you but that doesn't mean he supports it. There are so much easier ways to get something instead of manipulating people. He's only had personally manipulated one person before. A friend of his named Deo he's hasn't talked to him in years and although he regrets his choice, he's not going to force that awkward conservation. It not his place he did the crime he must pay the punishment.

He's ready to take full responsibility for his actions if it ever comes to that point. He's got nothing to lie about he did the deed, and he will take the rightful punishment for it.

He looked up as the sun started to set in the distance giving the cafe a type of nice gentle glow. It was nice and comforting something he could watch all day if he wanted. Although this cafe was actually usually opened at night nobody tends to come since the monsters and because it's a cafe and not a grocery store. But whatever the more he got paid was all that mattered to him. Call it greed but he didn't view it that way it's just him living through life and besides who isn't at least a bit greedy?

Jeez he really needs to stop speaking and actually focus on doing his job.