"We all make mistakes, have struggles, and even regret things in our past. But you are not your mistakes, you are not your struggles, and you are here NOW with the power to shape your day and your future."
― Steve Marabol

Tommy walks down the staircase, a dull buzz accompanying each of his footfalls. He can hear Techno moving around in the kitchen, metal pots clattering together as they move from the stove to the sink. When he gets to the bottom step, he can see Techno's pink ponytail bouncing with each of his fluid movements. Tommy also notices another person sitting at the dining room table. Tommy stops, one hand on the bannister. Enderwalk- Ranboo, they told Tommy- is sitting with both of his hands clasped around a glass, one of the special ones that doesn't condensate. His tail flickers behind him nervously. Other than that one habit, Ranboo looks fine. He wears casual clothes, a jacket thrown over the back of the chair. He's even wearing gloves, and Tommy can see a new pair of boots standing next to Techno's and Tommy's boots near the front door.

Tommy continues moving once the novelty of the moment has registered in his mind. He hears Ranboo make a noise, somewhere between a breath and the beginning of a statement, but he falls into silence. Tommy lightly touches the glossy material of Ranboo's jacket when Tommy passes behind the chair. He stops when he gets to the patch of sunlight on the ground like an inverse shadow. Tommy flops down onto his butt, laying out in the warmth. He stretches his legs out but tucks his arms across his stomach. He stares up at the ceiling, reacquainting himself with the fantastical stories he's come to associate with the images above.

Ranboo slides off the chair he's sitting in. His knees hit the ground next to Tommy's head. He lowers the rest of his body weight onto his ankles. Tommy looks away from the ceiling, meeting Ranboo's eyes. As Enderwalk, both of his eyes are a glowing purple. As Ranboo, one of his eyes is red and the other one is green. His hair is similarly split down the middle between white and black. He ironically looks less like someone from the End in his civilian form, though Tommy understands the genius behind it. If Tommy were to see Ranboo on the street, he would never be able to make the connection between the civilian in front of him and the teleporting vigilante.

"Good morning," Tommy says after a silent moment has passed between the two of them. Tommy isn't exactly uncomfortable with it. He can recall many fond memories of the two of them sitting side-by-side on the parapet of their favored rooftop without a single word exchanged. Eventually, one of them would break the vow of silence to say goodbye and leave. Stretching even further back, Tommy and Ranboo, when they were Reverie's bitch and Monochrome, would stand in the same room with only the silence to comfort them. There was something special about being with someone without having to speak, as if the silence could speak for them.

Ranboo does not look comfortable in the silence right now. His eyes shine with so many emotions, and his lips part with half-formed words. Ranboo's eyes widen slightly at Tommy's simple greeting. A partial smile comes to his face that softens his features. "Good morning, Tommy."

"What are you doing here?" Tommy asks plainly.

Ranboo jolts back like he's been slapped, his smile completely disappearing. The noises from the kitchen continue like an assembly line, but Techno pipes up to reprimand the blonde. "Theseus-"

"No, it's fine, Techno. It's a valid question," Ranboo cuts Techno off. He looks up, probably meeting Techno's eyes. From this angle, Tommy can't see Techno. He can see Ranboo, however. He is smiling gently and his eyes shimmer with kindness. Tommy always saw that kindness as weakness. He blamed Ranboo's cowardice on his kindness. Tommy isn't sure what his opinion is anymore, especially when those soft eyes are directed back at him. "I have a cabin in the corner of Techno's property. I usually stay there. I've been away for a little while, but I came back recently."

Tommy knows the cabin Ranboo is talking about. He never knew who it belonged to, though. He thought about asking Techno, but he has come to learn the very important lesson that sometimes it's better to not know something. Ignorance is bliss is a common expression for a reason. Tommy would eventually ask, his curiosity getting the better of him, but he was willing to wait until whatever the information would be wouldn't crush him. Learning from Ranboo isn't bad. Tommy was expecting the cabin to belong to someone way worse. He was even speculating that it was a torture chamber for the Syndicate.

"I won't interfere with you or Techno. I'll stay as far away from you as you want me to," Ranboo continues, his head tilting up to look at Techno. Ranboo looks back at Tommy with a bittersweet expression.

"I don't give a fuck what you do," Tommy replies, doing his best to shrug.

"Is that really okay?" Ranboo asks, his eyes filling up with worry as if Tommy was being forced to be okay with Ranboo's decisions. Like Ranboo could even make his own decisions.

"You're my friend, Ranboo," Tommy sighs. Ranboo's eyes widen at the declaration. Tommy hardly calls anyone his friend. At least, he didn't before. Now, Tommy could care less what titles he gives people. They don't mean much to him anymore. "You've been my friend since we escaped from the Hunters. I don't want to force you from your home just because I can't find the strength to return to mine."

"I'm your friend!" Ranboo cheers. The happiness in his eyes dwindles when the remaining portion of Tommy's comment registers in his mind. His smile depletes into a frown. Tommy forces himself to look away. He feels a hand grab onto his own. Ranboo whispers with a dampened softness in his voice. "Tubbo really misses you... both the friend he made in Vendetta and the brother he once had."

Tommy closes his eyes, deciding that's the best way to save himself from confronting the truth. Without the visual stimulus, Tommy realizes the noises from the kitchen have stopped. He instead hears the sound of approaching footsteps. Tommy opens his eyes. Techno is standing behind Ranboo with two plates in his hands. He looks at them both as he sets the plates down. When Tommy starts to sit up to get his plate, Techno looks decisively at Ranboo. The perceived looks away from Techno as he grabs his plate. Tommy sets the plate down his lap, watching Techno walk away to get his own plate. Tommy doesn't wait for Techno, instead leaning his body against Ranboo's side. Ranboo startles, and Tommy explains, "I always do this when someone eats with me. So, fucking deal with it or get up."

Tommy barely has the energy to eat so if he can get assistance leaning upright, he will take it. Tommy does not say that, however, knowing full well that Ranboo will only grow more worried for Tommy's safety and state of mind. "I don't mind."

Ranboo starts eating his breakfast without pushing Tommy away. Tommy begins nibbling on the food on his plate. Techno sits at the dining table in the chair across from the one Ranboo was originally seated in. He eyes them carefully as he eats, but his attention soon rises up out the window. He lifts his mug to drink. Tommy closes his eyes, absentmindedly eating what's on his plate. He listens to Ranboo's heartbeat as he does.

When Tommy doesn't feel anything on his plate, he opens his eyes. He ate his entire plate. It isn't surprising anymore, but Tommy still feels proud of himself. When he first came to the cabin, he could barely eat a quarter of the plate. Techno has slowly been building up Tommy's appetite and conditioning when Tommy should get hungry. On top of that, they've been exploring different flavors now that Tommy's stomach is strong enough for spices. Tommy has been consistently eating his entire plate now, but he continues to feel a certain amount of hard-earned pride.

Tommy stands up with his plate in one hand. He trades his plate for a napkin from Techno. The man takes his, Tommy's, and Ranboo's plate into the kitchen to wash them at the sink. Tommy wipes his hands and mouth off, looking over at Ranboo. The teenager is standing at the chair, his hands folded on top of the back and his jacket. Ranboo meets Tommy's eyes with a smile. Tommy gives a half-smile in reply. "Can I go see your house?"

Ranboo's smile drops in surprise. He looks past Tommy at Techno for permission. Tommy turns around to see Techno's expression. The man is standing at the sink, washing one of the plates. He looks up to glance between Tommy and Ranboo. After a moment, he shrugs his shoulders, looking back at the plate. "Remember to stay safe."

Tommy smiles, nodding. He heads up the stairs. He slides into Techno's room, reaching into the box for a pair of warm clothes. He pulls out what he believes is a matching pair. He changes into them, double-checking that he's torn off all the tags. Tommy exits the room when he's done. He holds tightly onto the railing as he jumps from one step to the next. When he gets to the bottom, he sees Ranboo and Techno standing near the doorway. Ranboo is wearing his jacket and his boots. Techno is pulling down the sleeves of his shirt since he's done washing dishes. Tommy walks over to them, about to reach for his own jacket. He overhears Ranboo saying, "I promise."

"You promise what?" Tommy asks. He watches Ranboo visibly flinch from surprise. Techno is less surprised. He probably knew Tommy was coming from the moment he started descending the stairs. Techno eyes Tommy's outfit passively. He nods his head in approval, stepping toward Tommy. He wraps his arms around Tommy's shoulder, hugging him. Tommy returns the hug instinctively. When Techno pulls back, he tosses Tommy's jacket at him.

"Be careful," Techno tells them both, opening the door. Ranboo steps outside, his gloved hands immediately going up to his mouth to cover the lower half of his face. Tommy waves at Techno as he passes. He realizes only after the door is shut that neither Techno nor Ranboo answered his question about what Ranboo was promising Techno. Tommy considers grilling Ranboo about it, knowing the boy will fold like a weak poker hand, but he doesn't really care. It either has nothing to do with him or it has to do with his safety.

Tommy follows Ranboo through the snow as they head toward the cabin in the very corner of the clearing, hidden behind snowdrifts. The snow begins moving, surprising Tommy. His surprise morphs into excitement when he realizes the 'moving snow' is actually Atalanta. The dog barks, leaping into Tommy's legs. She knocks him off balance and causes snow to fly up all around them. Ranboo makes an odd noise as he whirls around, but he either slips on the ice or trips on his own feet because he lands on his bottom. Tommy laughs, pushing away Atalanta's snout. She takes the hint, moving away from him. Tommy reaches a hand out, patting her head.

"I prefer cats," Ranboo complains, getting back onto his feet. He reaches a hand out to Tommy, pulling the blonde onto his feet. Tommy readjusts to standing on the snow, wiping it off his backside. Atalanta leaps up to yip at the falling snow. Tommy hurriedly steps away from her to avoid becoming a bowling pin again.

"I don't have a preference. I just like Atalanta," Tommy responds. He and Ranboo start their trek towards the cabin in the corner anew, this time with an additional traveler moving alongside them. Atalanta's rowdiness dips when she realizes they're going somewhere instead of being there to play. Tommy will definitely play with her once they get to the cabin, though.

"That's good! I have cats in the cabin. Two of them, actually: Enderpearl and Enderchest. I went with a naming theme, if you couldn't tell," Ranboo laughs. Tommy raises an eyebrow at his naming choices. And he thought Techno was bad at naming his pets. "I wouldn't want you getting freaked out by them."

"Hey! I'm scared of hurting the people I care about. I'm not scared of some pussies," Tommy declares, taking offense to the idea that he would get freaked out by some cats. Tommy could take a cat in a fight. He has powers, after all. As if to prove that, some of the snow around Tommy starts to lift into the air. Each one shines like a bloody crystal. It would be a little more terrifying if Atalanta wasn't leaping to catch the snow in her mouth. Tommy makes the snow drop, reaching down to wipe the snow off Atalanta's back.

"Sorry for assuming," Ranboo laughs awkwardly. When Tommy starts walking right beside him again, Ranboo throws him a look from the corner of his eye. He adds, almost like an afterthought but clearly with a lot of thought put into whether or not he should say this, "I don't get what you mean. You spend time with me and Techno, but you don't seem afraid to hurt us."

"It's obvious, innit? You knew me when I was Reverie's bitch. I can't come back from that in your mind. Techno didn't know me until all of this happened. Neither of you had to grieve 'Tommy.' You only recently learned he existed," Tommy does his best to explain, but he knows from the look on Ranboo's face that he did a poor job.

"I think I do know 'Tommy.' The person who saved me from the Hunters and who hung out with me on our special rooftop is the same Tommy walking right beside me now," Ranboo counters.

"Croupier thought something similar. He was saying that I've always been myself and I still am. I just don't know what the fuck I want," Tommy admits. He can still feel Croupier's arms wrapped around his shoulders, holding him tightly as he explains that the person he is now is the person he's always been. Tommy thought about what he said then. He thought about it more when he was interacting with Tempestarius and Sparrow. He continued to think about it over the past few days. It is brought to his attention once more by Ranboo, forcing Tommy to fully reconcile with the ramifications.

"Do you want to stay away from your family?" Ranboo asks simply. They are coming up to the cabin. There is a brown picket fence rising up around the yard. The cabin is a similar brown color, creating a stark contrast with the snow piling up on the slanted rooftop. The door is a muted reddish maroon color. There is a bucket of flowers hanging off each of the windows, and one of the windows reveals the nearly glowing eyes of a feline with black fur.

Tommy shakes his head. "All I want is to be with them... I just don't want to hurt them."

"It sounds to me like you do know what you want, just like you know who you are," Ranboo notes thoughtfully. He takes a few hurried steps forward, opening the door for Tommy. Atalanta darts into the cabin. Tommy rushes in after her, hoping she hasn't immediately attacked one of the cats. Atalanta sits near the fireplace, falling down into a heap of bones and white fur. Tommy pulls his boots and jacket off, setting them where Ranboo has kept his back-ups. Tommy heads over to her. He starts petting her fur, much to her pleasure, and staring into the fireplace. He pulls his hands away, reaching for a few pieces of wood. He throws them into the fireplace. He reaches for the lighter on top of the mantle. Tommy lights some kindling, placing it in the fireplace alongside the wooden logs. It doesn't take long for the fire to catch, spreading and warming the place.

Tommy turns around. Ranboo is petting one of his cats, his own tail matching the cat's. Tommy snorts, snapping Ranboo out of his comfortable reverie. Ranboo pulls away from the cat, heading to the kitchen. He wipes his hands off with some specialized wet wipes. He throws away the wet wipe, reaching his hands out to grab a pair of mugs from the kitchen. He starts making something. Tommy sits on a barstool, watching Ranboo work. After the cabin has been sufficiently warm and Atalanta begins playing a game with a grumpy cat, Ranboo sets a mug in front of Tommy. The blonde stares into the milky brown surface, a part of him remembering Niki's recipes.

"I think... you might be hurting your family more by staying away," Ranboo murmurs. Tommy's grip tightens on the mug. He swallows thickly, closing his eyes again. Ranboo might be right. Even if he isn't, Tommy really misses his family.