Author's note (PLEASE READ)

⚠This chapter mentions possibly triggering things like eating disorders. This topic is not talked about in-depth, but still mentioned⚠

Otherwise, enjoy the story

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Tommy woke up with a pounding headache. That's the only thing he's seemed to have woken up to recently. The rest of the past days had been blurs.

Ranboo and Tubbo had lost their jobs. Their boss had been pulling some illegal stuff and got caught and fired. After that, the diner shut down entirely due to violating too many health codes. And so, a couple of things had to be cut from what they could pay that month. And after a short debate of what it would be, they no longer got water or electricity.

So now, they were using some old candles of theirs for light. They couldn't shower, wash their hands, or even get water from the sink anymore. The closest thing they got to a shower was using sanitizer.

They had to buy bottled water from grocery stores now. Food supply was lower, so Tommy had been increasingly more frequently giving up his share for Tubbo and Ranboo. Hence, the headache. It was due to all the dehydration, stress, and maybe even hunger.

The water thing didn't even really affect Ranboo too much. Since he's part enderman, he's allergic to water. It burns his skin, leaving behind scars when dry. And that apartment didn't supply allergy-safe water for all hybrid types. 

So with no heating, no think blankets, no bed frame (mattress resting on the floor), little water and food in his system, and completely stressed, Tommy had been lying awake most nights. Struggling to rest or take breaks. He had been working the most hours his boss would allow, head constantly pounding. 

It wasn't like Tubbo and Ranboo weren't trying. They had been spending almost the entirety of their days applying everywhere for jobs. The rest of the time they had been doing vigilante work. They had also been lying low like Tommy due to the possibility of being caught by a hero and leaving Tommy to deal with everything alone. 

Right now, Tommy was overworking himself, dealing with a lot of stress, and of course all the money issues at home.

So he really didn't want to have to deal with all the assholes at work today. And right now, the only person who seemed to understand that we're his coworkers and his new frequent customer, Wilbur.

He seemed to be the only decent customer, so secretly the only thing he woke up excited for was seeing him at work. Plus, he might never admit it, but he missed Wilbur and his company.

Like, he really missed Wilbur.

He missed all of their petty little sibling squabbles. He missed Wilbur being excited to share all of his music with him. He missed knowing his own brother.

Now, they were just acquaintances who got along whenever Wilbur tried to order. He might even go as far as saying that there was a chance the two were friends.

It had become routine for Wilbur to go to the coffee shop late, then him and Tommy, or "Thomas" to chat a little before Wilbur left. 

And because of their chats, Tommy had been realizing how much he missed his other brother, Technoblade.

He missed bothering Techno so he would teach him how to fight. He missed Techno rambling on about the latest story he read and all the parallels between Greek gods and people from real life. He missed being able to look up to Technoblade.

He realized how much he missed talking to Philza. He missed teasing Phil by calling him old. He missed all of their conversations. He missed life when it was easy.

Sure, he no longer had to deal with the high expectations, the condescension, the constant feeling of being blamed for what happened to their mother. And sure, his suicidal thoughts have gotten better.

But he still misses his family.

So even though he could easily quit his job at the coffee shop and search for a higher paying one, like a factory job or whatever, but through this one, he saw Wilbur.

Tommy looked over at Wil, who was finishing his coffee. And yet again, he was the last customer.

It seemed to have become routine. Wilbur would order coffee late and be the last customer in the store. Then "Tom" would walk over to him, tell him it was time for him to go, then chat with him as got his stuff together and left.

It was nice in a way. In another, it hurt a little. It hurt to watch his older brother not know it was him each night after he got coffee that he was talking to. In a way, he almost wished he could jump out at him and scream, "Wil! It's me! Tommy! I'm alive. Sorry I made you think for several years that I was. Thanks for mourning me, bud." But, he couldn't. And he knows that.

Tommy walked over to Wilbur. "Yet again, the last one here. It's about closing time again, man." Wilbur nodded. "Yup." He picked up his stuff, then looked quickly back over to Tommy. "Are... You alright?"

Tommy smiled weakly at him and nodded. "Yeah. Feeling just fine." Wilbur gave him a look that made it clear that he wasn't entirely convinced. "You should probably sit down. You look like your going to pass out."

"I appreciate it, but I gotta keep working. Need the money." Tommy replied tiredly. "Even so, people still need to take breaks from time to time," Wilbur added, appearing more and more concerned. 

"You look like you haven't slept in days. You should take a break sometime." Wilbur told him, then left. 

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A light behind Tubbo flashed brightly and loudly in the night as he shapeshifted into a bird and flew away. Below him, Ranboo was frantically teleporting around, trying to find where the criminal they were following had gone. 

Turbo flew down to Ranboo and landed on his shoulder. "Ender, I think it's too late. There's no way we'll find him. We can just try and catch him another day." Ranboo nodded. "Yeah. Should we go investigate that other lead we got?" Tubbo nodded and flew of Ranboo's shoulder. 

Tubbo shifted into a random citizen he walked past once and put a hand on Ranboo's shoulder. Ranboo teleported them to an area of Logstedshire where an entire neighborhood had been abandoned due to all the shootings that happened in that area.

Tubbo looked at Ranboo, who had taken off his mask and was putting wireless earbuds in his ears. Tubbo and Ranboo, like Tommy, had black masks that fully covered their face and had white fabric over their eyes for identity reasons. Apart of their vigilante costumes, they also had gas masks to disguise their voice changers. Plus, it looked cool.

Ranboo put his mask back on and looked at Tubbo. "Alright, remember: don't let them see you, know your spying, etc, etc." Tubbo nodded. "I got it. Not my first time doing this Ender." 

Tubbo shifted into a rat and crawled into the builder he and Ranboo believed to be the current headquarters of the Eggpire. He found his way to the basement, where he heard lots of talking, and found a good hiding corner. 

Tubbo turned on his earbud, which was signed to Ranboo's so Ranboo could hear as well. "Bee, you should record this, just in case," Ranboo advised. "Yeah, I got it," Tubbo whispered back real quietly. He hit a button on the earbud then looked around the room, not too interested in the Eggpire's conversation. 

"We should relocate... Too many heroes."

"Where would we even go? The whole state is crawling with them."

"No, that would be a bad idea. The Egg isn't ready to be moved yet. Don't forget our top priority."

"Yeah, but what if we all get killed off or captured before we can?"

"The Egg will manage."

"Then why don't we prioritize something else?"

"Because the Egg says not too. Don't tell me the Egg doesn't speak to you?"

"No, it does sir. I just-"

"Then don't question the Egg."

"Sorry, sir."

The meeting went on, and eventually, Tubbo started getting sick of staying in the same spot, so he moved around and found a better viewing spot. The room was pretty average-sized for a basement. The wall, however, was a different story.

Not just the wall, but also the people in the room seemed to be painted red. It looked like there was a dress code, but the only apparent dress-code requirement seemed to be "red clothing only." 

Tubbo moved around again to get an even better view. But of course, he heard a shriek. "Rat!" He was spotted. Someone grabbed a broom and started hitting Tubbo with it, so Tubbo made his grand escape. He scurried out of the house and ran into Ranboo's hands.

Ranboo scooped Tubbo up and teleported them away. When he finally let him go, Tubbo shifted back into his regular form and looked around. They were back at their apartment.

"Did you get it?" Ranboo asked him. Tubbo nodded, smiling. "Hell yeah! Gonna find a way to put this on a hard drive or something later and re-listen to it." Ranboo smiled, then left the room.

When Ranboo returned several minutes later, Ranboo was back in his civilian clothes and has a confused look on his face. "Hey, have you seen Tommy? He's not here." Tubbo shook his head. "No. Maybe he's still at work?" 

Ranboo breathed in weirdly, appearing to begin to panic. "His work closed down for the day hours ago. There's nothing he had to do today but go to work then hang out here afterward."

Tubbo sat up on the couch he was sitting on. "Want me to go look for him?" Ranboo nodded. "Yeah, will you? I'm worried he passed out on his way back. It's not like he's eaten or slept a lot recently."

Tubbo changed into civilian clothes, then ran out the door to search for Tommy.

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Hours later, Tommy still hadn't been found. Tubbo and Ranboo double-checked anywhere he could have been, but still hadn't found him. Tubbo sat down next to a tree and buried his face in his hands as he pulled his feet to his chest. "He's fucking give, Ranboo. Where else could he be?"

Ranboo sat down next to him. "Alright, he wasn't at the grocery store. The workers there hadn't seen him. He wasn't still at work. His co-workers and boss all said he went home. He wasn't anywhere around normal public places..."

Tubbo took his hands off his face and rested them on his knees. "Do you think he could have passed out on the way back and someone took him to the hospital?" Ranboo's stood up. "Well, if we're checking there, we better get there before visiting hours are over."

"Yeah, he's in room-" The next couple of minutes until Tubbo and Ranboo found Tommy's hospital room was a blur for Tubbo. They'd never been in this hospital before. It was generally too expensive and unnecessary. At their apartment, they kept a first aid kit and took care of their injuries on their own. 

According to a receptionist that had seen him get brought in though, Tommy's injuries seemed was beyond a simple first aid kit.   

"Bo Underscore and Mark Eye, I assume? Thomas's roommates?" Tommy's doctor asked Tubbo and Ranboo.

And so Tubbo and Ranboo's fake names are finally revealed. After faking death and running away, they had fake documents created so no one would know who or where they were to keep up the illusion that they had all died.

Tubbo chose Bo because it was part of Tubbo, his actual name. Also, there is a comedian named Bo Burnham. Ranboo was Mark because of an inside joke between him and Tubbo where Tubbo kept calling him Mark when they first met since he could never remember his name. 

Ranboo's new last name was now"Mark Eye." because of Eye being a common endermen last name. It was perfect for him because in their society, it wasn't impossible to have that last name and not be related to every other "Eye" in their world.

Tommy's full name became "Thomas Underscore" so that Tommy and Tubbo's fake documents would say that they were brothers. They wanted it that way for reasons like what they were currently dealing with (Tommy being in the hospital), and they already saw each other as brothers. The fake documents also said that none of them had any currently living relatives. 

The group had all their stories together so well, absolutely no one was skeptical of them lying. Everyone completely believed that their stories and fake explanations were true.

Tubbo nodded in response to the doctor's question. "Yes sir. I'm Bo, his brother. How is he?" Tubbo asked him? "He's doing better now and will make a full recovery. He might have died if it hadn't been for that kind man that brought him in."

"Who?" Ranboo asked, no doubt as confused as Tubbo was. "Some brown-haired man claiming to be a loyal customer of where your friend works. He told me to tell you not to worry about the hospital bill. He said that he would take care of it."

Tubbo's eyes widened out of shock. "Did he leave his phone number or contact information?" The doctor nodded. "Yes, but I don't think I can share it with you for privacy reasons." 

"Oh. I guess we'll thank him if we ever see him." Tubbo thought out loud disappointedly. "What was wrong with Tomm- uh, Thomas?"

"He appears to of been malnourished and exhausted. Your brother might have an eating disorder." 

Something about that line hit real close to home with Tubbo. He couldn't help but start to tear up at that. Tommy had struggled before with suicidal thoughts. It's how he and Ranboo officially met in person. 

It's one of the reasons they no longer lived in the Greater SMP. 

"Sir, we're worried Thomas did this to himself on purpose. Has he shown signs of depression in the past?"