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“What?! No, we can finish!” Tubbo protests, moving in front of Bad with a frown. “I can carry in the rest of them, don’t worry about it, here-” Bad takes a step back, looking through some drawers to the side, the wood creaking as he searches. He opens a second drawer and hums, grabbing a small pouch of coins and putting it in Tubbo’s hands. Tommy hops off the counter as Tubbo shakes the small bag in his grasp, curious at the amount inside. “That’s your reward for today. Now, shoo! I’m about to open, you guys go play in the snow or something, you’ve worked enough for today.” Bad says, and pushes them gently towards the front door, the two of them not complaining, more intrigued in what they’ve been given. Tommy leans over Tubbos shoulder as they both make their way towards the door, and Tubbo opens the pouch in his hands to find a small pile of silver coins. “Not bad for carrying those crates.” Tubbo says, and Tommy pushes the door open for them both, the two of them walking outside into the street, a stark contrast from the warmth of inside. The stone street is as cold as it always is, a few people walking past, dressed in warm layers as they go down the road of lit-up stores with roofs covered in white. The snow falls lightly from the sky, a normal occurrence living here, and Tommy and Tubbo walk down their usual path, already knowing this road and their stores like the back of their hand. The plaza is only a ten minute walk away, and Tommy rubs his hands together for warmth as Tubbo counts the coins in his hands. “This is actually pretty good.” Tubbo tells him, Tommy humming as Tubbos closes the pouch up again, storing it away in his pocket. “Any plan on what to do today?” “I’m thinking,” Tommy stares up at the sky, huffing at how the white falls into his hair. He’s used to the cold, he’s grown up in it all his life, but it never fails to be slightly annoying when his ears freeze up and go red. “...maybe try buying those new cookies they were selling at the bakery yesterday.” “New cookies?” Tubbo asks, Tommy nodding as the two of them step over a ledge in the path, an uneven part that no one’s figured out to fix. They’ve both tripped over it more than once, and Tommy personally hates the terrain with a passion. “Yeah, there were some in the display window, I saw it yesterday while we walked past, I really wanted some.” They had looked good, Tommy remembers, little square shaped cookies with a pretty design on it. They had looked like vanilla, maybe. “Why didn’t you point it out?” Tubbo frowns, Tommy scoffing at his disappointed tone. “We could’ve bought some then.” “I saw them when we were out of money.” “Oh. Well, then, we got money now.” Tubbo grins, and Tommy grins along with him. --- Tommy’s sitting at one of the public tables of the plaza, underneath the small roof that protects it from the snow, with a community fireplace right beside him. The warmth from the fire lets him take off his old coat, his long sleeved shirt wrinkled slightly as he keeps his coat resting over his legs. He leans onto the table in front of him, picking at the bandaid on his hand as he waits for Tubbo to return with treats, the teen having insisted on going to the bakery on his own while Tommy goes to find a place to sit. The plaza is only a bit busy today, people mingling and chatting around the stalls and shops. The place itself is build like a giant circle, the outer section of the plaza being made up of stores, purely of sweets and things to enjoy, stalls for selling fun trinkets and food. The inner section of the plaza is more of tables and seats, fireplaces and areas for people to sit and gather around, enjoy what they’ve bought and enjoy each other’s company. At the center of the plaza itself, there’s a small stone statue of the Emperor, standing upon a pedestal, hands resting on a sword, head tilted down with closed eyes. His crown is small on his head, and his wings are carved in a way that shows off each feather. Flowers are placed at the feet of the statue, and while some are frozen and wilting, there are always a least a few new ones sitting there, bright and vibrant in their color. Tommy personally thinks the statue is really cool, and it’s a nice thing to have, to give Tommy an idea of what the ruler even looks like. While the emperor does come down from the castle to check on his people, he doesn’t do it too often, and the town Tommy lives in doesn’t get frequent visits. Tommy finds himself staring at the statue with curiosity, looking over the peaceful expression on Phil’s face, and not noticing Tubbo running up until he’s slammed down a bag of cookies onto the table. “ Motherfuck- ” Tommy jumps, holding a hand to his chest. “Did you break the cookies or something? Why did you slam them?!” He yells, Tubbo shrugging with a small pink box in his hands as he sits down across Tommy, putting the box down. “I dunno.” Tubbo smiles, Tommy making a face at the response. Tubbo moves on as Tommy reaches for the bag. “The bakery lady was really nice while I talked to her. We had a nice conversation.” “Is that why you took so long to buy the stuff?” Tommy asks, pulling open the back of cookies, pulling one out and taking a bite of it. It’s good, and he didn’t expect any less. “Yeah, her name is Niki, and she also has a brother named Ranboo, I think? And he’s kinda weird, he wears a mask and his skin is kinda funny-” “Well that’s just rude, Tubbo.” Tommy says, holding a hand over his mouth, his words slightly muffled as he chews. “Hey, I’m just saying what I saw.” Tubbo holds his hands up, shaking his head. “But she gave me a discount, and I got this.” He pats a hand onto the small box in front of him, Tommy raising his eyebrows. “What is it?” Tommy asks, eating another cookie as Tubbo lifts the lid up. It’s a small white cake, a smiley face in frosting drawn on the top. There’s blue frosting on the borders, and Tommy wonders what’s the occasion. “Happy birthday!” Tubbo cheers, pulling the cake out of the box, sliding it in between them both as Tommy gives a confused look. Their birthday isn’t for another two weeks, this is a bit early. At the orphanage, your birthday is really just the day you showed up there. Him and Tubbo showed up as babies only a day apart, so they’ve celebrated theirs together every year without fail. “A bit off on the date, Tubbo.” Tommy says as he finishes off his cookie. “Yeah, I know.” Tubbo shrugs, pulling out two forks, handing one over to Tommy. “But it was on a discount, and there’s no harm in extra cake.” Tommy takes the fork from Tubbo, huffing in amusement and pushing the bag of cookies to the side, poking his fork into the frosting. “Happy birthday.” Only two weeks left, then he'll be 16, a grand ole number. “Mhm-hm.” Tubbo hums, and then stabs his side of the cake with a snicker. “Oh, god, you’ve just killed it, Tubbo-!” “Ohhhh, there’s frosting on the table-” --- Later on, that night, when they return to the orphanage, to their shared room, they share the rest of the cookies while sitting on their own beds, across the small room from each other. They’re wearing their old, worn out clothes as pajamas, refusing to get up in any way, the floor being too cold to walk barefoot around the room. Tubbo fiddles with the end of his blanket as they talk about earlier in the plaza, with the experience at the bakery. “No, her name was Niki, I’m sure,” Tubbo starts, catching a cookie from Tommy, who chucks cookies at him periodically, since he has the bag in his hands. “She was just really friendly, you know?” “What, you think you’re gonna be able to get a job there or something?” Tommy asks, breaking a cookie apart in his hands. “Well, not exactly…” Tubbo leans his chin on his hand, trailing off for a moment, before continuing. “She asked about the orphanage.” Tommy pauses, halfway through bringing the cookie to his mouth. “...What?” “Yeah, she asked about my family, and I said I didn’t have one, other than you, of course. But then she asked about where the orphanage was, and how to get there, and stuff.” Tommy brushes off the warmth in his heart at Tubbo easily referring to him as family and clears his throat, waving a hand. “So either she’s overly curious, or…” “She could be planning on visiting…?” Tubbo shrugs, making an unsure face. Tommy knows for a fact that Tubbo has a charm to him. And if he’s found someone he clicks with, someone he trusts like Tommy, there’s no doubt it’ll end with something good. “Good on you if she does man, who knows, maybe she’ll take you in.” Tommy shrugs, shoving another cookie into his mouth so he doesn’t have to talk anymore. “Well, if she does, she has to take you too.” Tubbo insists, leaning forward on his bed. “I’m not gonna leave you behind.” Tommy waves a hand, chewing and talking with his mouth half full. “That doesn’t matter, Tubbo. Even if we end up living in different homes, that’s not going to stop us from being together.” Tubbo still frowns though, looking at Tommy with a conflicted face. Swallowing down his cookie, Tommy goes on. “I’m just saying. If she does come over for you, and if she does offer a home, I don’t want you to say no just because you want to stay with me. A family is good.” Tubbo smiles warmly at his words, but he also rolls his eyes and scoffs, laying down on his bed. “You’re my family.” He turns his head to Tommy. “You know that, right?” “I know.” Tommy mutters, and puts the bag of cookies to the side, three left in the bag. “You’re mine too.” Tubbo laughs at his awkward tone, and Tommy chucks his pillow across the room, ignoring the way Tubbo only continues to laugh as he asks for Tubbo to throw his pillow back.