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Tommy laughs, not as big or loud as it could have been, but at least it was better than nothing. But Purpled smiles at him, violet eyes flashing with what looks suspiciously like happiness, and they continue down the smooth concrete road, fading into a comfortable silence. It’s nice. Getting away from everything. Being able to just live for once, go somewhere without haunting words and echoing explosions following him.
They walk up to the fountain, the centerpiece of Las Nevadas, and both look into the dark water, lit up with soft blue sea lanterns. While anyone else might’ve seen two homeless children, battered and covered in varying layers of filth, they saw the warm glow of childhood, sweet words and laughter hidden behind the unruly surface.
It had been so long since either of them had even talked to each other, but after so many years of shouting and yelling and fighting, the silence was welcomed by both.
But finally, Tommy speaks, his reflection moving alone with it as he does. “Hey, I just wanted to say thank you. For this, I mean,” he says, and Purpled gives him a winning smile.
“It’s no problem, man, I’ve been a little lonely out here anyway.” His smile fades a bit and a small pool of sadness shines through his cheery demeanor as he turns from the fountain to look at the city around them.
Everything is bathed in neon lights, harsh pinks and dark blues washing over them, melding together into an eerie purple. The sky is clear, and the moon full, but the light pollution prohibits any sort of stargazing. They stand there anyway, content to just exist for once, with nothing hindering their peace.
Tommy reminisces about old times, when he, Tubbo, and Purpled would go up to Puffy and pester her until she gave them money, and then they would run down to Niki’s bakery to drown in sugary sweetness. Back when everything was simple. Back when his view on his home wasn’t tainted with violent explosions, burning fire, and smoky ash. Back when Tubbo still cared about him. Speak of the devil and he shall come…
A noise to his left startled him out of his reverie, pulling him away from cinnamon buns and smiles and back to the cold desert night. A voice, bright and cheery, talking to a shadowy figure, hidden from his sight. His heart twists, and he clenches his fists, unable to turn away from the sight before him. He looks so happy…
Tubbo stands before him, barely ten metres away, laughing at something Quackity?? said, his face scrunched up in happiness, blue eyes sparkling under the artificial lights. He feels sick, torn between the fact that Tubbo looks so happy without him and the comforting realization that Ranboo is nowhere to be seen.
Thankfully, Purpled seems to notice his discomfort, and after a quick glance at Tubbo he understands why. Grabbing Tommy’s wrist, he pulls them away from the fountain and starts dragging him towards the desert hills. It’s cold out, the desert night wreaking havoc on his exposed skin as they go on, goosebumps breaking out on his body when a light breeze brushes his hair back.
Still, they continue to walk, until the city is left far behind and the only sounds are their own breathing and soft footsteps across the cool sand. “Where are we going?” He asks softly, trying not to disturb the quiet atmosphere around them. Purpled doesn’t answer, only tugs him forward with a light yank on his wrist, keeping up a brutal pace until they crest the last hill.
The view before him is breathtaking, with sprawling forests layed out under the jagged rocks they stand on, the sky a dark canvas speckled with thousands of bright dots, stretching into infinity, the only thing to break the illusion being the moon, full and illustrious compared to the tiny stars beside it. It was something he didn’t know he needed, so he just gawked at it, in awe of the beautiful landscape surrounding him.
Purpled just chuckles, sitting on the edge of the cliff with his feet dangling off the side, in a somewhat precarious manner. He doesn’t seem to mind it, however, and Tommy lies down beside him (slightly farther away from the edge) and just stares up. The soft moonlight illuminates his face, his eyes reflecting the bright specks above them in a slightly distorted way, his hands clutching at the dewy grass around them, feeling the cool water across his palms.
Neither of them say anything, silence being a greater comfort than anything else, and Purpled leans back as well, laying his head beside Tommy’s. The quiet persists for some time, though it slowly comes to an end with a soft-spoken, “I miss this.” Tommy stiffens.
“Yeah. So do I,” he replies thickly, swallowing the growing lump in his throat.
“Do you remember the stars that Puffy showed us?” Purpled asks, and Tommy offers a light grin.
“How could I not, she drilled it into my head.”
Purpled laughs, “Yeah, same here. I will never forget the moment Tubbo spoke in the middle of her lesson, I’ve never seen anyone that scary before.” He was lying. Of course he had seen worse things, horrible, awful things, but it was nice to pretend that the only problems they faced were Puffy’s scolding. Tommy points up silently, at a cluster of stars too bright to be mistaken for anything other than XD, the mythical God of the SMP.
He supposedly represents strict justice, fairness and neutrality, all of the things he had never experienced on the SMP before. Tommy smiles again, this time laced with bitterness as he stares into the sky above. Only fitting, how everything he wanted was in his sight, but he could never quite reach it. Wilbur was right. He would never be tall enough. His hand lowers from its position, landing on his hair. Fingering the white streak in it, he wonders what would have happened if he had said no to it all. If he had run away into the woods with Purpled, content to see the stars every night instead of the damning fireworks and explosions that never seemed to go away.
And Purpled, ever the empath, once again sees his friend wrapped up in his own mind, brows furrowed in frenzied concentration as he debates his choices. “Stop,” he says, sitting up to look down at Tommy. Tommy glances at him, eyes alight with confusion.
“What?” He responds, his face creased once more, though this time out of bewilderment rather than spiraling thoughts.
“Don’t think like that. You can’t change the past. Unless you’re Karl, that is, which you are definitely not,” Purpled says, evoking a small smile out of the taller boy. He searches Tommy’s eyes carefully, and after a quick reassurance that the intruding thoughts are gone, lies down once more. But this time, instead of a peaceful silence, he begins to point out all of the constellations, describing each one’s purpose in great detail, even though Tommy already knows all of them.
The sun is slowly starting to rise by the time they finish talking, painting the world in soft hues of pink and orange, highlighting the bags on their faces, though neither mind as they slowly rise to their feet, wiping wet hands on pants and giving one last look at the valley before them before heading back to Las Nevadas.
The grass quickly changed to sand, and they were once again climbing over hills of sand, the sun thankfully not high enough in the air to cause discomfort. And suddenly, there it was, in all it’s magnificent glory; Las Nevadas, though it looked less ghastly than it did in the dark, and more welcoming. Yet despite its comforting demeanor, Purpled could still sense Tommy’s apprehension towards the place, especially when he sees Tubbo standing in front of the restaurant, Quackity talking animatedly while he stands off to the side patiently.
Quickly, he grabs Tommy’s shoulder, internally cringing at how tense he is, and steers him away from the city, towards the Nether portal a few metres away. The obsidian structure looms tall, purple particles swirling around it lazily while the body of the portal is a mass of thrumming amethyst energy, shining bright violet as they get closer, soft crackles and pops emitting from it in an erratic fashion. They both step up into it, and after the slightly painful process of crossing dimensions is completed, start walking through hell.
The heat in the Nether is far worse than any desert could be, but it doesn’t make them sweat, doesn’t burn their skin with its sheer blistering heat, but rather boils the blood on the inside, most likely causing some form of internal damage as they hop carefully from bridge to bridge, mismatched blocks and gaping holes glaring up at them mockingly.
Thankfully, nothing happens, and they make it to the hub with minimal effort, gratefully stepping through it with varying degrees of relief.
When they finally exit the portal, a bit of time has passed, the sun higher in the air than it had been before and the birds were singing. Purpled grabs Tommy again, this time by the hand, and he even coaxes a slight grin out of him by the time they reach the McPuffys. He knocks on the door, praying to Prime that Puffy is there, and lets out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding when she walks up to the door and gives a sweet smile before unlocking it.
“Hey boys, what can I do for ya?” She inquires, leading them to their old spot. Tommy smiles now, genuinely, and orders his usual. Purpled scoffs slightly at that, at how years later Puffy still remembers their orders. But it’s lighthearted, he could never truly be mad at Puffy, not when she smiles so wide her eyes crinkle, or when Tommy finally gives in and lets out another laugh, like he did when they were talking about the stars, or when they all sit together at the table and eat, talking about everything and nothing at the same time.
And when they finally part, it’s only under the circumstance that they would do it again.