Chapter Text
Being in the UK again is…strange…to say the least.
It’s different from last time Ranboo was here. Now he’s signed with Misfits and has priorities outside of just creating content he has to take care of, like paying his rent, paying his bills, as well as fulfilling said Misfits contract. Don’t get him wrong, he is incredibly happy to be back here, and so soon with the help of his new contract, but it’s not the same as living in Tubbo’s extension with him; streaming, filming various videos with their friends, and just living.
But even with all the change, it’s honestly pretty good. It’s good to be back with Tubbo, and in his previous time here, the UK became a sort of safe place, filled with friends and good memories. And now he gets to meet new people through Misfits, like Freddie.
Freddie is really chill, being another twitch streamer signed by Misfits. He’s from Nottingham—which Ranboo knows embarrassingly little about—and even though Ranboo is chronically unable to make conversation, Freddie is perfectly happy to talk enough for the both of them, seeming to not have shame or care for the fact that Ranboo is extremely awkward around people he’s never met before.
They’ve been sent on a supply run to Curry’s PC World, because even though he and Tubbo have only been signed for a few months, Tubbo’s already wreaking havoc and lost far too many cameras and mics.
“I’m honestly impressed man,” Freddie says, interrupting Ranboo’s thoughts. “Like, I’ve seen Tubbo on twitch, but I had no idea that he was this destructive in real life!”
The words make Ranboo break out laughing, stooping over a bit and holding his stomach.
“Yeah,” he leans over to Freddie, raising his eyebrows, “now imagine living with him.”
The teasing (and blatant slander) of Tubbo continues all the way to the shop, where they stop for a second for Freddie to put on his mask before continuing inside.
Curry’s is not a store Ranboo had ever seen in the US, and he’s pretty sure they don’t have it there, but it’s closest equivalent would probably be BestBuy, just rows and rows of various electronics, with the occasional employee walking up to you if you’ve been stationary for too long to ask if you need help.
Ranboo doesn’t dislike coming here, but the uncomfortable energy of people trying to talk to you and ask what you want is never something comfortable. Luckily, Freddie has no such qualms, walking in and looking around at all the computer parts without even a glance towards the cameras and audio sections, those being the whole point of the trip.
While Freddie explores the PC’s, Ranboo loiters around behind him, awkwardly hovering over his shoulder, too scared to tell this person he’s barely met that they should probably just stay on task and get out.
After 20 minutes of hovering behind Freddie in the PC section and not making any progress towards what their original goal of coming here was, it seems Ranboo’s bad luck with people has struck again.
An employee is walking towards him.
Admittedly, being 6’6 doesn’t help him with looking inconspicuous, even when he hunches down, curling in a vain attempt to hide himself from them.
“Hello, are you two together? Because if not, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.” They ask, fluffy blond hair falling into their eyes even as they push it back.
Cringing, Ranboo covers his face with his hands in embarrassment, letting out a sigh and tapping Freddie on the shoulder, who somehow hasn’t noticed the person talking to them.
“Yeah Ran-Oh! Sorry, I didn’t notice you there…” Freddie trails off, looking down at the employee’s nametag before his eyes widen, quickly flicking between the nametag clipped to their purple shirt and their face.
“Tommy?”
Freddie seems to trigger something in “Tommy’s” memory as well, a surprised look crossing his face after a second of processing.
Tommy brightens, realizing who he’s talking to. “Holy shit! Freddie! I haven’t seen you in forever man!” He exclaims, reaching out and pulling the other boy into a hug.
“Yeah, it’s been, what…four years?”
“Five, actually.” Tommy provides. “Holy shit dude, how’ve you been? Still into gaming, I see.” He jokes, gesturing to the aisle they’re all currently stood in.
“Heh…you could definitely say that. I’m signed to an organization, and I make content online for my job now!” Freddie excitedly shares.
Tommy’s eyes can’t seem to get any brighter, the smile that’s surely under his mask must be miles wide, completely in awe of how far Freddie has come. “Dude that’s great!”
“What about you? You just disappeared, how’s life been?” Freddie queries back.
“Ah you know me..” Tommy rubs the back of his neck, keeping the smile on his face. “I get by…but that’s besides the point. You’re doing real shit now!”
Nodding enthusiastically, Freddie seems to realize that Ranboo’s still there and completely out of the loop, jumping quickly to introduce him.
“Shit, hey, this here is Ranboo. We’re signed to the same org and were sent out pick up some audio equipment and cameras. Ranboo,” he gestures to the employee, “meet Tommy, my best friend from school.”
Ranboo raises a hand in a shy greeting, a bit unsure how to deal with all the energy this guy has.
“Hi, I’m Ranboo.” He lamely says, unsure of what else he could possibly say.
Tommy looks him up and down, nodding in approval. “So you must be a pre-tty big deal then, huh?” He says, raising his eyebrows at Freddie for confirmation.
“Ah, I’m not that-“
“He is, being number 16 and all.” Freddie smirks, always looking for another opportunity to joke about their ‘ranks’ from the twitch leaks.
Tommy—whether luckily or unfortunately—doesn’t seem to get the joke, furrowing his brow and tilting his head in confusion. “Number sixteen?”
“The-the twitch leaks? You know, from October?” Freddie questions, confused why Tommy doesn’t seem to know this.
Letting out a huffed laugh Tommy shakes his head. “Ah, sorry boss man, I guess I’m just a bit out of the loop on this shit.” There’s a bit of an awkward silence before Tommy breaks it again. “Anyways, you said you were here for audio equipment and cameras? Right, let’s go and I can help you find what you need.”
“So you’re telling me that this Tubbo has managed to break and lose at least fifteen mics? And he’s only been with you for a few months?” Laughter spills out of Tommy as he helps them pick out mics and cameras, carefully counting out the number they need and placing them in their baskets. “You’re lucky to have me here,” Tommy puffs out his chest in faux arrogance. “I happen to be highly knowledgeable on all things film related. I was going to go to college for film and editing, after all.”
Freddie laughs, clearly missing the fun of being with his old friend.
“Yeah, and he can’t stop leaking things either!” Freddie lightheartedly jokes. “He’s leaked at least half of his projects on accident.” He shakes his head, laughing. “It’s a miracle he didn’t leak when he was joining Misfits.”
“Misfits?”
“Oh yeah! That’s the organization Ranboo and I are part of.” Freddie tells Tommy, pulling out his phone to show some pictures of the Misfits crew.
Tommy nods his head, chuckling a bit seeing the promotional pictures of a confident, cocky Ranboo—so very different from the shy, withdrawn Ranboo he’s met today.
“This you big guy?” He jokes, pointing at the picture of Ranboo crossing his arms in front of big, bold red text proclaiming ‘Misfits Ranboo’.
Ranboo nods, self-consciously rubbing the back of his head. “Ah, yep that’s me.”
Turning between the photo and Ranboo, Tommy giggles and laughs approvingly. “Well anyways, I’ve probably kept you for far too long, and I have a job to do as well.” His eyes drop to where his hands fiddle with the edge of his purple shirt, it being apparent that he wishes he could continue catching up with his old friend as much as Freddie wants to catch up with him.
Freddie’s smile drops a bit, but he quickly grabs Tommy’s arm as he turns to get back to his job. “Wait, we should exchange phone numbers!”
Tommy smiles a bit strained. “Sure, but I’m not supposed to have my phone out while I’m on the clock, so make it quick.” He pulls out an old, beat-up phone. There are cracks all along the screen, a couple of dead pixels visible as Tommy hands it over to Freddie, already open to contacts for him to put in his information.
Freddie hands over his phone as well, the stark difference in how new and unbroken his phone looks compared to Tommy’s beat up one does not go unnoticed by anyone in the group, but no one makes a comment on it as they each hand their respective phones back.
Just as Tommy’s waving and making a move to go again, Freddie calls out. “One more thing!” Tommy visibly flinches this time, clearly trying to leave the situation. “Just one more thing, and then I swear we will let you get back to work.”
Pinching in between his brows and sighing, Tommy waves his hand at Freddie to continue. "Go on."
“You should come to one of our shoots sometime!” He excitedly states, bouncing up and down a bit. “For Misfits! You can just come when we do some IRL content or something, plus, I know how much you love watching filming in action.”
Tommy grimaces, glancing unsurely between Ranboo and Freddie. “You sure? Wouldn’t I just get in the way considering I wouldn’t be doing anything?” Despite how doubtful he looks, the yearning he feels to actually go and be able to see filming and content creation in action can’t completely stay out of his voice, tentative excitement creeping in and making Ranboo smile softly under his mask.
“Of course you wouldn’t get in the way!” Freddie reassures him.
“Plus,” Ranboo adds, “Tubbo almost always brings his dad along, and his dad doesn’t even drive him anymore, he’s just there for Tubbo.”
Their reassurances seem to help Tommy a bit. “Okay, sure, but I’m pretty busy with work, so it’d have to be on a day off.” He flushes, embarrassed at being unable to just pick up his life and go to a shoot like they’re usually able to.
Freddie thinks for a minute, pulling up his calendar and checking filming dates. “Does the 28th work for you?”
Scrunching his nose up Tommy shakes his head no. “No, but I should be free the next Sunday; the fourth?” His disappointment can’t be hidden, clearly expecting for the scheduling conflicts to not work out, looking down again to fiddle with his nametag.
“Actually,” Freddie starts, Tommy perking up “we are filming then! I can send you the details as soon as I get them, and then you can come!”
Tommy brightens again, shocked that he could actually get everything to work out. “Oh my god, yeah. I’ll be there.” The smile shining from his eyes can’t be disguised as he turns and waves. “Bye! Don’t break anymore mics and cameras!” He playfully shouts back to them.
“Or do!”
They all laugh, excited for what’s to come.