⭐️ SPARK AU CHAPTER 1
Personally, I don’t think the first chapter is my best work, but I had fun writing it and the future chapters tend to get a bit better I feel like :D
You can also read it on Ao3 if you prefer!
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Tumblr version of chapter 1 below cut
⭐️ Reblogs appreciated!!
Heads up: Trippy nightmare scene later in the chapter. Has a lot of drowning imagery in it! I was also too lazy to fix most of the italics, the proper version is in Ao3 if you’d like the full experience :D
Maybe this wasn’t so bad.
Here, sitting in a dingy apartment only just big enough to manage three people.
It wasn’t terrible per se. That didn’t mean it was great either. At the end of the day, it just needed to be manageable.
Ranboo doesn’t mind taking the couch most nights. He gets that the others do try and save up for another bed for him, but really, what bed would even be in their already tight budget that could even fit him? And he was fine using the couch. Was fine, and honestly preferred, contorting himself to curl up on the cushions. Tubbo and Tommy could never understand why he never cared about the arrangement. But, let’s be honest, they weren’t about to give up their own beds either.
So it’s been like that for a while now.
Since Ranboo had stumbled upon the city, luckily the first one he does remember finding, he’s been rooming with Tommy and Tubbo, as chaotic as that could be. Neither of them were particularly well off, so they each have to work together and scrounge up enough to even keep this apartment. As terrible and small as it was. It was still home.
The first one that Ranboo had ever managed to remember for longer than a week.
The only thing that wasn’t particularly in his favour was the city itself.
Descendants aren’t entirely common here. It’s mostly a human ran city. And when one does show up, it’s difficult. Most hide their abnormal features to get by or even get a job. Others aren’t as fortunate; their oddities literally branded on their skin like trophies that bar them from being accepted by the more wealthy parts of town. That and the recent rise of spark users in the city has grown into a very much not-needed tension to the city’s denizens. Many sparks have been turning to a life of crime, vigilantism, and even genuine “supervillain” esque schemes. While others, oh so noble and honourable they are, took the mantle of heroes. Most sparks that do have that title don’t deserve it in the first place. At least the supervillains are living up to their namesake; the heroes of the city only bother to be the rescuers of the wealthy districts.
Right.
He was getting side tracked again.
What mattered wasn’t the stupid villain-hero politics the place had going on. Ordinary people aren’t supposed to get involved, and Ranboo is more than content with keeping it that way.
Tracing back to what he’d been mulling over earlier; Tubbo, Tommy, and him each had their own jobs. He’s fairly certain Tommy doesn’t actually have a job, but he manages to take random internships and odd jobs and pulls his weight somewhat. It’s odd that the one out of them all who could get a job the easiest didn’t care to.
Tubbo on the other hand had to jump through a few hoops for his own income. As a descendant, people were stupidly wary of him and would often turn him away the second he showed up for an interview, no matter how loveable he actually was when you got to know him. And so it just.
Got to a point.
Ranboo doesn’t remember what Tommy had filled him in on. He was out of the house when that was all going down and he wasn't going to be the first to acknowledge his terrible memory. But from what he vaguely remembered, Tubbo and Tommy got into a fight. A fight that ended up with Tubbo cutting back his horns and vowing to hide as a normal human so he can actually get a job, finally. It disturbs that pit that always feels like it’s in Ranboo’s stomach whenever he thinks of that. He could never bring himself to get anywhere close to completely cutting off his own horns. It must’ve been daunting for Tubbo to. But now he got a job, a stable one at that.
In Ranboo’s opinion, though, the job was trash from the start if it forced Tubbo to cut a piece of himself off.
And now, Ranboo. Most descendants are subtle. A small wing here, a tail there, maybe the rare scale or two. It’s easy to hide in everyday life. The same couldn’t be said for him. If his height alone wasn’t enough to set off alarm bells, his weird black-white split skin and horns and tail would only put the nail in the coffin. Not to mention his weird eyes too. And he’s been having the most struggle getting his footing here. Luckily, he managed to find a relatively new, and thankfully small, shop that was ran by another descendant. He managed to get a job there, but it was shaky. With the city pretty much actively trying to shut down any descendant-run business that pops up, it’s almost astonishing how that place hasn’t gone bankrupt yet. Ranboo hopes that never happens. It’s one of the safer places for descendants. This whole part of town was, even if those snobby rich people across the city looked down at it like a landfill.
It wasn’t so bad.
When the show he’d been zoning out on had ended, Ranboo blinked back to reality dumbfounded. Took a second to remind himself that he was sitting in their apartment waiting for the others to get back from their jobs. Ranboo had the morning shifts, so he’s normally the first to be back. He wasn’t alone for too long as a few minutes later, the click of the door unlocking pricked his long ears to attention.
“Back!”
“Hey Tommy.”
The blond gave an exhausted nod before plopping himself down on the couch, promptly taking some of Ranboo’s space. Intentionally. Seeing as how tired Tommy seemed after whatever job he took that day, Ranboo figured not to do their normal fight-over-the-couch shtick. Tommy looked up at him as he adjusted away.
“How was your shift?” He asked Ranboo as his head halfhearted fell back to the armrest.
“It was fine. Some people came in today to try and harass a few of us, but Fundy had them covered.”
Tommy whistled, “damn, didn’t think those kinds of pricks would stoop so low to go into prime descendants territory to insult them. You get involved at all?”
Ranboo shook his head.
“No. Fundy had it covered just fine, I just… made sure none of the customers got upset and started a fight with them, I guess? That happened a few weeks ago, it was not fun to deal with.”
“Well, that’s food service for ya. Well- not that specifically, but you know what I mean.”
And Ranboo gave another solemn nod. His attention returned to the TV as a new show started up. Even with the TV on, he could still see his monstrous appearance faintly staring back at him. And that pit in his stomach started up again.
“How about you? What job did you take this time?” Ranboo asked for a distraction.
Tommy scoffed, “That fucking librarian from the Greater District hired me to help sort new books they got. It fucking took forever.”
Ranboo had to hold back a scoff at the idea of Tommy stepping anywhere near the Greater District. “Sounds easier than dealing with a bunch of stuck up humans every day. Was the pay decent at lea—“
Ranboo was interrupted by the show on TV switching abruptly. A news broadcaster reports urgently on a large fight taking place between the Syndicate and the Dreamcatchers in the eastern side of the city. Apparently the Crowfather and The Blade had been spotted; the news never addressed what they were doing if it wasn’t big enough to make it on screen. Heroes Prometheus and Dream had cut them off and started a fight that reportedly “lasted for hours.” Ranboo had to bite back a groan. It’s annoying how much the news inflates these incidents. He doubts that it took literal hours.
“That fireball trick Prometheus used there was pretty damn cool!” Tommy’s expression lighting up caught Ranboo’s attention over the slop on the news. He winced a little, not wanting to point out the obvious dramatization of it and ruin that sparkle in Tommy’s eyes.
He didn’t have time to say that though before the broadcast was continuing again, “Coming in from the south district; the vigilante Fission was spotted along the outskirts of the Greater District, arresting human civilians who had been under attack by a group of descendants! This vigilante is currently wanted; any and all sightings must be reported to the Greater District’s Vigilante and Villain Report Hotline or reported to the police.”
The reporter stating that everyone should stay away from vigilantes before the channel returned to the show from before only served to annoy Ranboo more.
“Doubt Fission was actually arresting innocent people if they were from the Greater District.”
Tommy’s scoff agreed. It was almost obvious how little the news or the Greater District cared for the descendants. How they’ll inflate any small incident with one to the height of a full on assault. Most just… want to get by. Ranboo can attest to that. And if there was those descendant vigilantes out there trying to keep the other districts safe from crime, like Fission, then Ranboo wouldn’t mind having them around.
“I mean, either way, pretty damn cool mask he has there.” And Ranboo had to agree with Tommy. Fission wore an old gasmask with a pair of iconic curled horns. If those were real, it’d be a wonder how he managed to keep them hidden in everyday life.
Soon, another click of the door unlocking dragged both of their attention from their conversation.
“Home, guys!”
Ranboo said his welcome as Tommy bounced up to go say hello to Tubbo properly. Apparently he wasn’t that exhausted anymore.
“You hear about that shit with Fission already? Or the fight with the Syn and the Catchers?” Tommy chirped as he practically dragged Tubbo through the door without giving him much of a chance to actually get in.
Tubbo swatted him away with a laugh, “Yes, yes! I did— now fuck off!”
The two returned to join Ranboo on the couch.
“How couldn’t I hear? They were blasting that shit all through the damn Gr— city.”
“Pretty fucking nuts, if you ask me.” Tommy scoffed, “I bet I could take the Syndicate easily. They wouldn’t last an hour against THE Big Man.”
Ranboo wasn’t able to keep that small chuckle of fondness from escaping him. Yeah. Totally believed him. Never once doubted him. Not at all.
Tubbo swatted Tommy off despite the other’s indignant squawk of protest, “Nah, you wouldn’t last ten minutes against ‘em! You’d need me and Boo to drag your ass outta there.”
Tommy shot a pout in Ranboo's direction. The latter quickly shook his head to deny association with the whole situation.
And the trio fell into their normal rhythm after that. As Tubbo and Tommy remained stubbornly on the couch, insisting on watching the latest hero battle, Ranboo managed to peel himself out from underneath their thrown-around limbs to make them all dinner. It would probably just end up being mac and cheese again tonight. As much as it pains Ranboo, it’s really all they had left for this week. They were definitely going to have to buy new groceries soon.
He found himself wondering while waiting for the water to boil whether or not he could convince Fundy to give him a little raise. Then again, maybe not the best idea. Fundy was also living on a rather tight budget, even if he runs his own business here and all. And Ranboo would hate to put him also in a strain. And then there were his roommates. Maybe they could pitch in so he could buy some actually good groceries for once. But he shot down that almost immediately; they were all already saving up to pay rent soon so it wasn’t worth getting extravagant stuff from grocery runs. Ranboo found himself sighing in annoyance as he came to terms with that. Again. He’d really want to explore cooking and trying new things more often, but their living situation made it difficult. He wasn’t in a place to complain though, Ranboo figured.
He jolted back as soon as the sizzling of the water boiling over onto the stovetop broke through his thoughts. Rushing, Ranboo turned the heat down and grimaced as he watched the bubbles settle back into the pot. Why was it always him left with the cooking-stuff?
Pushing that aside, he grabbed the box and poured in the noodles. And after a few minutes, dinner was being served. It was a bit less than what would’ve been healthy for their ages, not that anything about their food situation was remotely close to that, but they couldn’t afford to waste multiple boxes for all three of them. So that often led to Ranboo splitting up what little was made between the three of them. They were all nearly adults anyways, they were old enough to skip a few meals.
He handed Tubbo and Tommy their bowls while the two bickered on what heroes were cooler. It was amusing to watch as he shoved a little bit of space free to sit down beside them. Apparently, according to Tommy, Prometheus would be able to take down just about anything thrown his way, while Tubbo was adamant that Fission would’ve been able to take him easily. And then Tommy complained how their sparks would cancel out in a fight; how unfair a fire versus explosions fight would be. Before quickly adding how Prometheus would still turn out victorious in the end. Ranboo had to keep quiet as Tubbo bristled up in offence. He ducked out of the way of Tubbo’s furious attack as the two began to roughhouse. The pair only stopped when Ranboo reminded them of their bowls, which they were painfully close to accidentally spilling all over themselves. Also because he wasn’t really interested in one of them accidentally stomping on his tail during their argument.
With a huff, the two settled back down to grumpily watch the movie that started playing in a pile of limbs on the couch.
The night went on without much change from that. At some point, Tubbo and Tommy had finally pulled themselves free of the couch to head to their room. And once the door clicked shut behind them, Ranboo found himself alone.
It was dark. The silver light streaming in through the tattered blinds was the only light now that the TV was off. The tap was restless with the occasional drop of water into the sink. The couch was cold that night as Ranboo found himself staring at the ceiling awake hours after the other two had gone to sleep. There would be the occasional creak from his roomates’ room as one shifted in their sleep, he could even catch Tubbo’s muffled snoring if he strained an ear hard enough. But apart from that the silence was suffocating. Most nights it was fine. Ranboo liked the quiet buzz of the dark most of the time, even though he could never really place why. But this wasn’t one of those nights. That pit in his stomach barred him off from passing out.
So he could only stew in his own thoughts for what felt like hours.
But the water dripping from the tap was too loud.
Too loud.
Ranboo pushed himself to sit up once he couldn’t take it any longer. The apartment looked off when he glared across it at the kitchen. The silvery blue light was hazy. It crawled and squirmed and latched onto any free surface like mold to moisture.
It was suddenly too quiet, like everything was muffled.
It was too quiet.
The tap, tap, tap from the sink echoed infinitely from across what felt like miles separating Ranboo from the kitchen. His eyes didn’t break from the water leaking from the tap. The room felt like it stretched out the longer he stared. Rippled with each drop into the sink. Walls sagging under the weight of a thousand oceans.
Ranboo shoved himself to his feet and the world around him settled out again.
With an exhausted groan, he trudged over to the faucet and tightened it to cut off the water.
It didn’t.
Ranboo felt his stomach twist as he watched more water seep from the tap. But… he turned it the right way? And it only spewed out more as he tried to tighten it again.
It was just water. He shouldn’t get freaked out by water. But staring at the sink filling despite the drains being unclogged made the world sway around him. He stumbled back, only to find himself ankle deep in the stuff. Flooding the apartment. Flooding it fast. Flooding everything—
Ranboo startled out of it when he accidentally fell forward against the counter again. He blinked. The faucet had stopped leaking, his hand was still on the hot water knob. And his eyes darted to the floor. Dry. But that didn’t stop his stomach from lurching as he swayed on his feet. The kitchen around him felt almost intangible. A hazy version of what it should be. But he could still touch and feel and interact with stuff. It still felt untouchable.
Ranboo let out a shaky sigh as he leaned back against the fridge. He squeezed his eyes shut. The chill from it was comforting. Reminded him of… something. He’d never truly be able to place his finger on it. And even though he does also like warmth a lot, given his lack of natural body heat himself, it wasn’t what he needed right now. Warmth means heavy, means headaches. And heavy makes him feel like the few times he’s accidentally gotten wet, when his clothes would cling to him and burn at his nerves. Dry warmth is best, but right now the room felt too thick and sickening for any semblance of warmth to replicate that.
He took a moment to remind himself.
Things were fine.
He was fine.
“Are you, now?”
Whatever feeling of comfort that had been soothing Ranboo’s nerves melted immediately.
His eyes flew open and he quickly darted his head around for the voice. No, he was alone. Only thing there was the tap. Leaking again. He could’ve sworn he got it last time. Ranboo mustered up the energy to lean over and twist the faucet off again as tightly as he could. As the seconds passed, the more sick and confused he felt. He needed to get out of there. He needed to lay down. He needed to sleep.
“You’re quite an interesting fellow to mess with, hm?”
His claws dug marks into the counter as that playful lilt hissed from over his shoulder.
Ranboo glanced back. Nothing.
Okay. He. Might just be going a little insane. Just. A little.
But that didn’t stop his nerves from pricking up, didn’t stop his hair from standing on end. His tail lashed like an anxious whip behind him as he stood abandoned in the apartment. Tried to strain an ear to hear for Tubbo’s snoring or Tommy’s movement, but. Nothing.
“Doesn’t seem like you have anything of importance to me though.”
Ranboo grimaced at the voice.
He couldn’t take it.
“Who’s there?” Ranboo shouted out into the isolating flat, hating how his own voice sounded so shaky and uncertain.
When no response came, Ranboo bristled.
He snapped again, baring his teeth in the dim light, “Who’s there?!”
And as the seconds ticked by with no reply, Ranboo wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or terrified.
Right. He. He just needed sleep. Surely.
Finally, he managed to trudge back to the couch to retreat into it’s false security. It felt like an entire hike to cross the endless-feeling room to it. Ranboo’s ears pressed back as he sits there for a moment. Maybe the voice would return for a bit. But when no response came, he finally felt himself calm down once more.
Tap.
The water from the faucet leaked again. Each silencing drop was like someone trying to shove needles under his nails.
It was just water; the life force of the planet, the main make up of the planet’s entire surface. It was just water; harmless, drinkable, common. It was just water; safe, vital for all life. It wasn’t out to get him. It didn’t have a conscience. It’s merely the liquid state of some compound, one that has been studied to death by scientists for centuries. H2O. It was just water.
But every drop from the tap made Ranboo feel like he was staring down at an endless intangible ocean threatening to swallow him whole. The loose planks of the docks beneath his feet weren’t enough to stop the sea spray from crawling up his limbs, biting into his skin and leaving behind permanent scars. Staring down into that sent ice through his veins. Ice that’d melt into cold, self-destructive water that’d burn him from the inside out. It was like looking into the maw of a beast. Each drop counting a new tooth shining in that endless abyss. It lurches with the waves. Each splash is a claw that misses dragging him down. It eats away at his docks, leaves him stranded with no room to breathe. He can’t breathe. He feels like he’s drowning, choking on water he knows is just his own panicked bile rising up. Ranboo tries desperately to swim, to escape, to scream against the burning waves. But that maw wouldn’t let him. It draws close- too close. He can’t breathe. It bares its teeth with another drop into the sink. Where is he? And it lunges up to snap him in its mouth. WHAT IS HE—
Ranboo is jolted awake with a scream and Tommy shaking his shoulders as if he owed him money.
“Jesus, big man!” Tommy weezed, stumbling back and clutching his chest, “give a man a heart attack, would’ya?”
Ranboo stared. His breathing was quick, but not waterlogged thankfully. And he glanced around and the now much more grounded apartment. The sky outside was still dipped in ink.
And he was standing by the kitchen sink.
“Did I… did I do it again…?” He breathed out breathlessly. He reached out to take Tommy’s shoulder for support, noticing how shaky his hands were.
Tommy huffs as he helps Ranboo shakily walk back to the couch, “Yeah, seems like it.”
The blond manages to help Ranboo get situated on the couch again, sitting down beside him for a moment to make sure he was alright and all. Ranboo on the other hand said nothing. Tommy shouldn’t have to deal with his stuff like that… it’s his fault he does it. Tommy shouldn’t feel obligated to watch over him.
“You good if I stick around a bit longer? Just to make sure you don’t end up sleepwalking again, big man?”
And as much as Ranboo would like to say no, to let Tommy go get proper sleep in his own bed, he couldn’t bring himself to say no. So he nodded and leaned back into the pillows sprawled out on the couch, mumbling out a thank you that Tommy smiled in response to.
“It’s nothing, really. I wasn’t getting much sleep anyways with Tubbo’s loud ass snoring beneath my bunk, so I was already up and everything,” Tommy brushed off as he leaned back and snagged the TV remote off from the coffee table to turn on something quiet to watch.
The white noise of the TV softly playing on what must’ve been its lowest volume helped Ranboo’s earlier restlessness incredibly. While he tried to stay mindful of how much of the couch he was taking up with Tommy also having to sit on it too, Ranboo inevitably slipped into that exhausted state where he couldn’t care less. Every now and again he’d catch himself nodding off, but would wake up again with the worry of falling back into another episode. That icy pit in his stomach twisted and reached up for his throat.
Tommy must’ve noticed.
“You can go to sleep, Ranboo. I’ll be here to wake you up if you start walking or some shit again.”
Tommy’s words weren’t completely convincing to Ranboo, but he was too tired to protest. It took a few more rounds of fending off sleep before he finally missed one, his eyes falling shut and not being caught soon enough to be opened again.
This time he managed to get proper sleep; no voice, no water, nothing.