Chapter Text
Magic has existed since the beginning of time.
It breathes with life, through the frigid winters and the blazing summers. It collapses with death, through the still silences and the heavy pounding rain.
Witches were provided gifts of magic. They sense it everywhere. It breathes with them, and it lives with them. It dies with them when their bodies are gone, and it stays with them when they’re not.
Magic is a gift. It is a blessing that those not given it will never understand. They can only dream of it, of being able to fly, or heal people with the single muttering of an enchantment. Of having such power, such wonderful ability. This admiration eventually turned to fear. To jealousy.
And oh, are fear and jealousy two of the most powerful feelings in the world.
It causes anger, and anger causes violence. And when it’s all directed at magic, what you get is a lot of prosecuted witches that are burned alive at the stake.
Anger caused the gift that was laid upon humanity to become a curse. A burden. Something wicked, cruel, and ugly that you had to hide if you wanted to survive. If you wanted to truly live. To be free.
And so, generations upon generations of witches had hidden their gifts from non-witches, able to live their lives as normal people outside their homes, and able to use magic inside their homes.
Well, until Tommy, that was.
Tommy had thought the whole “hiding magic” thing was fucking stupid. Like yeah, maybe that was necessary years ago, but he’s pretty sure he’s not gonna get burned alive for baking a cake. It’s not the 1600s for fuck’s sake, he’ll be fine.
Still, Phil was insistent on not telling anybody. Not his best friends, not anybody at his school. Nobody.
And Tommy complied. He’d kept his magic a secret, and hadn’t told anyone. Not Tubbo, not Ranboo. No one.
And then he did.
Look, it had come up in a conversation one day! He probably should’ve thought before he had spoken, but let’s be honest, nobody does that.
Tubbo and Ranboo didn’t even mind! Once he had explained how his magic worked more thoroughly, they thought it was cool. I mean, granted, they didn’t really believe him until he’d casted a spell, but the point is they were fine with it!
And, you may be wondering, how a witch’s magic works.
Well, it’s simple.
A witch, at some point in their life, will go through what’s called magic manifestation. It starts with a dream, a sign that it will start. It will have some relation to their ability, though it may not always be clear.
A witch usually has one ability, one type of magic that they can use. However, it’s not uncommon to see a witch with two abilities.
Magic types are usually influenced by a witch’s family, and their interests. They may inherit magic types from their family, or their magic may just be linked to whatever they liked the most.
In Tommy’s case, this was baking.
He had always had a sweet tooth, loving pastries and candies, anything sweet he could get his hands on. When young him found out you could make those things, he’d been ecstatic. He wanted to know it all, every recipe and every ingredient they required. While Technoblade was reading The Art of War, he was reading cookbooks.
It was no surprise when he discovered his baking abilities.
5 years ago, when he was 10, Tommy had woken up from a lovely dream. He was the owner of a small bakery, one in which he served his mother a beautiful brownie. She ate it and smiled in delight.
“It’s wonderful, Tommy.”
Her words were as sweet as the dessert he’d made, dripping with honey and care. He’d woken up with a smile on his face as he raced to the kitchen.
The day before, he’d baked some wonderful cupcakes, and he wanted to sneak one before breakfast. What his dad didn’t know, couldn’t hurt him.
He snuck one, eating one and smiling with content.
At that moment, Tommy decided they needed even more desserts! A wonderful idea! So, he began to study the cookbook once more, and follow the instructions on how to make delicious chocolate chip cookies.
It was easy enough, following the directions, and soon he was taking them out of the oven with his father’s oven mitts. Soon, Wilbur was walking out of his room, looking tired and watching Tommy set the tray on the counter.
“Tommy, what the fuck are you doing? It’s early—“
They both watched as liquid gold poured from his hands, dancing in the air and settling in the cookies. Wilbur gasped in surprise, and ran to get their father. “Dad! Dad!”
Phil came out equally tired, but impressed that their son had made an entire batch of cookies and gone through his magic manifestation.
(Though, when he found out Tommy had snuck a cupcake, he forbade him from having any other sweets that day.)
So, as a treat, he took all of them to a small village they used to live in, one filled to the brim with witches. There were shops and grocery stores with special magic items, and Phil easily found a cookbook filled with spells for baking.
Tommy had never been happier.
He wanted to be a baker.
He wanted a bakery. He would admit, he was jealous of Niki, a senior in their highschool who owned her own bakery. Her parents were more than well off, and had the money to both buy a small building and renovate it. Niki was doing great with her business, with the help of some of her family and friends.
He wanted to be like that, but had no idea where to start. Until Sam, Tubbo and Ranboo’s guardian, had mentioned about this old building that he owned, but never used.
And Tommy saw an opportunity.
With his help, they restored the small old building into a small bakery. It didn’t look as good as Niki’s, but it wasn’t terrible-looking.
And so, Tommy’s life as a baker began.
Sure, he has to hide it from his father, but that was fine! He was great with secrets!
(If you ignore the part where he told Tubbo and Ranboo about being a witch, then that statement remained true.)
Tommy was at the cash register, when his most frequent (more like only) customers walked through the door. One with shaggy brown hair and a dark green button down shirt, the other with light brown hair, wearing a black and white mask. Tubbo and Ranboo laughed at a joke Tommy hadn’t heard as the bell above the door jingled.
“Hey boys! I made you two something,” he said, going into the back and holding two bags. They’re labeled with both of the boys’ names.
“Thanks boss man!” Tubbo said, grabbing his bag and instantly opening it to find a cupcake with yellow frosting and a tiny bee ring at the top. He gasps in delight.
Ranboo quickly grabs his and opens it, grabbing a cupcake with white frosting and Oreo crumbs spread all over it. At the top is a small allium charm.
“Thanks Tommy!” Ranboo says, grabbing the charm then eating the cupcake. Tommy smiles. “It’s no problem, really.”
Tubbo, who was eating his too, stops in astonishment. “This is amazing! Did you use your magic on it?” He asks.
“Yeah, just a charm so that it’ll be perfect for your tastes. Nothing too difficult.”
Tubbo playfully slaps him on the shoulder. “You’re the best baker in the world.”
Tommy smirks. “I know.”
Ranboo groans. “I have so much math homework.”
Tommy realized he does too. “Fuck.”
Tubbo laughs. “I finished it during lunch.”
“Nerd,” Tommy remarks.
“You’re better at math than us!” Ranboo says. Tubbo shrugs. “Tommy has the magic, I’ve got the brains.”
Ranboo raises an eyebrow. “Then what do I have?”
“Height,” Tommy instantly quips, making the whole group laugh a bit. It’s true, Ranboo is fucking tall.
“Can you two help me close up shop? I’ve got to do that math homework now, and it’ll take a while by myself.”
The two nod. “Wanna come over for Mario Kart after school tomorrow?” Tubbo asks.
“Sure! I’ll beat both of your asses,” he states as he puts away his apron.
Ranboo laughs. “Sure.”
Tommy instantly stands up and gives him a playful death stare. “You’re gonna regret that.”
Ranboo rolls his eyes, and continues to help Tommy close up. The three walk out the door, Tommy last to turn off the light and lock the door with his keys, walking with the two other boys to their street. They talk about nothing and everything at the same time, from bugs, to spiders, to video games, and school. Soon, they make it to their street, and separate from each other. They live near, their houses across from one another. He can see Sam in the window, probably cleaning some dishes.
Tommy opens his own door, stepping in and shutting it as he goes to greet his own family. Phil is sitting on the couch, watching TV with Techno at his side. Wilbur is sitting at the table, drawing something.
“Hey everyone!” He says, going to his room to get his dreaded math homework.
“Hullo!” Techno shouts, his most noticeable from the other ’heys.’ Tommy comes down with the paper and a pencil, writing and solving math equations.
“Homework?” Phil asks.
“Yeah, math.”
“Ew,” Techno remarks.
“Oh hush Techno, math isn’t that bad,” Wilbur says.
Techno looks at Wilbur, absolutely appalled. “Are we even related?”
“Apparently not.”
“Betrayed, by my own twin brother.”
“Whatever shall you do?” Wilbur asks.
Tommy laughs as he continues to write. Honestly, math isn’t that bad, but Tubbo is far greater at it than him. He ignores the way that Wilbur and Techno start to bicker about if English is a good subject or not, and Tommy’s personal opinion is that school is boring as fuck.
Phil quiets them down so that Tommy can work and he’s never been more grateful, needing the silence.
Sure, his life is a bit…chaotic, but he likes it in a way. It’s a peaceful chaos, and he wouldn’t trade it for a single thing.