Who the Ever-Loving F*** Made Me A Prince?

Celebratory Superiority Pinata

"I told you," Tommy hisses at Ranboo, who was hidden beside him.

"I know very well not to listen to whatever it is that you say." Ranboo hisses back, but Tommy had shoved a finger on the taller kid's lips.

The two of them are hidden behind the shrubbery. Ranboo had been out here to sneak Tommy out for reasons he will reveal later, and Tommy had held Ranboo hostage for the mere fact that the Imperial Prince Technoblade would definitely believe Tommy's words over the mage's–regardless of whether or not mentioned mage had been the one to save the younger prince in the first place.

Meanwhile Ranboo has Tommy on a chokehold as well, seeing somehow Ranboo senses something wrong in Tommy.

"You're not Theseus, are you?" Ranboo had asked one day, sometime in between his quick recovery and when he'd convinced Techno he could walk alone. It had been so out of the blue that Tommy had to take a moment to comprehend his question. "I had been meaning to ask, but your soul isn't very... fitting."

And Tommy had known that. He's always known that, but for someone else other than him to point that out– well, it was jarring. Concerning. Frightening. "I'm Theseus, the fuck do you mean?" Tommy retorts, though a bit of his frustration was pressed too much into his voice.

"Well, I wouldn't know." Ranboo said, but with a tilt to his head there glimmered this curiosity. It feels like he's about ready to cut Tommy up to observe him. It's a frightening sight, especially for someone who looked like an expert on this sort of unusual occurrence. "But I know that you don't belong here, do you?"

Tommy scowled. "YOU Don't belong here, prick! You and your suddenly childish self. That's suspicious, innit? You're a fucking child right now! You're awfully fucking sus, Ranboob!" He started babbling– something he does best, and with a few accusations here and there, Tommy had thought that Ranboo dropped the topic.

Then he gave Tommy this ridiculous look, one that didn't make him want to cry.

And he said: "It must have been lonely,"

All the words in between had meant so much for Tommy.

It must have been so lonely, to be so misunderstood. To have people look down at you for the things that he had to regain again. It must have been so lonely to stand in the place of a child, being talked down on despite having the inner workings of someone who should have been on equal footing to them when it comes to age. It must have been so lonely, to be someone you're not.

By the end of it– or what Tommy insisted was the end of it, Ranboo smiled at him with this ridiculous understanding, and Tommy was not bawling his eyes out at the fact that holy shit, someone knows, and that someone isn't out here to kill him.

But by the end of it, Tommy had somehow known that Ranboo wouldn't drop this. He just decided not to talk about it.

Thankfully, Ranboo had expressed this concern to Tommy alone. Tommy was certain that somehow the Imperial Prince– Techno, would find a way to fix this, which is to say totally expel Tommy from Theseus' body. He didn't clarify what Ranboo had meant when he mentioned things like souls and the like. Tommy had the urge to ask again, but he didn't want to bring the conversation up.

Somewhere between fearing for his life and suddenly loving it, Tommy had developed this ownership.

Because somehow this is his now. Not just Theseus'. He's changed so much from the book already. Puffy won't be leading the revolution. Technoblade somehow already values his life. The Northern Duchy is friends with him. For Primes' sake he's living in the Emerald Palace, the palace of the Imperial Prince, head honcho with the Emperor gone. He's Tommy, the beloved prince. He isn't Theseus the lone prince. No, he's changed that with strenuous effort.