Chapter Text
As Wilbur and Techno make their way off the train, Tommy stays back to help Tubbo out with his things. Though he’s not really helping the poor boy, he’s walking in front of him chattering on about some stupid prank he and Drista had played on Clay. Tubbo’s struggling with his bags behind him, chucking in a few comments here and there. Once they finally get off the train, Tommy pulls Tubbo into a hug and smiles brightly at him. Techno and Wilbur were standing in the distance, witnessing the intimate moment between the two best friends and smiling to themselves. Wilbur breaks them up quickly after, getting impatient.
“Hey-a cunt, you gonna stand there the whole day or you thinking of joining us in the car?” He calls out, a small chuckle escaping his lips as he sees Tommy’s jokingly exasperated expression as he runs over to them.
“Just because I have friends and you don’t doesn't mean you have to straight out insult me bitch” Tommy earns a slap on the back of the head and a small push towards the car for that comment.
“Careful Wilbur, the kid bites.”
Techno injected himself into the little moment between the two brothers, his lips quirking up a bit as Wilbur gave a wholehearted laugh and Tommy stared at him. “Techno, if you don’t shut up I might actually bite you”
“Oh no, dad help there’s a rabid dog!” Wilbur exclaims as he quickly enters the front seat of the red family sized car. Tommy rolling his eyes and punching Techno in the shoulder before getting into the backseat with him.
“Hey!”
A quiet laugh escapes Phil’s lips as everyone continues their pointless bickering, starting the car and driving away from the station. Phil was indeed delighted to see his kids again.
“Now kids, I’m very happy to have you back home now, so I ask if it’s possible to have a family movie night?” Phil starts when all the kids have carried their stuff up to their respective rooms. It was a big house, big enough for a family of 8, and a house Phil had inherited from his parents after they’d passed away years ago during the Great Wizarding War.
His kids were still too young to realise what was actually happening back then, though having to lose their mum like that must have been hard on the kids in the end. They grew up strong. Phil has her to thank for that, and maybe himself a bit (though he won’t admit it).
“Yeah sure dad, just thought I’d check in with Tubbs first.” Tommy admits, more lighthearted than his usual tone. “I’m up for that. Just as long as it isn’t some shitty romance comedy.” Techno stares at Wilbur as he starts looking flabbergasted. “Hey! You said you liked the movie! YOU LAUGHED!” Techno shakes his head as Phil’s eyes shift back and forth between the twins.
“At the terrible acting, yes- and the plot wasn’t even that great!” He quickly shoots out as he disappears into the kitchen, presumably to get something to eat after the long trip home.
“Hey! Hey dad you liked the movie! Right?” Wilbur desperately exclaims at the shorter man, exhaling a tired sigh as he waves him off and chuckles at his son’s behaviour.
“WAIT WAIT WHAT’S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN!? FAVOURITISM! This is favouritism…!”
At 9 pm, Phil called his kids down for dinner. Since Phil had been at work the whole day before picking them up, so he didn’t end up making anything and just ordered food from their favourite thai restaurant.
“Dad! Phil big man! Thai?? You’re spoiling us-”
Tommy seems to have appeared behind him as he takes the food out of the takeout bags and places it all on the counter. He has a sort or sixth sense for food.
“Spoiling you? Oh I should probably stop then-” He teases back as he sees Tommy’s face twist into panic for a bit.
“Ahahh that’s not what I mean ah- of course you’re not spoiling us don’t be silly dad-”
The two older boys chuckle at the scene as they enter the kitchen, having seemed to also have some sort of sixth sense. They all pick up their respective meals and palace themselves tightly knit together on one of the couches in the living room. Phil, who’s accompanied by Tommy on one side and Techno on the other, reaches for the remote to put on a movie he rented earlier that day for everyone to watch.
There’s no arguing over the movie choice tonight. Not like there usually was, Phil takes a moment to appreciate it. Pushing the play button, leaning down and eating his takeaway with his three favourite people in the whole world by his side.
Tommy starts commenting on something about the plot of the movie and Techno interrupts him, which makes Wilbur join in on the pointless conversation. Phil closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, happy everything is back to normal.
This was going to be a good Christmas.
There’s a loud crash and Phil is awoken, startled and alert. It was only the movie in the end. He checked the time, 11 pm. Looking around, he saw Tommy and Techno sleeping soundly and Wilbur rubbing his eyes as he looked up at Phil curiously.
“You wanna take him?” Nodding to Tommy, wearing an expression of pure ease and comfort.
He nods at the shorter man and picks Tommy up in his lanky arms, smiling to himself and starting up the stairs. As the two boys disappear upstairs, Phil takes one look at the seemingly exhausted pink-haired boy and sighs. It’s been awhile since he’s had to carry Techno to bed and he doesn’t really think that his back could handle a 16 year old, and he really doesn’t wanna accidentally drop the boy and earn himself a frustrated scowl.
Taking the comfiest snugg from the wooden basket next to the sofa and burying the tired boy in it. Before leaving him there, he gathered up all the takeout boxes, carrying them to the kitchen and throwing them out. Phil then proceeds to reach for a glass and fill it with water, placing it on the coffee table in case Techno wakes up in the middle of the night.
Smiling, he kisses the boy’s forehead and turns the lights off, making his way up the stairs to his bedroom.
Wilbur’s steps are faint but noticeable on the steps as he comes into the kitchen, where Techno is sitting with a cup of coffee and bowl of cereal.
“You’re up early.” Wilbur remarks as he goes to grab some of the coffee Techno’s already prepared.
“Yeah, I woke up and realised I fell asleep on the couch. Dad tucked me in though, so I didn’t freeze during the night.” His movements are slow as he takes another sip from his coffee. He turns his attention to the taller man, who's taking long chugs from his coffee.
“I mean, why didn’t dad just wake you up?”
Techno looks back at his cereal, having barely eaten anything from it. He looks up as Wilbur takes the seat opposite him. He shrugs. “I think he noticed the bags under my eyes. I haven’t slept that long in ages, I guess it’s because of those late nights working-” Wilbur interrupts him, waving a hand around.
“Techno, I know you’re determined to get the best grades you can get to impress dad but- hey let me finish- but you need to take care of you own well being too”
Wilbur’s voice is so sincere and comforting, Techno stares speechlessly at his twin. The “speech” wasn’t incredible, far from it, but there was so much love and worry in Wilbur’s voice. He knew he cared about him, but this felt like a whole new level of that.
“Thank you” he croaked out as he buried his heads in his hands and willed for his watery eyes not to spill all over his forgotten cereal. After a while, Wilbur sees Tommy enter the kitchen, looking confused at the pink haired teenager crying at the breakfast table. Wilbur waves him over and whispers.
“Give him a big hug will you. And don’t ask.” Tommy nods and walks over to the other side of the table, enveloping the boy in a big bear hug. Techno looks up surprised, but leans into the warm hug and closes his eyes.
Wilbur stands up, taking his dirty mug and the forgotten cereal and placing them on the kitchen counter. Walking out of the kitchen, he meets Phil on the way, smiling as he makes his way back to his room.
“TECHNO! WILBUR! IT’S CHRISTMAS DAY TOMORROW!- I’m SO EXCITED!” Tommy exclaims as he bursts into the twins’ shared bedroom. Well, it’s kind of shared, since Wilbur often comes into Techno’s room to show him new songs or just other random stuff. It’s easy for them, since they’re rooms are connected via their shared bathroom.
Techno and Wilbur look over at each other, Techno rolling his eyes and dropping down on his bed. Wilbur looks over at Tommy, raised eyebrows. “We know Tommy, you’ve been talking about Christmas Day all week.”
Tommy slumps down on the bed.
“No you don’t get it! It’s different. It’s TOMORROW!” There’s an audible noise of skin being slapped, both the boys look over at the boy lying slumped on the bed. He’s rubbing his nose, mumbling something about his “stupid force and strenght”.
The two boys, witnessing the strange and hilarious scene, burst out laughing. Their stupidly annoying laughter filling the upstairs floor. Techno shakes his head at his brothers, though his lips quirk up a bit.
The three boys sit there idly for a couple hours, enjoying each other’s company until Tommy spies something outside.
“SNOW! THERE’S SNOW!” The boy rushes over to the window to peer at the black sky, splattered with specks of white. Wilbur stands up to look with Tommy, it’s all very calming. He looks over at the alarm clock on Techno’s bedside table. It shows the numbers 22:00. Has it really been 4 hours since Tommy came bursting into the bedroom?
Wilbur shakes his head as he turns his head to look outside again, but this time he spys two dark figures walking on the street by their house. He can’t see their faces but they don’t look dressed for the weather.
His body freezes up as he sees the two figures start walking up to their front door, he has a bad feeling. He doesn’t think the figures will do any harm, but who knows what they've been through. He pulls Tommy with him as he runs down the stairs, Techno sitting up confused on the bed as Tommy shouts at Wilbur asking why he’s dragging him downstairs.
To be completely honest, Wilbur doesn’t know why he took Tommy with him. He just did without thinking.
As the two boys reach the door, there’s a quiet knock. Wilbur pulls the door open with a surprising amount of force. The people on the other side jump a bit, and Wilbur takes a step back as he takes in the sight. There, on their porch, are Tubbo and Schlatt.
The boys look like they’re freezing, and are only carrying small bags on their backs and nothing else. Tommy jumps at Tubbo and quickly pulls him inside, it seems he had the same plan since Wilbur pulls Schlatt inside almost immediately after.
“What the hell?” Techno’s confusion is apparent in his voice as he walks down the stairs. Wilbur looks at Schlatt and back at Tubbo and Tommy. The two boys are hugging. It seems like Tommy’s trying to warm Tubbo.
“We’re sorry to inconvenience your family like this, really…, it’s just. Our family kicked us out. We had nowhere else to go.”
Oh. Wilbur gulps. Shit.