Chapter Text
Wilbur threw on his clothes as fast as he could, completely panicking. One look at his clock told him he had slept late. Why?! He cursed himself, Of all the days to wake up late, why today?! He looked over to see his twin still asleep, their little brother curled up next to his chest. Tommy wasn’t actually related to them by blood, but none of them cared. They had found him a couple years ago when he was still really tiny, just a little 6 year old boy out on the streets. They both knew they didn’t have enough food for three people but they didn’t care, and they had never once regretted it.
Tommy had been their light as they had struggled to make it through each day. His laughter had been the only thing keeping them going on more than one occasion. They had all had to do less than legal things to survive, Techno competed in an illegal fighting ring and Wilbur and Tommy turned to pickpocketing, and when that wasn’t enough, outright stealing. He still remembered the nights they had spent huddled around a small fire in some alley somewhere, trying to ignore the pangs of hunger as they patched up a small cut Techno had gotten in The Pit.
Wilbur still can’t fully believe those days are over now, that after having been caught stealing by the royal guard on a particularly bad day they had been adopted by King Philza. Even after months of staying in the castle it still feels like a dream. Having a stable food supply, a roof over their head, and a loving father? Wilbur had never even let himself hope for this much, and today it was going to be official.
Today was the day that Phil was going to formally adopt them and they would officially become princes of the Antarctic Kingdom. Which is why it was so crucial that they weren’t late!
He runs over and begins shaking Techno to wake him up. His twin groans and groggily blinks his eyes open before focusing on Wilbur.
“What do you want so early?” Techno whispers so as not to wake Tommy who is still sound asleep.
“It’s not early!” Wilbur whispers back agitatedly, “We have to get going or we’ll be late!”
Techno stares at the clock behind his head, “Wilbur it’s 4:55 what are you talking about?” He deadpans.
Wilbur spins around to stare at the clock that had so obviously been 11:20 when he had last looked over to find that it was, in-fact, only 4:55. His sleep-addled brain had tricked him!
Techno looks at him concerned and makes some room on the bed for him to sit, careful not to disturb Tommy, “Are you okay, Wil? You look like you have barely slept at all”
Wilbur sighs and sits down next to his twin, rubbing the dark circles under his eyes, “I’m just… anxious I guess. We’re so close to getting everything we dreamed about, we just have to get through this and we will officially have a family. Everything has to be perfect! What if I mess up and Phil decides he doesn’t want me?! What if the people of the kingdom decide they hate me?!” He takes a deep breath to steady himself and feels Techno wrap an arm around his shoulder, he knows his twin isn’t one for physical contact so he treasures it whenever Techno offers.
“I expected this from Tommy so give me a moment as I tweak my planned speech a bit,” Techno jokes lightly and Wilbur glares at him. They both know Tommy has a problem with not believing he is good enough, a flaw that Wilbur shares, though is much better at hiding.
He rests his head on Techno’s shoulder and lets his fingers twine through Tommy's golden hair. While Wilbur and Techno are both piglin hybrids, they share the same pink hair, Techno’s is long and straight and Wilburs is curly and dyed brown though you could still see his pink roots, as well as sharing the same small tusks poking out on either side of their mouth, though Wilbur’s could really only be seen when he smiles widely, and the pointed ears that show they are piglin. Tommy is just a human as far as they can tell with golden blond curls and bright blue eyes. But none of them care that they don’t look related, they are brothers, no matter what anyone says.
“Phil won’t care if you make a mistake,” Techno tells him, “he will still adopt us. And if the people of the kingdom will love you. You are ridiculously charismatic, I don’t understand how you do it, and if they don’t immediately love you somehow you’ll make them”
Wilbur rolls his eyes, “I’m not that manipulative”
“Bro, I saw you steal from that lady that sells those sticky buns right in front of her and then come back a week later and still get a free one. You are.”
Wilbur laughs, but it feels hollow and soon fades, Techno looks at him with concern.
“Trust me,” he says, nudging Wilbur’s shoulder with his own and forcing him to look at him, “they’ll love you”
Wilbur smiles and pokes Techno’s cheek, “Awww, you love me”
Techno scoffs and pushes his hand away, “I can’t ruthlessly crush your ego if you don’t have one,” he points out. Wilbur laughs softly and lightly punches Techno’s shoulder, causing him to shift on the bed. Tommy groans and shifts in his sleep. They both just spend a moment of silence, focusing on the soft breathing of their little brother.
“Now if you’re done keeping me awake at ungodly hours of the night I would like to get back to sleep” Techno deadpans.
Wilbur laughs as Techno lies back down, facing him with Tommy between them. Wilbur moves to get off the bed but Techno grabs his wrist, “Where are you going?” He asks.
“I was going to head back to my bed,” Wilbur responds confused, “Where else would I go?”
Techno gestures at the open spot left in the bed and Wilbur laughs again, lying down on the other side of Tommy.
That’s where Phils finds them when he comes to wake them up in the morning, all three curled up together on the same bed, Wilbur fully dressed for some reason.
It reminds him of a different time, before he knew them so well. When they were just three boys sleeping curled up together on the floor of the cell where his guards had thrown them after catching them stealing from some shop, the older two protectively curled around the younger. Back then he had been furious, they were clearly orphans who had been living on the street for a while, no doubt they were terrified, and his guards hadn’t helped at all, instead just throwing them in a cell like they were criminals, not kids who had just been trying to survive.
Even back then he knew there was nothing he wouldn’t do to protect them. Even after he brought them into the castle it took a while for them to trust him, mostly keeping to themselves, but he still was able to learn who they are.
Tommy was a little spitfire, making everyone in the castle laugh with his jokes and cocky facade. It took a while for Tommy to trust him enough to let him see through that facade, show him the part of him that is so sweet and cares so much about his brothers. That was so fragile and cared so much about what people thought.
He remembers how Schlatt, his advisor and close friend, had been against him taking in three street urchins, and how Phil had teased him mercilessly when he immediately changed his mind after seeing how much fun his son Tubbo was having with Tommy. The two boys had clicked instantly, and had (and continue to) rain hell upon everyone in the castle.
Wilbur was a storyteller, Phil clearly remembers the first time Wilbur even slightly opened up to him was when he had asked Phil to get his guitar, they had saved up for months to get it and even after Phil got it fixed up a bit it was still quite obviously an old guitar that had seen better days. Wilbur had adamantly refused when Phil offered to just give him a new one and it took a couple weeks for him to even agree to let it get cleaned and restrung. The first time Phil listened to him play the guitar that was covered with grubby fingerprints no amount of scrubbing could remove, watching him lovingly pluck strings that had obviously been strung by an unprofessional (he was told it had been Tommy), Phil had agreed with Wilbur that it was the best sounding guitar he had ever heard.
Techno was the quietest out of the three of them, but that doesn’t mean he is shy. It hurt Phil every time he saw the scars covering Techno’s arms, but he had refrained from asking about them until Techno felt comfortable telling him in his own time. He didn’t know what he had been expecting but it wasn’t an illegal fighting ring, he had immediately sent people to stop it. The pain in his heart lessened every time Techno let his guard down a little more, though he still is untrustworthy of strangers and flinches at most physical contact, they all do.
They are his children and though he hasn’t even known them for a year, there is nothing he won’t do for them. He leans down and ruffles Wilbur’s hair, electing a small groan from the child.
“You have to wake up now. Today is an important day,” Phil calls softly. It’s best to wake the boys as gently as possible as if they are startled awake it is very possible you end up with a knife to your throat. Phil tried to convince them that it wasn’t necessary for them to have a knife on the side of their bed anymore, but though he got them to stop stashing food from dinner in their room they weren’t ready to give up their knife yet. And that’s okay, Phil won’t push them.
Techno moves his arm from where it was on top of Tommy to cover his arms while Tommy shifts in annoyance, “But Wilbur woke me up in the middle of the night!” Techno complains.
“4:45 isn’t the middle of the night,” Wilbur grumbles back at him as he sits up, “the guards have to wake up much earlier than that” he points out.
“It’s too early for me though,” Techno grumbles without moving an inch. Phil chuckles and leans down to ruffle Tommy's hair causing him to blearily open an eye.
“Fuck off” The small child mumbles sleepily, slowly sitting up and rubbing his eyes. As he blinks a few times to wake himself up more and notices Techno still lying down in the bed. He lifts his little fist and brings it down hard on Techno’s stomach causing the pink-haired boy to sit up with a cough.
“What the hell, Tommy?” He exclaims glaring at the younger boy.
Tommy just glares right back, “If I have to be up, you have to be up”
Phil laughs at his son's antics and goes to grab some clothes from the closet, “Yes, yes, you both have to be up,” He tells them while laying three outfits on Wilbur’s empty bed, “Now get dressed so we can all get some food.”
“I already am dressed” Wilbur argues, hopping out of the bed.
“Those clothes are all wrinkled,” Phil tells him, “You can’t wear those” Wilbur makes a face but compiles, heading over to the bed and grabbing the set of clothes Phil had laid out for him.
“Don’t we have to wear, you know, more fancy clothes?” Wilbur asks, staring at the simple clothes in his hand.
“You can change into nicer clothes after breakfast and a shower” Phil replies.
“Why fancy clothes?” Tommy asked, now turning his anger at having been woken up towards the idea of the offending ruffled clothing that was considered fitting for a prince. He knew they were uncomfortable and really didn’t want to put them on.
“Do you not remember what today is?” Wilbur asks with surprise from the other side of the room. Tommy turns his glare towards him, he hates feeling like he doesn’t know as much he should, when they were still on the streets the other kids would tease him for not knowing what they considered ‘common knowledge’.
Tommy screws up his face as he tries to remember what could be happening today that is so important. His face lights up as he remembers but before he can inform them of his genius his mind jumps onto an arguably more important matter.
“Does that mean there will be no lessons today?” Tommy asks excitedly. After they moved into the castle Phil quickly got them set up with some tutors. Tommy just joined Tubbo in his lessons and Wilbur and Techno have their lessons together as well as Techno having some personal lessons with the captain of Phil’s guard, Ponk.
Tommy hates having to go to his lessons, he just doesn’t see the point, so he tries to avoid them whenever possible. He is a smart kid, he just doesn’t try in his lessons, instead applying his mind to clever ways to try and escape said lessons. Phil had heard so many stories from Schlatt about trying to convince Tubbo to go to his lessons but he found it much less entertaining having to deal with it himself.
Wilbur does well in his studies, soaking up the information like a sponge, and all his tutors have reported to Phil how surprised they are, it goes beyond him just being able to remember the information, he has a head for politics and a way with words according to his teachers. The problem is he just doesn’t care, preferring to play his guitar and hang out with his brothers.
Techno on the other hand has a hard time remembering all the names of places and people, and how they all relate to each other. The Ponk has said that he is a natural with a sword, going beyond just having been forced to fight from a young age. “Most kids being handed a sword and told to fight adults to survive wouldn’t have made it, especially malnourished like he was, but instead he adapted. With a few years of training he will be a warrior to be reckoned with” Phil remembers being told when he asked how Techno was doing. When asked, Techno expressed interest in training with Ponk, wanting to be able to protect his brothers better than he could now.
Phil laughed at Tommys statement, ruffling his hair, “Yes Tommy, there won’t be any lessons today. Now get dressed, I’m hungry and I heard the cooks are preparing something amazing” Tommy huffed but jumped out of the bed and quickly changed into his clothes, always ready to eat good food.
“Don’t worry, you won’t have to wear clothes like this except on days where there is an event, such as you getting officially adopted” Phil feels his wings puff up, betraying his excitement at his sons officially becoming his sons even as he tries to force a broad smile off his face. Techno laughs at his struggle as he pulls a shirt over his head.
They head down to the kitchens to get some pastries and bring them to eat outside in the sunshine, enjoying the cool breeze. They still had a couple of hours until they had to actually get ready so they spent the time just enjoying the clear sky, a rarity in the arctic kingdom. After a couple of hours Phil was called back to the castle to help get ready for the ceremony and Tubbo was kicked out of the castle for causing chaos. So that just left the four boys to just hang out and enjoy the weather before they were dragged back to get ready.
Tubbo and Tommy entertained themselves by trying to catch bugs in their hands, something they both failed at. After a while they gave up on that and instead threw handfuls of dirt at Techno and Wilbur causing an all-out war with sticks instead of swords. The twins chased the younger boys around as they tried desperately to escape by climbing trees or ducking through bushes. The war ended when Wilbur was convinced to betray Techno and all three just teamed up against him in a final battle, and ended up losing anyway.
Eventually they were called back inside to wash up and change into their formal outfits. Tubbo was split up from them as they were led to the bathing room. They washed and changed into the proper clothes, and Tommy complained loudly about how the ruffles itched his skin. Maids came in and offered to do their hair, but Wilbur waved them off, he had been doing his brother's hair for years.
Wilbur ran a brush through Techno’s long hair, separating it into three sections for a braid and hummed softly. Techno relaxed into Wilbur touch and even Tommy had quieted down, leaning his head against Wilbur’s side to watch him braid.
It was quiet and peaceful, and the anxiety’s that had been swirling inside each of them faded at the serenity of just being together.
Once Wilbur had finished Techno’s hair, he did a small one on the side of Tommys head like Tommy requested. Then Schlatt came and brought them over to the big door that would lead to the throne room.
The anxiety that had been bubbling up in Tommy all day came back full force and as soon as Schlatt had left he grabbed onto Techno’s arm as tight as he could, his brothers noticed his distress and Wilbur began rubbing circles in Tommy’s back.
Techno smiled at him, “You know Wilbur woke me up early in the morning because he was nervous about how today would go as well” Techno whispered to his little brother.
Tommy looked at Wilbur surprised. Why was Wilbur nervous? No one could ever not like Wilbur, but Wilbur only nodded in confirmermation.
“We’re both nervous too,” Wilbur told him.
Tommy looked at Techno with even more shock, Tommy had seen Techno stare down grown men so much bigger than him without a hint of fear. He had seen Techno walk into a fight everyone expected him to lose every day for years without seeming afraid, Tommy didn’t know Techno could be afraid, but his brother only nodded in response.
“But Phil loves us very much and will continue to love us even if we mess up” Wilbur finishes, placing a comforting hand on Tommy’s head.
“But what about the people?” Tommy’s voice comes out a whisper, and he hates how weak it sounds.
Wilbur’s eyes soften even more, “The people are going to love you, no one could ever not love you”
That’s a lie, Tommy’s brain whispers to him, dragging up memories of other children laughing at him because he doesn’t know what things are, calling him annoying and telling him he is stupid. Memories of adults slapping him for being in their way, looking at his dirty clothes and hair with disgust as they carefully avoid going anywhere near him. But thoughts like that won’t help, he wants to believe Wilbur’s words but he just can’t.
“And if anyone is mean to you at all we’ll punch them,” Techno tells him with a smile, “Tubbo has a good punch and though Wilbur will be absolutely useless, we’ll be able to take them.”
“Hey!” Wilbur complains and Techno only laughs.
Tommy smiles as they bicker, this is something he knows he can always count on, something he knows he never needs to doubt is how his brothers will always protect him.
Techno’s laughter dies as the door in front of them begins to open and squeezes Tommys hand that is clutched in his own in reassurance, seeing Wilbur grab Tommy’s other hand. Together they stood and prepared to face the kingdom that was about to become their own.
The people of the kingdom gathered in the throne room hold their breath as the door creaks open. Standing in the doorframe are three young boys, the older two clutching the younger hands. They look scared of the daunting crowd before them but the one with long braided pink hair steels himself first, the fear in their eyes turning to determination, closely followed by his twin.
They make their way up to the throne, where the king stands, and while he is not their father yet, the pure love and adoration in his eyes as he watches them walk forward tells everyone that they are already his sons, and this is merely a formality.
King Philza of the Antarctic Kingdom is a man known throughout the world for his fairness and honesty, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t feared. The ‘Angel of death’ they call him for the large black wings on his back. His rule has been mostly an era of peace, though he was the ruler that saw the war against the Green God come to an end, so it could not be said he had never seen battle. He had never married as far as anyone knew, and it had surprised everyone to learn that he was adopting three sons.
People hadn’t known what to think of these mysterious children, but looking at them now, the youngest clinging to his brothers as they try to shield him from the stares being directed their way, most everyone feels exactly what Philza must have felt. That these children were theirs now. These were, without a doubt, their princes.
The children kneel in front of their father while Tubbo stands off to the side struggling to hold up a cushion which holds three crowns. They took turns reciting a speech that they had spent the last couple weeks memorizing.
Wilbur went first, the words rolling easily off his tongue, Techno went next, and though he didn’t make a single mistake, the words were stiff, without the same emotion Wilbur had portrayed. Tommy was last, stuttering over the words and being prompted quietly by Wilbur but they all finished and Phil smiled at them proudly, calling Tubbo closer so he could easily grab the crowns as he placed them on his sons heads.
They stood and Phil hugged each one of them as the crowd cheered loudly.
Wilbur was fighting back tears as Phil hugged him close, hearing the crowd cheer behind him. This was real. He was a prince now. He had a family. That last realization was the one that broke him and he sobbed into Phil’s robe.
After so long he finally had a family again. He would never again need to worry about freezing to death in the middle of the night, or that Techno was going to get killed in the Pit, or that someone was going to come and take Tommy away from him. They had a family now, Phil would protect them, Phil would keep them safe, Phil would love them for forever and ever.
He sobbed louder and felt Techno at his side and Tommy wiggling in between him and Phil so he could comfort Wilbur as well. Feeling him there, safe and dressed in warm clothes and bathed and well fed, broke down a wall Wilbur didn’t even know he had been keeping up, and for the first time in a long while, he let himself go, and just let himself relax into the safe embrace of Phil.
He knew the hug couldn’t last forever, they were supposed to meet nobles and talk to important people but Wilbur thought that could wait a few more minutes.
For now he just lets himself be loved.