SBI family AU

Brief Conversations

Phil sighed, rubbing his face. He glanced at the time, leaning back in his chair to stretch. Wilbur had left an hour ago, leaving him to sit in unwanted silence. He glanced at Techno, letting out a soft groan as he took his hand.

"You've really given us all a scare, you know that?"

He chuckled, leaning forward as he stared at the various screens. He looked back to Techno, studying his face. The sleeping man looked paler, although Phil couldn't tell if it was the lighting or not.

"God, you're supposed to be the grounded one, Techno... "

Something inside Phil snapped and he broke. He lifted Techno's hand, resting his knuckles against his forehead as he cried.

"I know, I'm so stupid. I should have known you were stressed, that you'd overwhelm yourself-"

A sob cut him off and he shut his eyes tight. He gripped Techno's hand, desperately trying to ignore the present. He could almost picture the young boy who'd arrived on his doorstep all those years ago.

"I don't want to lose you... Not again..."

He wasn't given a response.

—

Wilbur found Niki sitting in her car and he hesitated before joining her. She looked at him, watching as he got into the passenger's seat.

"Hey."

"Hey."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, Wilbur fidgeting with the seat belt. Eventually, Niki turned on the radio and turned it down until barely audible.

"Why didn't I stop him?"

He looked at her confused, "What?"

Niki shook her head and pulled her knees to her chest, "I didn't stop him when I found him smoking. I- I just left."

Wilbur watched as she started to cry and he hesitantly reached over, "His issues shouldn't be your burden. They should have been ours, but we... we failed him."

She just cried, burying her face into his shoulder. He looked down at her before petting her head. Something moving in the upstairs window caught his eye and he looked up, finding Tubbo staring at them.

—

Tubbo shut the curtains closed and sat down against the wall, continuing to work on his homework. The echoed rattling of a screen door being slammed closed followed by loud footsteps told him that Tommy had returned.

He groaned, leaning his head against the wall and staring at the ceiling. He closed his eyes as Tommy stormed into the room, stopping in the doorway.

"Wilbur's back."

"I know, he's comforting Mom right now."

Silence filled the room as Tommy shuffled over to the bed, kicking off his shoes. Tubbo opened his eyes and looked back to his homework, scribbling a doodle in the corner.

Tommy cleared his throat, "I'm sorry for yelling at you. I'm just sick of being treated like a child."

Tubbo looked up and gave him a small smile, "You are a child."

"Shut up, I'm a big man."

They quietly laughed, Tubbo looking back to his homework. Tommy fell back against the bed, pulling out his phone.

"Do... Do you think I'll ever get to talk to Dad again?"

"Of course."