Words: 1240
this was lazy and I STILL DON'T HAVE THE YELLOW LINE 😭😭😭
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"D-Dad..? Tommy's crying again..." Wilbur whispered, hoping he didn't startle Phil.
Phil chuckled, rocking back and forth in his chair, "you fed him and everything, right?" Wilbur nodded, "try singing to him. He'll get distracted and try to copy you." He smiled, coughing into his elbow and waving wilbur to leave his dark room.
Phil relaxed back into his chair, imagining his son singing to the small avian. He just wishes he could see it.
The door opened again, letting in annoying light and cold air. A tall piglin walked in. Phil shivered, wrapping his wings around himself, "shut the door!" He complained, Techno quickly listening to him.
"Sorry." Techno sighed, walking up to Phil and kneeling in front of him, "why did I just see your son wash his hands and change sweaters before picking up his brother?" The immortal pig asked, making Phil frown.
"Tommy and I are both... Birds, y'know? I have a really bad disease, it'd kill Tommy in a few days." Phil explained, coughing aggressively. He body shook painfully with every cough, feathers weakly falling from his wings. Patches of his now pale wings were gone, scattered around the room.
Techno frowned, putting his hand on Phil's shoulder, "you're immortal, you shouldn't be sick..." He muttered, Phil shaking his head.
"I found a spell, I gave my immortality to wilbur as soon as he was old enough for his body to handle." Phil said with a fond smile, ignoring Techno's argument, "I thought- I've lived hundreds of years. I've just started my own family after almost a thousand years, techno. If it's taken me that long I don't deserve it."
He took a deep breath, wheezing a cough, "And, wilbur needs it, he's a good kid."
"But what about Tommy? And all of wilbur's friends?" Techno growled, glaring at Phil, "he's going to hate being alive when he stops aging. He's going to watch everyone he loves grow old and die, just like you had to watch k-"
Phil slapped Techno, for being weak and tired, it hurt. Techno flinched and backed away as Phil stood up, "don't you dare say her name. That was a part of my life, not yours." He growled, pushing Techno to the door, "you will never know the pain I went through losing her. That's why I let wilbur have my power, so he can learn to share it with Tommy. Wilbur won't know my pain, ever, cause he won't feel it."
"Now leave, and don't touch my kids."
Techno left quickly, leaving the door open by accident as he left. Phil chuckled with a cough, shutting the door and returning to his chair. Maybe he was too harsh to Techno, but it didn't matter to him, no one had the right to use his pain as a excuse to keep his immortality from his sons.
"Papa!" A small voice giggled, tiny hands grabbing onto Phil's ankle.
Phil gasped, looking down and seeing Tommy on the ground. He covered his mouth, pulling his legs onto his chair, "WILBUR!" he screamed and starting to cough.
Tommy frowned, reaching out for Phil, "papa..?" He asked sadly, falling as he tried to stand. Wilbur slamming the door open obviously frightened the baby, making him cry out of fear. The boy ran in, scooping up Tommy and leaving, slamming the door shut again.
Phil stood there in shock, trembling. What did he just let happen?
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Tiny coughs filled the air. "C-come on, T-Tommy, drink the cough syrup..." Wilbur whispered, finally getting the spoon of sourly flavored cherry liquid in Tommy's mouth.
Before Tommy could swallow, he coughed all of it up. Wilbur threw the spoon, grabbing baby food instead and a new spoon. He fed Tommy slowly, the toddler only getting two bites before coughing up all of it on wilbur.
Wilbur sobbed, taking off his sweater and grabbing a clean one he put on the counter, "Tom's, please... Why can't you just eat..?"
Tommy only coughed, more red feathers, smaller than wilbur's fingers, fell to the floor. Feathers that would never grow back.
Wilbur picked up the spoon again, his hand shaking, "just one bite... Please, Tommy..." He raised the spoon to Tommy's mouth.
With a sneeze, all the food flew back onto wilbur. "This was my last clean sweater..." He whispered, dropping the spoon and falling to the ground crying, "you're going to die..." He whispered, unable to reassure himself that Tommy only had a cold anymore.
Wilbur laid in the mess of Feathers, baby food, and cough syrup on the ground, crying quietly.
"Wilbur?" A rough voice asked, footsteps following the voice in.
Wilbur looked up, sniffling, "dad...?" He asked under his breath.
"Wil, go take a shower-" Phil coughed, covering his mouth and clearing his throat, "I'll take care of Tommy."
Wilbur didn't have the energy to argue, having stayed up three days to care for his brother. He stood up and dragged his feet out of the room, barely making it to the hallway before passing out on the floor.
Phil sighed, picking up Tommy and smiling, "hi, buddy..."
"Papa..." Tommy wheezed, coughing.
"You're so pale..." Phil mumbled, trying to keep his smile, "I know you're probably so tired... Wil's been trying to get you to eat all day, huh?"
He sighed, cradling Tommy and petting down his hair, "I know, I think I can still fly for a bit. How about we go for one little trip then you can nap..."
They quickly went outside, Phil's weak and patched up wings slowly bring them in the air. He didn't waste any time. He knew Tommy didn't have long, and Tommy deserved to see the world, he deserved the world.
Tommy looked so peaceful, when he coughed he didn't look uncomfortable. He was just tired. He only wanted to relax after all the stress wilbur put him through, keeping him alive was just too much.
"It's okay... I know it's scary... I'm scared too, but I understand. It's hard to stay awake for wilbur." Phil said quietly, the small blond looking back up at his dad instead of the ground, "wilbur loves you, he doesn't want you to go to sleep yet. I don't want you to sleep yet, you deserve to stay awake for longer. But I know you don't want to, it hurts."
Tommy yawned, his small fingers grabbed Phil's shirt, "are you scared? Don't be scared, I'll go to sleep soon too." Phil quickly flew home, his wings twitching from pain.
They went back inside, Phil walking to Tommy's room and putting him in bed.
Tommy babbled nonsense, still gripping Phil's shirt. "Let go, Tommy. When you wake up, you'll feel better." He whispered, kissing Tommy on the head, "wilbur!" Phil yelled.
After a minute, wilbur sleepily waddled in, "dad! He'll di-"
"He's going to bed, you should say goodnight."
"But.."
"I know it's sad, wil... He's hurt, he shouldn't have to try so hard."
Wilbur hesitantly walked up to the two, Tommy letting go of Phil and coughing. He looked up at wilbur, his eyes half opened and his face resting tiredly. "Goodnight, Tommy. I'm sorry for trying too hard..." Wilbur whispered, kissing the boy on the forehead.
He pulled up the blanket on Tommy, handing Tommy his favorite cow stuffed animal.
Tommy cooed lazily, blinking slowly til his eyes just didn't open again. "Goodnight, Tommy..." Phil muttered.
