They Rely On Hope. What Do I Rely On? - Tommyinnit Adoption AU

Chapter 66

TW: mentions of hospitals, injuries, abuse and medication

The group sat, conversation becoming scarcer the longer they sat. Tension grew and everyone's heads shot up at any sound on the other side of the door. No one came to get them for 10 minutes, an hour, 2 hours, more.

Finally someone arrived.

The door opened and within a second, everyone was standing, hopeful for news about Techno. No one had spoken a word in the last 10 minutes, exhaustion from the worry starting to hit them. By this point, they were desperate for any news.

"Hi," Puffy said, letting herself in. Oh. Not news about Techno then. Tommy would probably never hear about Techno. He'd be taken away and forced to constantly wonder if Techno even survived today.

Tommy didn't know when he first started to care instead of feeling terror when he thought of Techno. He was pretty sure it had been gradual, the terror lingering even now, but the care growing. Maybe it was the way Techno's own ability to care reminded Tommy so much of Tubbo. Maybe it was that connection that had forced Tommy to care, because when he first arrived he would've done anything to get away from Techno. Now the thought of leaving without finding out if Techno was ok was devastating. Even if staying risked Techno's rage if he awoke, Tommy wanted to see him wake.

"Hello, um, do I know you?" Phil asked after a few seconds. His head was tilted slightly, clearly confused as to who she was.

"I'm Puffy, Tommy's social worker," Puffy explained, but Phil shook his head.

"No, I mean do I know you?" Phil repeated, seeming desperate to know the answer. What was he asking? Why would he know her? And why did he care? He looked so confused, as though trying to place Puffy in his mind. Phil watched her for a moment, before a look of understanding filled his face, "Wait, were you Techno's social worker?"

"I'm sorry, I don't recognise the name..." Puffy said, clearly confused.

"He had the cut through his eye, the really bad one, with the bandaging covering half his face, uhh, I think he had a different official name, but he never went by it," Phil said, as though trying to search his mind for anything that might give him a little bit of detail.

"Oh! Yes, I remember him, are you his foster parent?"

"Adopted a few years back," Phil replied, his voice softening with relief, as though glad he could finally place her, "He always said you were a good social worker."

Puffy gave Phil a sad smile, clearly remembering a young Techno stuck in a system that clearly had been as bad as Tommy's, if not worse.

"Techno knew Dream. How did you let Tommy get placed in Dream's custody?" Phil asked, his voice sharpening, anger flickering at the surface.

"The people Techno was with were... well, they traded kids. I never knew who actually had Techno. I knew the starting point and that was it. The police have been trying to find them, but so many are still around. Did... did they make Tommy fight?"

"What?" Phil asked, caught of guard by the question.

"That's what they did. Made the kids fight, did Tommy get put into that?" Puffy asked, and everyone looked to Tommy expectantly. He shook his head, terrified that they would be angry that he had gotten off lighter. Instead, everyone seemed relieved in a way Tommy didn't quite recognise. They all seemed to breathe out as one, their shoulders loosing some tension.

"That's good," Puffy said, her voice straining slightly, clearly knowing that it hadn't been good, but it could've been worse.

"Can I talk to you outside for a minute?" Phil asked, and Puffy nodded. Phil turned back to the rest of them, "I'll be right outside if anyone needs me."

With that promise, the two adults stepped outside to talk. Tommy knew it was probably either about him or about Techno, or maybe even some combination. Neither option felt safe. Either way however, he was stuck here, so he followed Ranboo's lead and sat down, the rest of the group joining him once more. Eret tried to start a conversation about something else, but by this point everyone knew what was happening and everyone was tired of pretending it wasn't. Techno was still unconscious, Puffy had shown up to take Tommy away, and no one knew what was going to happen next. It was hard to think about anything else at this point.

—————————

Phil POV:

Phil stepped outside with Puffy, hating that he was leaving the rest of them alone, especially now, when tension and worry were starting to get to them, but he needed to talk to Puffy, and he knew she was only here for Tommy.

"You wanted to talk?" Puffy asked patiently after a few seconds of silence.

"It's about Tommy," Phil started, knowing that statement wasn't at all surprising, "I want to know about his next placement-"

"I have to stop you there, I can't disclose anything about his next placement due to confidentiality."

"All I want to know is if you think it's safe."

"I'm going to be frank here. Tommy has been to over a hundred houses. That in itself is insane. Then when you add the fact that only 3 were good, it gets worse. Tommy has had an awful track record with his luck and that has nothing to do with him, however it is at the point where it is virtually impossible to find houses that we can be sure are good. The good ones rarely take kids like Tommy who, as unfair as it is, have been labeled as problem kids. Tommy is not a problem kid, he has been through some shit, and he can't stay in houses because they are all bad. The system isn't working for him. The next house probably won't be any better. We can hope but we can't know."

"What if I take him?"

Words: 1000

A/N: DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNN~