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

Chapter 91

Wilbur POV:

Techno and Wilbur sat there on the bathroom floor for a long time. They were quiet, but they could feel each others presence and Wilbur knew Techno needed the quiet company to recover fully, so he sat, wishing he could snap his fingers and remove all of Techno's struggles, Tommy's too. He wished he could just help them someway, he knew he was helping Techno, but it didn't stop the pain of the memories he knew Techno was struggling with. It was cruel how awfully the foster system treated Techno and Tommy, and he knew that if it weren't for Phil, Wilbur quite possibly would've ended up in the same pain they faced.

"I need to go see Tommy," Techno said quietly, and it almost sounded like he was admitting something he thought was wrong, as though wanting to talk to Tommy after that wouldn't be normal.

"Yeah, of course, we'll head downstairs then, do you need help getting up?"

"Really?" Techno asked, and he sounded so stunned that Wilbur stopped in his tracks. Techno hadn't sounded that surprised about something normal in a long time, but Wilbur still recognised the tone from when Techno first arrived.

"Of course Techno, remember it's about what makes you comfortable, you're with us now, if you want to talk to Tommy about your past, it's your choice. It's always your choice," Wilbur insisted, hating that he still had to remind his brother of that. He knew Techno remembered it most of the time, but sometimes that reminder was painfully necessary. Wilbur wasn't surprised that Techno was more nervous after the voices' attack, he usually was, and with Tommy being new here, it would be even worse.

The two headed downstairs only to stop at the bottom of the staircase, stunned by a scene they never imagined seeing. Their father was crumpled on the floor, and Tommy no where in sight. What the fuck had happened!?

"Dad?" Techno asked, his voice hoarse and terrified. Wilbur heard the words, but he barely took them in as he stared at his dad who he had never seen this utterly defeated, not even when Techno had attacked Wilbur. It was so wrong. It felt unnatural, impossible to comprehend.

"Tommy," was all Phil managed to force out of his own hoarse, exhausted voice, "I didn't do enough, didn't explain it well enough. I tried but... they took him. I'm so fucking sorry."

"Who?" Techno asked at the same time as Wilbur said, "Where did they take him?"

"It was a social worker," Phil said as he stood up, clearly trying to pull himself together, clearly not having expected Wilbur and Techno to arrive. He blinked a couple of times and Wilbur knew Phil was forcing back tears when he spoke, "If we go near Tommy they'll file a restraining order against us. I don't know where they are taking him."

"Fuck," Wilbur whispered, his heart screaming for Tommy to come back. Who was Tommy going to next? Who was Tommy going to be hurt by next? Because that was probably what would happen according to Puffy. Wilbur knew he wasn't really supposed to know that, but he'd heard her say that Tommy had never had a good house, and the few ok ones didn't last long. He didn't understand why, sure Tommy was quiet, and he wasn't great with people, but he was traumatised, so what did people expect? And just because someone else has hurt him did not give people a right to do the fucking same! Wilbur wanted to scream at the unfairness, scream at the fact that Tommy had left an amazing house because of an event that hadn't been explained. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fucking fair!

Before Wilbur could start yelling about just how unfair to both them and Tommy, Techno spoke, and the words broke Wilbur's heart.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare him off," Techno said, his voice quiet, before he turned and walked upstairs. Wilbur stood in stunned silence for a long second, not grasping the words, before he finally understood. Techno blamed himself. Techno fucking blamed himself. Shit. It wasn't his fault. It. Wasn't. His Fault! Techno hadn't done anything!