Reunion

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Phil wasn't sure how long he'd been in that basement. With only a single torch for light and only Tommy for company. Not that Tommy was much company these days. Most days, Phil would pace around the room, which was mostly empty aside from a bed and a partly wilted rose sitting in a small flower pot in the corner. Some days he would punch the walls and doors, even though he knew it was useless, and he would get too exhausted before he made even a dent in the iron or obsidian. He wanted to scream, for Wilbur, or just to let out his frustrations, but when he was too loud Tommy came down with potions to shut him up.
His one solace was that he could hear Wilbur's voice. He could hear almost everything that went on upstairs. He nearly laughed out loud when he heard Tommy using rats as an excuse for the noise he was making. Wilbur wouldn't have bought into such an obvious lie. Probably.
Phil spent the rest of the day after breakfast worrying about Wilbur's mental state, because he had nothing better to do and he didn't really want to ponder his own mental state. He knew Wilbur had been getting along with Tommy. They'ed been playing competitive solitaire and joking around. Phil was starting to think Wilbur had forgotten what it was like to be free.

He'd been sitting in the corner trying to see if he could coax the rose back to life with some of the water Tommy had left him that morning when he heard the door creak open.
"If you're here to yell at me some more I don't wanna hear it Tommy. You and I both know any noise I make doesn't compare to how suspicious you acted this morning. I mean rats, really?"
"Phil?"
Phil turned around, and he could hardly believe his eyes. How long had it been since Phil seen his son? Too long. He approached slowly, not sure how Wilbur would react to him. But Wilbur didn't move away, he just stared at him.
"Wilbur, you- you're here" he pulled him into a hug, hanging onto him like a lifeline, like he would disappear if he let go.
Wilbur returned the hug "Phil how- why are you here?"
Phil pulled back to look Wilbur in the eyes, "I came to save you. It didn't work out very well but me, Fundy, Tubbo, Ranboo, Nicky, and even Quackity all came."
Wilbur stumbled back, shaking his head "No they wouldn't. Why would they want to help me?"
"Wilbur we care about you" he left out the part where Quackity was only there because they guilt tripped him, "and we can prove it to you once we go home. As long as Tommy's still asleep we can walk right out of here. As long as we're careful we can avoid the traps."
Wilbur was shaking his head.
"Wilbur?"
"I- I can't Phil it's too much Phil it's too much."
"Will please, we can process it later but this might be our only chance to go home."
"Home" he muttered as if to himself "where is that now? Once it was l'manburg, my l'manburg, but I destroyed that. I thought maybe I could find a home again in Utah, where we were born, but I don't know about that anymore either. You think home is with you in the tundra and Tommy thinks it's here. What am I supposed to think?"
Phil's heart broke at how lost his son was, but he knew Wilbur wasn't in a state of mind to run right now, so he came up with the next best idea.
"I understand, you don't know what to do, that's okay. How about this, you go back upstairs and think about it. Don't let Tommy know you know I'm here. If you're careful you can come down to see me when he leaves in the afternoon and we can talk."
"But what about you?"
"I'll be fine as long as you're okay in the end, and I'll stay with you no matter what happens."
Wilbur nodded, the shaking of his hands slowing "Yeah okay, I- I'll be back Phil."

* * *

It was a few days later when Wilbur finally returned, this time in the afternoon.
"Hey Phil" he gave an awkward wave and oh the smell coming from upstairs. "I uh, I made food" he held out a plate of spaghetti, which Phil ate greedily. Usually since Tommy was out in the afternoons he didn't get lunch. It wasn't like he was starving or anything, just hungry.
"You're hair's gotten quite long" Phil commented.
"Does it look okay?" He asked, twisting a lock of it in his fingers, and Phil couldn't help but laugh, at the normalcy of this conversation within the insanity of there situation.
"Yeah it looks okay mate."
"Phil, I'm sorry I didn't come back sooner. I just- I just had a lot to think about you know?"
"Wilbur you have nothing to apologize for."
Wilbur looked down at a clock he had brought with him. "I thing Tommy's to be home soon, so I should probably go."

After that Wilbur visited him almost every day. He would bring down food, and cards to play games with. They would talk but Wilbur mostly avoided the topic of escape. When Phil tried to bring it up he dodged it at best and went into a full on panic attack at worst. A few times Wilbur suggested Phil escape on his own, and leave him behind. What a ludicrously idea. Phil couldn't and wouldn't leave his son behind, so he decided that he would just have to wait until Wilbur was ready to escape, however long that may be.

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