SBI family AU

I'm late

Techno was on a conference call, but he couldn't focus on the discussion. Tubbo was supposed to be home by now, he'd heard the bus pass by 5 minutes ago.

He checked his phone again and found no response. Was Tubbo at a help class or at a friends house? Techno didn't remember Tubbo telling him anything like that and he hadn't texted him. His mind snapped out of his thoughts as his name was called.

Tubbo was sitting in the nurse's office, tears still staining his face. They'd tried to call Techno, but it didn't go through, which left Tubbo all alone. He'd broken his phone when he fell, so he couldn't do much there.

Tubbo knew the older boys were trouble, but he hadn't expected them to get physical. Tubbo was just waiting for the bus when they cornered him and demanded money. When he refused, they shoved him and started attacking him. Luckily, one of the teachers saw and scared them off.

Dream went into the nurses office to check on the boy he'd rescued earlier, and was surprised when he was still sitting there. "Hey, did no one come pick you up?"

Tubbo looked up at him and shook his head, "I think my dads busy..."

"Oh," Dream shifted before sitting down next to him, "I'm Mr. Dream by the way. I teach English."

Tubbo sniffled and rubbed his tears, "I'm Tubbo."

Dream smiled, "Nice to meet you Tubbo. Do you want to come to my classroom and see if we can reach your parents?"

Techno was panicking at this point. It had been 47 minutes since the bus passed and yet no Tubbo. The conference call had been going on for longer than he anticipated, but he couldn't leave to go find Tubbo. All of his texts were met with no response.

Making his decision, he unmuted and excused himself, then left the call. He grabbed his coat and hurriedly rushed out towards Tubbo's school.

Tubbo was sitting at one of the desks while Dream called Techno again, this time getting a response. Tubbo looked at him as Dream started talking.

"Hello, is this Tubbo's Dad? So your son was involved in a fight, don't worry, he's not in trouble-" Dream paused, "He's fine, he's sitting in my classroom unharmed. Uh huh. Uh huh. Ok, we'll see you in a bit," Dream hung up and turned to Tubbo, "He got caught up in a phone call is all. He'll be here soon."

Tubbo nodded and grabbed his backpack, "Thank you for this."

Dream smiled, "No problem, Tubbo. If you ever find yourself in trouble, you can come to me."

Tubbo was about to respond when Dream's door was swung open and two figures entered, engaged in an argument.

"Dream! Tell Sapnap that he's wrong!"

"No way! I am totally in the right!" Tubbo recognized Mr. Sapnap as his gym teacher, but he'd never seen him act this way.

"Boys, boys, calm down," Dream motioned to Tubbo.

Tubbo was a little frightened at the sudden intrusion, but he gave the pair a small wave.

"Oh- Sorry. I'm George, you probably see me around school fixing basic issues," the one in blue said and gave Tubbo a small smile.

Sapnap just looked him up and down, "Hey, you're the pip-" Dream gave him a glare, "-PRomising student that I was telling Dream about earlier."

George withheld a laugh while Dream just shook his head and motioned for Tubbo to follow him, "Let's go ahead and wait for your dad outside."

Tubbo nodded and grabbed his stuff. He followed Dream while the other two teachers trailed behind him. He felt a little uneasy at them and moved closer to Dream, who noticed and followed his gaze.

"They're loud and annoying sometimes, but they're good people. No need to be afraid of them," Dream gave Tubbo a smile to reassure him as they approached the front of the school.

Techno arrived just as Tubbo and three adults exited the building. He ran up and pulled Tubbo into a tight hug before pulling away and looking over him, "Are you hurt?"

Tubbo shook his head, "No I'm fine Dad, it's just a few bruises and scrapes. Mr. Dream drove them off before they could do anything major."

Techno turned his attention to man standing behind Tubbo, "I can't thank you enough, I'm so sorry you've had to stay late-"

Dream smiled, "Don't worry about it, man. I'm sorry Tubbo can't stay with me longer."

Techno nodded, slightly unsure how to take that. He offered his hand, which Tubbo took quickly and the pair waved goodbye as they left.

"Tubs, I'm sorry. I should have realized earlier that something was off," Techno started as he took Tubbo's backpack.

"It's ok, Dad. I'm just happy you actually came," Tubbo said as he watched the cars, missing Techno's hurt look.

"Did you not think I was coming?" Tubbo turned his attention back to Techno.

"Well- I guess so when you didn't respond to the first call," Tubbo was suddenly pulled aside by Techno.

Techno knelt down and looked Tubbo in the eyes, "I'd never do that to you, Tubs. Ok? I'll always try to come as fast as possible."

Tubbo nodded, "I know... the thought was still there though."

Techno pulled him into a tight hug, "I'm sorry, Tubs."