[discontinued] Golden Days (Sleepy Bois Inc+ fic)

First Night [Chapter Eight]

{Philza's POV}

With every door that opens, it must close again. With every book started, it must be finished. With every sunrise, there must be a sunset, and that is exactly what was happening over the forest harboring the house of Philza, Techno, and Wilbur. As the air grew more numbing and as the sun retreated from the chase of the moon, the beings living inside of the house began to settle down for their first night together. Not as a family, but as two lost kids being cared for by some random adult. 

The crickets began to chirp their ballad through out the forest, singing out to the stars shining brightly above. The sky swirled in a dark mist of mystery blues and unknowing purples. A layer of frost coated the fallen leaves and the growing grass, the shadows blending into the darkness under the blanket of night. The moon, with only a sliver of light shining to the earth below, rose slowly and steadily to watch over the land, seeming larger than any being that rested upon the land of the sleeping forest.

Meanwhile, inside of the house sheltering the three boys from the crawl of night, sleeping situations had been arranged. Luckily for Philza, he had two guest rooms inside of his house. They were right down the hall from the living room and past the stairs, each fitted with a few windows and a heater to make each room toasty. He gave a room to each of the boys, along with extra pairs of blankets and pillows. He hadn't put too much thought or time into getting each room ready, as he was sure they could help him do that in the morning.

Along with getting them more blankets, Philza had also gone out of his way to try and get them more outfits... hoping they fit them. He just mainly threw whatever he thought would fit into his cart and brought them home for the two. But he would worry about if they fit in the morning, as for now it was just time to sleep. 

Once Philza was able to get them both into their separate beds and he got them sleeping- or at least laying down as they promised they would get some sleep- he finally made his way upstairs to his own room to relax. Of course relaxing is easier said than done as he instantly began to stress out over the whole situation. It seemed the weight of the events today hit him hard all at once and doubt crept into his mind...

Philza paced in his room, the darkness from outside seeming to filter in through his window despite his lamp being on. He was chewing on his nails nervously, knowing sleep would be desperately out of his reach tonight. He couldn't stop thinking about Wilbur and Techno and what the hell to do with them. They were two kids and he practically just kidnapped them! Not to mention the fact that Philza hadn't even tried to reach out to whoever they were suppose to be living with legally just yet, and if he was caught sheltering the possibly two runaways, there would be tons of legal trouble. 

On one hand, Philza was almost certain that Techno was abused by whatever family he lived with, which he guessed was a family which adopted him. He couldn't ignore the marks on his face and the way Techno had seemed tired and worn out, obviously trying his hardest to get away from whoever lived with him. He had also flinched whenever Philza brought up his hand which just made his heart break for the kid. So giving him back to whoever he was suppose to be with would be cruel, wouldn't it? Isn't it morally right to keep Techno with him instead of some abusive bastard? yet on the legal side of things... Philza could get into a lot of trouble for taking him to his home and not returning him to where he came from.

And on the other hand, he had Wilbur to worry about as well. He seemed so scared of everything and he is so skinny, which was clear sign of being starved and neglected. But his one main concern was that Wilbur didn't remember anything about where he came from, who his family was, or even why he was alone in the forest. It worried him deeply that Wilbur could have easily been picked off by one of those coyotes that had tried to get Techno as well. And yet... Philza had no want to go searching for Wilbur's family to see where they were. He didn't want to hand him back to people who would lose him in a forest again. It just seemed wrong. Nobody would know that he was keeping Wilbur, would they? After all, if Wilbur didn't know where he came from, there was nothing Philza could do to look for his parents or family. 

Somehow Philza had found himself facing his bed. He felt his eyes grow tired from pacing in the light and his legs began to feel weak as well. He sighed and sat down on his bed, clenching and unclenching his hands together. He still couldn't sleep until he found the solution to his doubts and fears. Not until he found out where to take the next step. 

That's when it suddenly hit him for what he should do. He was too busy thinking like some lawyer, comparing what was morally right and wrong with what was lawfully right or wrong. He sat up suddenly and took in a deep breath, his veins flooding with a need to protect the boys downstairs. To raise them and to keep them safe with him. He frowned before giving a nod to himself, as if solidifying his next course of action. 

Techno and Wilbur are too young to live on their own, and I can't just give them back to the assholes who hurt and abandoned them! Nobody will ever know they are with me, and I can raise them as my own-- I mean I can help them grow up. I will protect them even if I have to suffer from it. Philza decided, leaning over to turn off his lamp. He felt better now that he decided to take care of the two downstairs... and to not tell anyone about them. It can be his secret and he can think about the essentials when they need to. He allowed the pitch darkness to pounce through his room as he turned off his lights for the night.

Slowly, Philza lowered himself onto his bed and he slipped into the covers, the warmth surrounding him. He knew that it was probably hard to raise two children, especially alone and in secret, but Philza knew that he would be fine. Surely- Surely- he would be able to raise just two kids? At least it wasn't something such as four kids he had to suddenly care for. Its not like children would start showing up to his doorstep like it was an orphanage and Philza would be forced to take them all in. It was just Wilbur and Techno, and that way okay. 

It was just Wilbur, Techno, and Philza, their strange and secret family. 

Philza closed his eyes, but he still felt sleep avoiding him, just out of reach. Worry continued to crawl at him, even after he decided what to do. He just had to be confident in his choice and to stop worrying that it would all go wrong. Its not like he was adopting them to be their father or anything, it was just him giving them a house to live in, providing food and entertainment, caring for them and raising them. That was all, wasn't it? He let out a deep breath and allowed his mind to continue drifting about the subject, awaiting sleep to take him into it's arms so that he may rest. 

Meanwhile, as Philza waited for sleep to arrive and as Techno and Wilbur were tucked away into their beds, something more... tenebrous was lurking outside. While the branches of the trees reached for the sky and owls flew over the moon, between the tree roots was a figure, stalking. It fixed it's empty eyes upon the house and a rumbling growl echoed from its throat to the surrounding woods and even up to the stars. It bared it's fangs before a strong breeze blew by, the figure vanishing as quickly as it had come. The family would be safe tonight from the evil that lurked just between the line of trees.