flying too close to the sun

Family dinner

It wasn't until a day later when Phantom got the time to tell Philza about the strange boy in the bakery. The two of them, and Technoblade, would meet every Sunday night for a evening meal and movie night, it wasn't as though they didn't already live together, but with their busy hero duties it was hard to spend time together as a family. As that was what they technically were, Philza had adopted the two when they were just 10 years old after rescuing them from a criminal organisation where their parents had worked. Philza had seen the scared lookikg children and his bird instincts taking over, he immediately swooped in and took care of them and soon was allowed to adopt them. Normally there would have been a lot more paperwork but being the top heros had it's bonuses.

It was during one of these Sunday dinners where Wilbur sat watching his father and brother eat as he thought about what to tell them. Truthfully there wasn't much he could tell them, but he just knew there was something going on with the small bird boy and he had to find out. Phil looked up from his meal to look at his son, his eyes softened and he stopped eating.

"Hey Wil what's up? You're never usually this quiet"

Techno didn't say anything, or stop eating, but he did glance up at Wil and narrowed his eyes curiously before shoving another potato into his mouth and chewing thoughtfully. Wilbur sighed dramatically and leaned backwards.

"I met a boy in the bakery today-"

He began before Technoblade interrupted him.

"Congratulations, you finally got a boyfriend"

Wilbur spluttered for a second, throwing one of his own cheese coated potatos at his brother who caught it and popped it in his mouth.

"Shut it Tech of course not, the boy is like sixteen"

Phil's eyebrows raised, he didn't really know what Wilbur was trying to say here, he had given up on his food now and ignored as Techno shrugged and casually stole some of Phil's potatos too.

"He works part time in Niki's bakery, but it's weird. There's something off with him I can feel it, when I walked in he froze, not in awe like most people but in fear. He was also so skinny and kinda mucky, i know he's just a kid and is probably just dirty from the playground but there's something wrong I can feel it"

Techno was going to make a joke before he looked up at Wilbur and saw how conflicted and worried his brother looked, he wasn't sure what to say to instead he opted to placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. Philza however looked deep in thought, his eyebrows furrowed as he went over what Wilbur told him in his head. He knew it was probably nothing and the boy was probably fine but his own parental instincts weren't going to let him ignore the situation without at least checking on the boy.

"Hey Wil maybe tomorrow we can both go? If you think something's wrong then I trust you, and I'll do what I can to help"

Phil said with a soft smile, his eyes were kind as he met the worried eyes of his son. Techno cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Uhhh... I'm not great with kids so maybe I'll sit this one out. I'll probably meet him when Phil inevitability adopts him"

It was Phil's turn to splutter this time as he chuckled

"I can't just go round adopting peoples kids Techno!"

Techno didn't argue, but he and Wilbur's gaze met for a moment before chuckling. Both of them knowing that, like with them self, if the fluffy haired kid was in any danger, Phil would be quick to claim him as his own and they would both end up with a little brother.

• ~ ~ •

While the small family dinner occurred, Tommy was doing something a lot less pleasant.

The young boy had began his patrol as normal, dealing with a small mugging and a drug teen at the beginning of the night. Around 12am though, he bumped into someone he didn't want to be bumping into. Punz.

Punz was a criminal, that had always been true, and Tommy was used to criminals. The problem with Punz is that he was so much more powerful than Tommy, and Tommy made the mistake of interrupting an important meeting. Now he was being chased by a man with the strength of someone four times his size.

Tommy was trying to use his small size to duck through the alleyways, he was so close to getting away, he could see a small window into a nearby apartment building which he couldn't be followed into. It was just his luck however that a hand grabbed him before he could make it, and pulled him to the floor with such force it seemed to shake him to the core. The already injured boy struggled up and went to run again before Punz swung out his arm, propelling him into a nearby dumpster which he crashed into face first. His vision blurred and he looked up, Punz was coming towards him and he needed an escape, a distraction, anything.

The gods must have heard his pleas however because just before Punz could strike the killing blow, a police car drove past, siren on and lights flashing. Distracting the criminal for just enough time for Tommy to take a leap towards the window, ignoring the pain his wings felt as they were jammed through the small gap and squished underneath him as he fell onto the cold ground.

It was there he lay still, his breath was quiet and he was too scared to move and alert Punz to his location. After laying there for about ten minutes fighting the warm blanket of sleep, he forced himself up. His vision blurred again as he regained his balance before looking around at the room he had dropped into. Luckily for him, it was just a small store room with the lock on the inside. Thank the gods he wouldn't have to force himself back out the window.

It took all Tommy's energy to get back to the flat and collapse on the mattress, not bothering to get changed or check his wounds. He was to tired for that and frankly his medical skills were limited so there wouldn't be much to do. So instead he let himself sleep, forgetting his pains and worries and he dreamt of better times. He dreamt of his two best friends before he had to leave them.

•Hallo writer here again, I hope you are enjoying this story as much as i enjoy writing it!
Make sure to drink some water and take a few seconds away from your phone so you don't strain your eyes <3 •

-Bee