Parasocial Family

They say only time will tell, but we already know.

Author's note:  This chapter kicked my butt.

Tws:  Cyberstalking.  Yay, Technoblade.  Psychological profiling.

Techno very rarely says it, but he loves Phil. He loves Phil in an all-encompassing, world-changing way. Phil saved him. Phil tried his best to give him the world, treated him like his own brother, his own son. Techno loves Phil, and Phil loves Techno. Techno would do his best to protect Phil. Phil deserves to be cared for.

Tommy doesn't say it often, but he loves Phil. He loves Phil in a visceral way. As if it was written in the core of his being. Phil and Techno saved him. They gave him a way out, a better life. They were his family. Tommy had never really considered that he might protect Phil. However, Tommy had always looked up to Techno.

Tommy never really bothered to question the way Techno watched Phil's friends. Techno was awesome, but rather paranoid sometimes. Tommy didn't really care if Techno wanted to cyberstalk Phil's friends. Tommy did care if they hurt Phil, though, accidentally or not.

Techno knew that most of the people Phil tried to be friends with weren't bad. He just had to make sure. Just had to know. Better safe than sorry. Techno knew he could be paranoid. He knew he could overthink things. He knew that maybe this wasn't normal. Who cares about normal though? Better. Safe. Than. Sorry.

Techno hadn't meant to drag Tommy in. It had been a total coincidence. Someone from Phil's work had been rude to him all throughout a work dinner. Techno had summarily decided he would not stand for what had just happened. The women had left out the front door as soon as the business discussion was over. Techno had followed her, but in his focus missed Tommy hurrying out the door after him.

Techno had confronted her, telling her she couldn't do that to Phil. It wasn't right, wasn't fair, but most importantly, if she ever did it again Techno would mess her up. He wouldn't do anything illegal of course, but he would make everything as irritating as possible for her. He could also probably get her fired. What kind of boss is happy with his subordinate acting up against his golden employee?

Tommy watched the confrontation from further down the street, mostly hidden from sight. Tommy had never really thought that this sort of thing could happen in real life. He was determined to stop it from ever happening again, protecting Phil, and hanging out with his cool older brother, Techno.

Techno resisted Tommy's help at first but soon gave in. Two hands were better than one, and Tommy actually wasn't completely terrible at this. He was a great informant because he was such a sociable person. He talked to others and learned things. Techno preferred to stick to psychologically profiling people and cyberstalking them instead.

Tommy and Techno had silently watched over Phil in turn as the years went by.

Things had to change, however. Phil was good at being an elevator technician, and it was a good job, but he grew to severely dislike it. No matter how much he tried to hide it, Techno could see that he was miserable being an elevator technician. So Techno talked to Tommy.

Together, they managed to convince Phil to go to college and pursue his dreams. Phil had been hesitant about moving to London, but they had insisted. Guilt-tripped him a little. He had parents, so he should spend some time with them. Nevertheless, Phil left eventually.

Techno missed him bitterly, his companions from work and Tommy being his only solace in the storm that was life without Phil. Nestorio and Calvin dragged him out of his house on the weekend, and Tommy was just unbearably annoying when he wasn't at school or with his best friend, Tubbo.

Techno knew that Phil had a roommate. Things like that normally didn't slip Techno's mind. He didn't miss things like that, wasn't sure how such a huge oversight happened. It did happen, though. All he could do once he found out was try and negate the damage caused and eventually deal with the fallout.

Tommy had heard of Phil's friend and roommate before. His name was Wilbur, and he'd helped Tommy with his math. He'd helped Tubbo, as well. That definitely counted for something in Tommy's book. Tommy had even accidentally called him once in the middle of the night. It wasn't his fault England had such weird time!

Well, Tommy had called Phil. Wilbur had picked up for some reason. Probably wasn't too pleased at the phone going off while he was trying to sleep. Tommy hadn't put too much thought into Wilbur. He seemed more inconsequential an entire ocean away.

Which was why it took them by surprise.

"He's like a little brother to me."

Tommy and Techno had been angry beyond belief, each expressing it in a different way. Tommy had acted out, lashing at Wilbur with harsh words. Techno had blankly supported him. Phil had blown up at what they'd done, and Wilbur had run away.

Phil ripped into them, and told Tommy and Techno exactly what they had done wrong, and convinced them to apologize. They had done so, perhaps not eagerly, but not as despairingly as they could have. The four reached a truce of sorts after only a few moments.

It only took a few more minutes for Tommy and Wilbur to get into a heated discussion about minecraft and minecraft politics. Techno gave in and gave up. He joined the minecraft discussion with a cry of "Anarchy!" "Rebellion!" and of course, "Death to all!"

Phil watched happily from the sidelines as all his family got along.

Maybe only time would tell if it would truly last, but Phil was of the opinion that he already knew.

The End.