to say that philza was cold was an understatement. he was absolutely freezing. and he thought that when technoblade came to him a few weeks ago, covered head to toe in heavy animal fur and thick snow boots, that the piglin hybrid was joking when he said where he lived was too cold. phil only laughed and told him it couldn't be 'that cold', that he had probably been through worse, afterall techno was used to warm weather due to the nether.
and now here he was, shivering as his wings covered his body. it had been weeks since techno started getting together everyone, 'sleepy bois inc' as they'd like to call themselves. they were all scattered around lands, some even on servers. but techno wasn't worried, he was the 'human' gps afterall. so far, he had located tommy and the male was on his way (with tubbo), and techno was heading back with wilbur now.
but phil was alone. he was alone and he was scared. it was uncharacteristic of him, wandering through snowy forests, axe in hand and bag full of wood on his back, but clearly having no sense of direction. he had traveled these woods before hadn't he? he was only out to get wood for the fire. why had he got lost?
he was ducking around every tree and jumping at any noise.
it was when phil had found a path and began to take it, his communicator buzzed.
technoblade - almost back.
technoblade - tommy, tubbo, how far are you
tubbo - close!
technoblade - ok
technoblade - phil, are you done getting the wood?
a minute passed. then two. phil was reading the messages, they could all see that, why hadn't he replied?
technoblade - phil?
philza - yea srry hands ocfupied
phil cursed himself for his spelling mistakes. his hands weren't occupied, far from it actually! he had dropped his axe the moment his communicator pinged.
but phil was slipping. and he was slipping fast.
there was waves of guilt washing over him when that familiar fuzz took over his mind for a brief period. he shook it off- he was a grown man. nothing was wrong with regressing, half the people he knew were regressors and he helped from time to time, but he wasn't a regressor. he was the one who helped when a little got hurt, he was the one who waited patiently when a little was too deep in their headspace and became nonverbal.
he wasn't a regressor.
no matter how many times his little self crawled out and he found himself in a pile of blankets, sucking his thumb. regressing wasn't for him. he could find another way to cope.
but god, was he cold.
if the boys noticed phil's spelling they didn't comment on it. everyone just read the message it seemed, and left. phil was almost glad he didn't have to explain further.
but he wanted to be taken care of-
no, he just wanted to get home. home where it was warm, home where the people he called family would be, home where he had a secret hideaway of little gear that he could-
home. he just wanted to go home. that was it, nothing more.
and finding himself at another spilt road path wasn't helping.
phil ruffled his wings in annoyance- this would've been so much more easier if he could just fly. but he can't, his wings were dirt-clad and hadn't been preened in quite a while. he would simply just glide at best. and this bag was so heavy.
he reached in his pocket, flipping open his communicator. "i'm sorry techno," he muttered, blindly tapping away words he hoped would make sense.
philza - howlong beforr yowr here?
philza - got lost
technoblade - you know you can put what you're holding down to text right?
but he wasn't holding anything.. if only techno could see that.
technoblade - where are you?
philza - crosswoad in forst
technoblade - huh?
technoblade - oh, nevermind, wilbur told me what he thinks you mean
technoblade - be there in a bit.
phil sighed. that was easier than he expected. he picked up his axe once more and shoved his communicator into his pocket. looking around, he decided it would be best to sit and wait, like any child would do when lost, other than cry (which he sure wasn't about to do, nope, not him). he dragged his tired body over to a tree and slumped against it, dropping his axe by his side. he put his hands in his lap and waited.
it was a long time, or so he thinks, waiting there for the hybrid and the musician to pick him up. he counted how many foxes passed by and how many birds landed on his shoulder. eventually he closed his eyes, as he was reaching the limit his brain could count to in this headspace. what was an attempt at not slipping just made him slip more, and he curled in on himself, thumb now in his mouth.
when technoblade and wilbur found phil, they were shocked to say the least. more shocked on how they found him (techno's "how did you know that?" and wilburs "how did you find this place?") than the elders current state. heck, they hadn't even noticing his thumb in his mouth. "hey, phil," techno spoke first, yanking phil out of his trance. he ripped his hand away from his mouth and rubbed away the saliva on his clothing. techno looked him up and down, confused, but thinking nothing of it.
wilbur helped phil get up, the male mumbling a neverending stream of "it's cold," to himself. wilbur shushed him.
"great work getting the wood we need.. looks like you got extra too." techno muttered as he walked closer to the other two. phil felt himself melt at the words, a giddy "t'ank you." escaping from him.
wilbur and techno shared glances. surely not?
they looked back to the elder- no, little as he messed with the sleeves on his outfit. had phil realized that he had slipped? when did phil even start to regress? there were too many questions to ask.
wilbur, ever the one to share his feelings a little more than techno, swooped in. he put that sickly sweet voice of his into action, cupping phil's face in his hands. "my, aren't you cold." he cooed, and phil's face flashed with uncertainty. 'he's still in there', wilbur thought with a hum. 'for now.'
"come now, let's go to the house okay? that'll get you warmed up. would you like some hot chocolate, sweetheart?"
oh.
oh..
phil knew what he was doing. and he was a fool to know he had fell for it too.
it was all over when phil could no longer coherently think about 'adult things' any more. phil nodded, eager, and wilbur cooed again, sweeter than before. "okay. be a good boy and drop the bag okay? then hold my hand."
"otay," phil said, letting the bag drop onto the snow. techno, who was still in awe of how easy wilbur made it seem, picked up the bag and slung it over his shoulders. he picked up the axe, too. when he turned back to the others, he saw phil's hand in wilbur's, and he coudlnt help but melt just a little.
wilbur was all smiles and soft words now, unlike during his and techno's trip. he was like a ticking time bomb, always attracted to the wrong things. 'don't expect much from the man who fell in love with a shapeshifter who prefers to stay a fish', techno would say to himself at times. because it was true, he didn't expect much. and wilbur would always shoot back, 'she's a mermaid and she's prettier than anything i've ever seen!' and it's true, sally was very pretty.
but also quick to cause trouble.
techno made sure to take any shortcuts he could on the way back home. phil kept sneezing so much that techno actually began to get worried- it was terrifying to hear five sneezes out of no where!
the trio were almost home by now, techno listening to the other's small talk as he lead. at one point, he heard wilbur's voice become even softer, but full of curiosity. "i forgot to ask angel, but how old are you right now?" techno heard nothing from phil, but wilbur somehow went on. "aw, you're so small! we're sorry for not coming faster, didn't know you would regress." wilbur went on and on, as if he knew phil was a regressor. he didn't, obviously but it was like he did. what had phil even said? how old was he?
when they reached techno's cabin, they found tubbo and tommy outside, waving. tubbo held a basket full of goods as tommy had a bag with anything the two would need.
phil, tired yet eager, tugged on wilbur's sleeve. "wilby," he said, "toms 'nd tub," he pointed to the duo, as if begging to approach them. wilbur caught on fast. "not yet, we have to get you warm first. then we'll talk to them, okay?"
phil was reluctant, but followed wilbur into the house, giving tommy and tubbo a wave when he passed. they looked to techno, confused, and the hybrid told them to wait for an explanation.
wilbur followed phil to his room, a small underground area, with a sign on the wall that said "temporary!". by the looks of it, techno and phil had bigger plans for this room. in the corner of the room was a small fire, which vented to the outside. it was most likely to be a hazard, especially with phil being as young as he was now, so wilbur kept him away from it.
"do you have any more comfortable clothes?" 'ones that aren't soaked', he wished to say, looking phil up and down. he'd have to ask quackity on how he preens his wings soon. phil nodded, and turned to another corner, one by his bed. there, he lifted up the floorboards and pulled out a bin. it was filled to the brim with toys, pacis, clothes- everything. how could techno not have noticed?
wilbur examined everything in the bin, top to bottom, before turning back to phil. "okay, do you need help changing?" phil shook his head. "alright, i'll be upstairs. call for me when you're done." wilbur smiled, and left the room. immediately, he sighed. he saw tommy and tubbo's confused looks. seems it was about time to explain.
wilbur walked out to the hall, turning a corner and being met with them sitting in the room; techno, tommy, and tubbo.
"hey wilbur!" tommy spoke, waving at him with a wide grin. wilbur waved back. he sat down, and glanced to techno. techno was messing with a ball. typical.
tubbo spoke next, "so... what's up with phil..?" he asked, dragging out his words. "he didn't say hi to us.." a frown was eminent in his voice, one that looked more like a pout when wilbur looked his way.
"phil's just regressed right now."
the room fell silent. techno, who had moved from his ball to a squishy cube, took his opportunity to speak. "before you ask, we have no clue how long he's been regressing."
tubbo brought a hand to his heart, and a loud sigh of relief echoed throughout the room. "holy- i thought he was ghosting us or something! but wait, phil's a regressor? now that's something i wouldn't have thought!"
"me either!," tommy butted in.
wilbur didn't know what reaction he was expecting, but it sure wasn't this. "..right. anyways, he's around two to four right now, no straight answer. so treat him like it-" suddenly, wilbur's name was called, loud and whiny. "that's my cue. and tommy, no cursing." wilbur got up and left, not during to look behind him as tommy for sure was flipping him off.
wilbur entered phil's room with a smile- it wasn't fake like many would've thought it was. phil just brought him joy, thats all. "hi angel," phil giggled. "glad you're comfortable now." wilbur walked over to the pile of wet clothes on the floor, picking them up. he would make sure to wash them later. "could you get some toys you'd like and bring them upstairs? i'm going to set something up for you ok?"
phil was more than willing to rush over to his bin, already picking out atleast 3 stuffed animals before wilbur walked off.
wilbur walked over to the laundry area, calling out to techno to make hot chocolate. when he arrived back in the living room, techno was in the kitchen and tubbo and tommy were preparing an area. tommy was taking away any sharp objects and tubbo had laid out blankets over the couches. he had also put more wood in the fire wilbur noticed. wilbur smiled.
techno came out a while later with cups of hot chocolate, saying he let them cool for a while. wilbur laughed, "should've let the children have hot cups," he jokes, to which techno smirked. "hey!" tommy yelled, offended. tubbo only giggled as he moved from the living room to the kitchen area to grab plates, pulling sweets from his basket.
everything was nice.
and then there was phil, running out of his room with so many things in his hands. he placed them onto the living room floor and smiled at the other's in the room. "you got a lot didn't you, angel?" wilbur said, walking over with his hot chocolate cup. he handed it to the little, watching him drink it with no hesitation. his smile grew wider at the sight. who knew phil could be such a pure soul?
"mhm! i even gots cwayons!" phil held up a pack on crayons and some paper, smiling brightly. "that's nice." wilbur went to sit down on the largest couch. phil scrambled to sit by him. wilbur watched as the little scribbled with his crayons, and praised him when he finished a drawing. at some point, wilbur zoned out, and phil drew a picture of everyone together. 'SBI' was scribbled in the corner, and even if phil currently didn't understand it fully, he knew it meant a lot so he did it. he shook wilbur to show him.
the drawing and phil's sweet personality together was enough to make wilbur melt. "thank you sweetheart. i'm sure the others will love it!" he smiled. phil's eyes sparkled at the words, smile now even brighter.
everyone else came back eventually too, all giving phil the attention he wanted. they showered him in praise until he was yawning, crayon about to fall from his hand.
tubbo spoke mouth full of sweets, "c'mon, you can sleep, there's more time to color and talk later." and somehow phil registered the words. he let his head fall to wilbur's shoulder as his eyelids got heavier. soon, he was out.
the rest of the boys shared glances, all waiting in silence to see if the male would stir awake. when he didn't, they all smiled.
"that went well i think!" tommy said, confident.
"i did all the work," wilbur huffed, "techno's too awkward, and you're just downright terrible. tubbo was okay though." tubbo gave a thumbs up, although he wasn't really listening.
techno glared, "not my fault."
"oh, it is so your fault. learn to speak! this isn't new!"
"you're going to wake him up." tubbo spoke louder than the both of them combined. it was almost like he was the one trying to wake phil.
wilbur glanced to his side and sighed in relief when he saw phil wasn't awake. "ok. well, it's all fun and games," he said, raising one hand in defense, as phil was laying on the other. "when phil wakes up and is big again, we'll ask questions. deal?"
and in a chorus of different voices,
"deal."