A Monster's Wings | SBI AU

6

Philza

Coffee is poured into a cup in an effort to chase away the bags under his eyes. Philza is awake extra early, especially considering the time of night they had returned. With a sip and a sigh, he watches his son's heavy breathing on his couch and allows himself to slip into deep thought. That poor girl. She's gotta be terrified. Wilbur will be fine, but hopefully Tommy doesn't scare her off. Shit. Tommy and Wilbur still don't know. As if on cue, his youngest son rounds the corner mid-yawn.

"Good morning Tommy, I-"

"Why is Technoblade sleeping on the couch?"

"Well if you would let me just explain-"
"Why did you get home so late last night?"

"Tommy!" Phil's patience finally snaps and the boy stares with wide eyes. "If you would just listen, there's something I need to discuss with you. Go get your brother."

Tommy rushes to the back of the house, powered by curiosity and discipline. He returns with Wilbur in tow, his gangly legs practically being dragged, clearly less eager to be out of bed.

"Wilbur, Tommy, I um..." Phil watches his boys, who have sat down next to each other on the couch across from their oldest brother. Bed head and pajamas bring out the innocence in them and Philza struggles to find the words to tell them that he did something quite drastic.

"We found an orphan and brought her home," Techno breaks the news, clearly awake now.

"Orphan?" gasps Wilbur.

"Her?" squeals Tommy, in fake disgust.

"Yes," Philza swoops in, "we are going to take her in and treat her as our own, you understand? She has clearly been through a lot and deserves a place to call home."

"A sister..." Wilbur mumbles, a smile creeping onto his face. The proud dad looks at all three of his sons, relieved to see beaming, welcoming expressions.

"There's one more thing you should know-" Before Phil can finish, all attention in the room is caught by an opening door.

Evangeline

Trapped. Surrounded. Why did she ever think this was a good idea. Jumping out of the stranger's bed the second consciousness is in her grip, Evangeline knows she can't stay there. Sure the bed is soft and the house is warm. But she can't forget that she is a walking time bomb of danger. The footsteps she hears outside her door could very well be a mob of villagers, having found her already. She creeps to the doorframe and ever so gently pushes it open. Despite her efforts, four sets of eyes are waiting for her on the other side. She tries to shrink, disappear, be anywhere other than that room.

In a tiny voice, Wilbur says to himself, "She has wings."

"What the fuck."

"Tommy!" Philza scolds.

"What? Are we going to sit here and act like it's not a big deal?"

Evangeline takes the hint and books it for the door.

"Please! Wait!" Philza chases after her but she easily evades him. It's Techno who stands up and in one stride, encompasses her in a bear hug. She screams and fights, clawing at his arms with no success. Technoblade holds her quietly, patiently waiting for her to finish.

"Are you done yet?"

Evangeline goes limp after exhausting herself fully.

"Yes."

The oldest brother carries her with little resistance and sits her down next to him on the couch. Everyone else in the house just watches the whole ordeal with wide eyes.

"It's dangerous in those woods. We found you and you willingly came with us, but letting you leave is like letting you get yourself killed."

"I was fine before wasn't I?" The anger coursing through Evangeline finds her voice for her.

"How long?" Wilbur finally speaks up. "How long were you in the woods?"

She sighs. "A week."

"And how many near-death encounters have you faced?"

Evangeline hates that he is right. She knows that her new home isn't as 'perfect' as she tells herself it is. Like removing rose colored glasses, Evangeline realizes all the red flags she missed. "Five, not counting you guys."

Philza chuckles. "Listen, we really are just trying to save you. You don't have to stay here, but you have to understand what you are signing yourself up for. Or, you could just let us house you until you find a home for yourself."

The girl weighs her options. Maybe she could stay for a night or two, figure out a sustainable living situation, and then be out of their hair forever.

"You don't have to make a decision now, just think about it, okay?"

Evangeline nods. A temporary living situation is all it is.

Clearly on another train of thought, Tommy asks, "What's your name?"

"Evangeline," a short and a little icy of a response. The blond in front of her doesn't seem to care.

"Why do you have wings?"

"Tommy!" Wilbur pokes his side with gritted teeth.

"It's just a question!"

"No it's fine," Evangeline assures. "I don't know why, no one does really. I've just always been this way."

"Hey, you're just like Technoblade!"

She turns to the man she assumes is Technoblade, starting to catch on to the names. All he does is shrug.

"Well, Evangeline," Phil feels the weight of her name in his mouth, "I'm going to make breakfast. You have to stay at least long enough to taste my cooking." The boys roll their eyes, and make their way to a table, and Evangeline assumes she is to follow. Tommy pulls up a chair next to him and gestures to it, before continuing his relentless questions.

"How old are you?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"No, I don't," she says a little more sternly. Does he expect her to explain that abandoned babies don't celebrate birthdays? Unfazed, Tommy continues to ramble on.

"Well you're probably my age because when I was..."

Evangeline can't help but smile, tuning out Tommy to take in the scene. They were a happy family. Not her happy family, but hey, this is just temporary, right?

A/N Hi! Hello! I hope you are having a good day! Can we get a soft family interaction pog? Some cute content is to come, but don't worry, I'm not done with angst just yet ;) Go tell someone how much you appreciate them today. Author over and out!