Putting the Fun in dysfunctional

Chapter 6: Regroup and Revise

TWS: Mentions of drugs, mentions of trauma (tell me if I missed any)
In Phil's time as a foster parent he had learned many things in regards to raising children. But Phil had never fucked up this much. Well he had actually, when he first started fostering Wilbur  he had a panic attack at school and tried to run away. He was found within the hour but Phil had never been that scared in his life; except for now.

He could tell Tommy was a tough kid, even though he had yet to come out of his shell. In fact the only one able to converse with him so far was Wilbur but Tommy still seemed terrified (he wondered how many times conversations lead to the cycles of abuse his other children had to face). 
But during his years of parenting he had learned space was important. When fostering Techno he had gotten in his face too often and it had resulted in a panic attack;he learned that lesson the hard way. so when Wilbur grabbed Tommy's hand (during what he just now realized was a panic attack) he told him to give the kid some space.
And what a bad idea that was.

After that Tubbo had seemed upset and took his leave with Ranboo. Now that's when Phil should've checked on Tommy but his dumbass didn't think of that at the moment.
So now his child was missing.
And his other kids were tasked with looking for him.

———
Wilbur wasn't stupid; he knew what opening a window sounded like and he could hear footsteps on the roof. But he didn't really give a shit about whatever happened in the living room. Whatever was happening happened and Wilbur left Phil to deal with that while he went into his room. But the pattering on the roof gave Wilbur a train of thought he couldn't ignore; he could get rid of this gremlin for good. (The ghostly part of himself told him that was a shit idea, it didn't change anything.)

Wilbur met a friend in sophomore year, at the time Dream had just turned 18 and had a very odd knowledge (an obsession) over psychology. Which wasn't too hard to believe when he later learned Dream's mother was a therapist. But the important part was that they took home economics together and Clay went on and on about how someday he wanted to take care of a child of his own, and how the foster system would be the perfect solution. They also still kept in touch; in fact Dream kind of saved him. About a year back Wilbur had gotten back into unhealthy habits; habits that he still kept up to this day, but he was more careful about it now. Now he only smoked in his treehouse and he didn't sell to anyone anymore, because the one time he got caught his life was almost crushed before his eyes. He had gotten busted. He spent three hours in jail wondering who to call; he couldn't call Phil or Techno because they would just send him back. So his mind was racing over who he could call. It must've been pure luck when dream recognized Wilbur while looking for another client (and he was even more lucky that he took him pro-Bono). As it turned out Dream had pursued his dreams and did become a Lawyer, a damn good one at that. His case had been dropped within 4 hours. So yeah, he considered Dream his hero.

Dream was very introverted, yet still had wit. He was smart and that meant he would probably be a good parent. Of course Wilbur would have to discuss it with him first. Although nothing could repay Dream's kindness when he had got him out of a shitty situation(He didn't even mention rehab); Tommy's unwillingness to stay could help pay off his debt.

So he stepped outside and called Dream
"Hey Dream, I was wondering if you were still looking for a greml- child!"
Wilbur could hear the smile on Dreams face "I'm listening"
Will continued "He's a bit of a Parasite but I'm sure you get used to him"

They had spent the next half hour discussing and planning. He even offered to update Wilbur on a weekly basis. Wilbur wanted to tell him that he didn't need an update, and that he didn't care but he didn't want to annoy Dream (and that stupid part of him that seemed to care about Tommy). So now that everything was in place they just had to wait.
——
Wilbur was the first one to notice Tommy's absence the next morning, and he was utterly terrified (which was understandable since Phil had noticed that  they seemed to bond the most).
He sent Techno around the town perimeter and Wilbur to the woods- while Phil opted to stay here in case he came back.

——
It had taken about fifteen minutes of driving for Technoblade to process what the hell just happened. Tommy seemed nice- nope not nice, but definitely not horrid either. Tommy's personality could be described as a Raccoon; pesky but just trying to get by. Technoblade gathered all of this from dinners and conversations he managed to overhear (though there weren't many) . but he was good at getting a "read" on people. Or at least that's what he thought until the kid ran away.

He felt bad for the kid, and Phil. Techno had tried to run away at school when he was first fostered. But the foster system was tough and Techno had tried to talk to his teacher about not presenting his project but she wouldn't budge; So he did the next best thing and left (and he regretted it so much, he had never been more terrified in his life). But that was nothing like Tommy's situation; Something was clearly up between him and Tubbo. Now Techno didn't know this Tubbo kid but he did know Ranboo pretty well. Ranboo was a freshman at Techno's school, and Techno tutored him. The kid was nice, quiet and a ball of nerves and he seemed to trust Tubbo. Tubbo seemed like Ranboos opposite; he was loud and extroverted- yet judging by his interactions with Phil still a people pleaser. Judging by his personality Tubbo and Tommy would make great friends- and clearly did; but how did they know each other?

He knew they couldn't have been friends Because the look they exchanged screamed betrayal.

Technoblade wondered if Tubbo could've been the reason Tommy left. Because the only reason Tommy would've left would've been because he felt in danger; and he knew Phil was only trying to be welcoming (and never crossed any boundaries). So the biggest suspect was Tubbo. But that wasn't the only possibility.
Technoblade wasn't the smartest when it came to social situations but one would have to be completely oblivious to miss how awkward (that wasn't the right word- faked, forced!) Tommy and Wilbur's relationship was. He had overheard a few threats of violence here and there but he figured that was them play-fighting. But it was still- off. But all of that information remained in his head because he had just circled the town and there was no Tommy in sight. But what surprised him was that Wilbur was also home, without Tommy.

He rushed inside ready to both panic and comfort his family.
Phil was holding back tears
Wilbur was on his phone
And the silence within the house was becoming too awkward
"So... Should we call the police?"
Phil nodded and suddenly the panic was showing on Wilbur's face
"No! If we do that then they'll think Phil's responsible for this" he paused and a tear fell "or worse"
Techno didn't know what to do. Which was odd in every other situation he did, whether a math problem Ranboo was struggling with or Wilbur getting into one of those moods again (He remembered a particularly bad time when he had almost set the shed on fire. He knew Will Probably needed help but he wouldn't go for it and he didn't want to cause the family to crumble). No matter the situation all problems were solved the same; Think and evaluate the solution- but they needed help finding Tommy, his brother (that he literally had never talked to, oh god what if he never got the chance)-
A simple "ding" interrupted his thoughts, it was Will's phone.
"Hold on I texted Dream and he said according to law if we called the police nothing bad would happen to Phil. And that it seems like the best bet"
(What he didn't know is that it was a message that confirmed Tommy was with him)
They all sighed in relief before Phil stood up
"Let's get going then"

1472 words// Sorry for the wait- my motivation is so odd

So... how we feeling?

This chapter was edited by A (ey made the chapter so much more put together so thank you!)

As always comments are appreciated! See you guys next week (or next month depending on my motivation)