Promised Land

[12] Wait, Is This ACTUALLY Happening?

Phil's office is a small room tucked into the back of the house. Bookshelves line the walls with a variety of things stacked carefully in them, from antique books that Techno cares for, to the cheesy romance novel that Tommy got him for last Christmas because the man on the front looked just like him, to trinkets and bookends from around the world and photos of family, photos of friends, a few plants with their leaves and vines stretching out and about... A lot of things, mostly gifted to him or his family.

It was homey. There was a small plush chair pushed into the corner of the shelves with a few books stacked on top of it, and on the other side of the room was Phil's desk, where he hunched over files of paper that were usually neatly organized within the drawers.

But not tonight.

Phil knows, without a fraction of a doubt, that the boy that Tommy and Tubbo had befriended what feels like so long ago but was only a few months ago had to have a magical gift. Everything seemed to point in that direction.

And he's been looking into it, looking through old magical records that he tries to keep for the magical community of the town, trying to see if there was anyone who has gone missing that could be of some relation to Ranboo.

But.

It leads to dead end after dead end.

Ranboo just appeared one day, in his son's life and in life in general. And, well, maybe he's from a family like Tubbo's-- a family of non-magically inclined people. But Phil thought he had to at least try to look for any hints.

Phil didn't want to put Ranboo on the spot that day; after all, he had been through a dreamon attack and had his world flipped upside-down in only a few hours. If he hadn't mentioned being an orphan to Tommy or Tubbo, then it was his secret to divulge whenever he wanted to. He turned a blind eye when he dropped the boy off in front of the old building near the park.

Phil leans back in his chair. The rain has stopped, at least, but the autumn leaves are coming. It's almost the beginning of October, and it had been one-- two days since the incident.

This incident being Tommy trying to break Ranboo out of his orphanage.

Phil had overheard Tommy planning with Tubbo something to save their friend. He had read the note that the tall boy had quickly given to them before completely ghosting them, and the words broke Phil's heart. Having his own things burned because of a relation to magic? He couldn't even begin to fathom that.

He was thinking of it, though-- of going to that orphanage, of helping Ranboo out of it himself. He's adopted two kids already, and with all the chaos already existing under his roof, another teenager wouldn't be the end of the world. They had an extra bedroom for guests, but they never get out-of-town guests, so Ranboo could have it. Techno hardly used the room they had designated for him, so if they did get someone from out of town visiting, they could use that instead...

And then, of fucking course, he gets a call at midnight from the police telling him to pick up Tommy and Tubbo. He helped cover for Tubbo, but he never would have considered they would try and break Ranboo out like that , more or less getting caught that quickly. The nun who caught the two boys was the one that burned Ranboo's journal, Phil knew it immediately, and the way he got chewed out by her--

A knock on his door brings him back to reality. He can tell through the door it's Techno-- no overwhelming emotions, calm, stoic.

"You wanted to ask me something, Phil?" Techno asks. His hair is loose and untied, he isn't wearing his glasses.