Stolen Chances

Chapter Eleven

Wilbur looked at this phone again before picking up his pacing. It was three minutes till nine, and Toms was nowhere to be seen. "We should have been gone by now," Technoblade observes. Wilbur ignores the man as he pulls out his phone once more, only to pocket it with a curse. "He's just another loose end, Will."

"Shut up, Technoblade!" Wilbur jerks his head up with a curl of his lips.

Technoblade considers him with narrow eyes for a moment before asking, "Why are you so attached to the kid? He's just some thief."

"We were all thieves at one point or the other Techno. Does that really matter?" Ignoring the judging slide of eyes from Techno as he paced the car once more.

"You're going to get this kid hurt," a pause, "More than you have already," Techno says flatly, fixing him with a knowing look.

Wilbur only scoffs, dismissing him, "I don't really care for your opinion right now if I'm being totally honest Technoblade-"

And then the bomb exploded.

The brunette flinched, holding an arm up to cover his face, feeling the flashes of fire and smoke as the area lit up more than actually seeing it. Technoblade just stared blankly ahead at the building collapsed in on itself, watching as it went up in flames that skyrocketed in the sky. Finally, the heat died down, and Wilbur dropped his arm, glancing around manically, searching for the blonde teen.

"Let's go," Technoblade demanded dryly as he unlocked the car.

"I'm not going anywhere," Wilbur bites out as Techno rounds the car.

"He's not here Will, he's most likely dead."

Wilbur shakes his head, eyes not leaving the burning rubble, "I gave him a watch."

"What?" Techno scrunches his nose.

"I gave him a watch with the time to get out," He sees something shift in the rubble, and he jerks, gaze darting up as Techno folds his arms across his chest.

"Why would you do something like that?" Wilbur ignores him, beginning to make his way towards the rubble. The building was still falling apart on itself, the inside coated in dust and ash. Flames color the night sky only to be taken over by black smoke. A rough hand jerks him back, "What," Technoblade says slowly, his hand curling tight around Wilbur's bicep unconcerned by the livid look it garners him. "Do you think you're doing exactly?"

Wilbur attempts to jerk himself out of the man's grip only to be pulled in closer, "I'm not just going to let a child die in there!" Wilbur bites out, mouth curling as he sinks nails into the arm on him.

"You've done worse," Techno says with a look that keeps him locked in place.

Wilbur stares at him, and Techno meets his gaze with a leveled one of his own. "Then let me do better." Wilbur wills the other to believe him as he raises his chin and keeps his gaze without bridling anger or rage, without snark or walls.

Techno stares at him for a long moment, Wilbur's breathing loud in the quiet night, sucked in and let out in short pushes of air through his nose, something ugly writhing in his chest. Then, finally, the man lets out a sigh, long-suffering, as he raises his head up to look out at the rubble before his grip falls slack on Wilbur's arm.

Wilbur took off running, jumping over fallen beams and collapsed walls as he called out the teen's name, searching for any signs of movement. They had planned for the building to be busy. Knowing this was one of Schlatt's prime warehouses, workers constantly went in and out. They had hoped to catch him and Eret tonight. Huge black clouds of smoke rose from the building. The intensity of the flames had at least reduced since the bomb went off. Running past burnt corpses and ruined offices, he skids to a stop in some gravel.

There curled up was blonde hair peeking out of a purple hoodie, charred and blistered flesh and cloth. Laid out beside it was dirty soot-covered hair, Tommy's blue hoodie tattered and blackened with ash. Wilbur felt himself finally breathe as he rushed to the blonde's side, dropping down to feel a warm liquid seeping into his clothes.

Breath hitching; it was blood.

His lungs were strangled with the stench of burning as shaking hands settled beneath his jaw. The faintest pulse was beating beneath his fingers, and he felt his lungs heave.

"Techno!" The brunette dragged the blonde into his arms, sobs filling his throat, "Techno!"

Rapid footsteps were quick to follow as Techno soon skidded to a stop beside him, breathing out a disbelieving, "How?"

"Help me get him to the car, now, please," Wilbur said, tone bordering on begging.

"He needs a hospital-"

"Then we'll take him to a fucking hospital! Just, help me, please." Techno met watery brown eyes staring, pleading.

It took almost no time to lift the burnt teen out of his arms and practically no time to set him in the back of the car. Technoblade had hauled himself into the driver seat silently, not even bothering with music as he started the car up once more. The world is dark outside as the silence stretches between them, just Wilbur's panicked breathing filling the silent car. "You need to call him," the other reminds him with a glance as he shifts the gear, and Wilbur blows harshly through his nose but shifts to comply, grabbing his phone. "He's not going to be happy with this-"

"I'm fucking aware, Techno." Wilbur narrows his eyes, muscles coiling tense with a bearing of his teeth, "He was going to find out eventually."

"When you stopped torturing the kid." Techno's brow furrowed before letting out another sigh, "You're not going to let him go, are you?"

"I can't just leave him alone after all of this," Wilbur can feel the eyes of the other on him and ignores it, "He's mine now." He adds on quietly, begging the other to understand.

"That's only if Phil allows it," Techno recalls flatly.

Wilbur only snorts, "Of course, he'll allow it, kids a little gremlin. What's not to like?"