Last Chance || A SBI Adoption AU

Mumza

Gods, did Phil love the new kids. All he wanted to do was scoop them both into his arms and protect them from the pain their past brought, and give them the childhood they deserved. But, as much as he hated it, he knew he had to be patient with them, and let them warm up to him. That didn't stop him from expressing his distaste for it to his wife whenever they called each other.

He thought he was prepared for what they would do, especially after he had brought home Tubbo and Tommy, who had been intent on pushing him and his wife to their limits, trying to find their breaking points, to make them snap. He didn't expect the two older kids to be so... cautious.

They seemed to walk on eggshells around him and Wilbur, only conversing with Tubbo occasionally, and avoiding Tommy. They would always ask permission to do stuff, no matter how many times Phil said it was okay and that they didn't have to ask him, and they would always give him the same wary look.

He knew why, he told his wife, they were so cautious around him. And he figured they had been in a house with a shitty bio child, which would explain their caution with Wilbur. He knew that they connected with Tubbo so easily because they shared a similar past, and he knew that Tommy had been difficult ever since their arrival.

He was worried about Tommy, though. Him and Tubbo would argue constantly, and he would find Tommy asleep on the couches in the living room every morning, rather than in their shared room. Tommy refused to talk to anyone, choosing to sulk alone. He lacked his usual loud, boisterous energy, and he didn't snap back with some witty remark whenever Wilbur tried to tease him like normal, choosing to use harsh glares instead. Whenever he tried to talk to his son, he would brush him off, or ignore him, which frustrated Phil to no end.

But he didn't worry his wife with these concerns, instead they talked about how excited she was about meeting the twins, and what him and his boys had learned about them so far.

He wished dearly for his wife to return home. He needed her support, her comforting words and the ease she handled their chaotic three, but he also knew that her work was very important to her. And he knew she would come back in a heartbeat if he told her this. Having your partner be overseas for work constantly was very hard on both of them.

So he described the twins to her. Techno was very protective, but otherwise seemed to prefer to keep to himself. He clearly adored his sibling, Phil didn't know if he could make it any more clear, with the way he would step in front of Aeren any time they felt threatened, and seemed to understand exactly what they needed at every moment. He had definitely been the hardest to learn about, with his monotone, borderline emotionless voice and the lego face of neutrality he had clearly perfected. But he knew a few things about him, especially that he loved to go outside late at night and gaze up at the stars, or tell his sibling stories when they thought no one else was listening. 

Aeren was soft spoken and the most cautious out of the two. They had a different sense of style than most people he had encountered, able to take things that were next to rags and turn it into something that actually looked good. They also had a habit of stealing their brother's clothes, it was always funny to overhear their light bickering in the mornings. They were extremely artistic, he absolutely adored the way they had decorated their room, and the little doodles on their arms never escaped Phil's attention. He longed to ask about them, but he was nervous to breach that next barrier of their relationship. 

Kristen, his wife, then talked about things he could do to try and kick start conversation, and eventually open up the idea of a relationship between them. She gave wonderful, and insightful pieces of advice for Phil to think over, and very clear instructions.

Go talk to them.

Which brought Phil to where he was now, standing awkwardly in front of their door, his hand raised as if he had been frozen just before he could knock.