Duchenne (DSMP Superhero AU)

Chapter 28

Phil sat at the kitchen table with his laptop, opening google. He typed into the search bar "parent and child bonding activities," scrolling through whatever popped up. Oooo 50 Simple Parent-Child Bonding Activities! He clicked on the link, scrolling through what the internet recommended. Eat dinner together, say good morning, snuggle during bedtime, read a story together before bed, hold hands when you walk-

"Phil, what is that?"

Phil closed his laptop, quickly turning to stare guiltily at Techno. Techno scoffed, pouring himself some coffee.

"If you want to bond with the kid, just do vigilante stuff with him. The only tips on the internet for child bonding are for babies and toddlers."

Phil huffed, turning back to his computer. He closed the tab and opened a new one, this time typing "how to bond with your teenager." Techno walked over and closed the computer, taking it away from Phil.

"This is why old people shouldn't be allowed to use the internet."

"Oh come on you shit, I'm not that old!"

Techno smirked, putting the computer away.

"Says the man with a grandchild."

"Two actually."

"You're not helping your- hold on, Wilbur had a child?"

Phil nodded, quickly changing the subject.

"Anyway, I can't take Tommy out to do vigilante work! What if he has another run in with Clay and Ares?"

Techno shrugged, sitting down next to Phil and sipping his coffee. This was silly. They just needed to catch Dream, get Ares away from Dream's manipulation and then Phil could bond with Tommy. Phil whined, sliding down in his seat.

"Dad, stop acting like a baby. This is your own doing."

Phil flipped off Techno, standing up and stretching out his wings.

"Fine. I'll invite Tommy and his friends to the next syndicate meeting, that way we can discuss how we're going to beat Wilbur."

Techno scoffed but didn't object. Showing Tommy how the organisation worked would definitely make some things easier. For one, if they wanted to work with Tommy in the future after Wilbur stopped being stupid. Phil took Techno's scoff as a go ahead and walked down the hallway, out the door and into the car. To Tommy.

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Wilbur wandered around the house, sappy memories leaking back into his mind. Ghostbur and Clay hugging each other and being disgustingly nice to each other. It made him sick, there was nowhere in the entire house he could go without being reminded of that backstabbing ghost and his saviour.

Of course, he had been hoping so badly that his Dad would save him, but he guessed he wasn't important enough to Phil. His memory was a bit hazy, but Miss Death spoke to him when he first died.

"Hello sweetie, what brings you here?"

Wilbur gripped his neck, feeling for Dream's strings. The tall lady dressed in black watched him quietly. He let out a breath, sighing.

"Did you save me from Dream?"

The lady shook her head, showing Wilbur an orb. In the swirling colours of the orb, Wilbur could make out his headless body in Ranboo's arms. He wanted to be sick. He was dead? What the fuck? He had to go back, he needed to look after Tommy. The lady took the orb away, holding a hand out to him.

"Don't worry Wilbur, I'm sure Phil will bring you back soon."

He glanced up at her blankly. She spoke with a strange fondness that he wouldn't expect from who he assumed to be Death herself. She saw his glance and sighed, patting his head with a gentle hand.

"Oh you poor boy... I'm Kirsten Death, and I'm your mother!"

They had spent a while together, talking over Wilbur's family and waiting for the moment when he was brought back to the living world. It never came. He begged to stay with her longer, but she said that she could only send him to his designated limbo until Phil could get him back.

Over the last ten years in limbo, he waited on a train station platform. Ten years of silence, ten years of doing absolutely nothing. Kirsten sometimes visited, but her visits were so brief that they barely breached the loneliness. It had only taken a few months of this before he started hallucinating. Imagining that Tommy was visiting, imagining that Techno and Phil were hanging out with him, imagining he was back in the apartment with Ranboo and Tubbo. Eventually The hallucinations turned negative, Tommy yelling at him, Phil calling him a disappointment, Techno trying to kill him. He hated them, they hated him.The only constant was Ghostbur, standing in the corner staring at him. Always staring. Kirsten was a light in his life at that time, telling him what was real and fake, telling him how many days had passed. Ghostbur wasn't there when she was. She played games with him and gave him the attention he craved. Honestly, the only reason he was still partially sane was because Kirsten had visited so much.

He hadn't expected Dream to be the one to revive him. It seemed kind of pointless, bringing someone back who you killed. But he wasn't complaining. It was a change of scenery, he was finally free to explore. And it was kinda fun being able to bother his long lost brother.

Wilbur sat on the bed that Ghostbur had sat on during the night, sighing softly.

"I know how this feels. Sorry I wasn't here."

He sat staring at the door for a while, he must have lost track of time though because the doorknob moved what felt like ten seconds later. Clay stared down at him, bewildered.

"What are you doing?"

Wilbur shrugged, leaning back on the bed and looking up at the stars.

"Dunno. Ghostbur's memories are all centred around here."

Clay sat on the bed, staring at him. His voice softened, betraying his fondness for the ghost.

"Really?"

Wilbur scoffed. Clay was so easy to read. Clearly the last few months with Ghostbur had softened the man.

"Why do you care so much about him? Well, not as much as Thomas. If you actually cared you wouldn't have killed him."

Clay scowled at Wilbur, raising his hand and gathering green threads. Wilur watched him with a bored expression, his red eyes narrowing as he spoke again.

"You can't control me."

Clay froze, an angry glare crossing his face. He strained, trying to connect the green threads to Wilbur. He tugged, he pushed, all to Wilbur's amusement.

"You little shit..."

Wilbur scoffed, standing. Clay's gaze followed him, burning into the back of his head.

"I'm going out for a smoke, I'll be back."

He opened the door, stopping as a hard hand gripped Wilbur's shoulder.

"You've got to remember Wilbur, I took you out of hell. I can put you back."

Wilbur considered those words. After a moment, he smiled over his shoulder at Clay.

"I know, brother."