Phil thought it over for a second, once again the one in charge. His fledglings and son looked up at him with expectant eyes, counting on the man they idolised to fill the void.
His coven would never know the agitation that Phil numbed before it could flow through the bond, nor the way he felt when being tasked once again with destressing an emotionally charged situation.
Dadza of the year never faltered, nor got upset beyond reasonableness. He couldn’t, they were his children. He’d already instilled fear in his older children and was on the way to pour it into his youngest like a poisoned apple, as red and shiny as his youngest’s blood.
“Oh, Mate, I know what we need!” Phil exclaimed, his mind lighting up swiftly.
Phil was having another one of his good father thoughts, which he let himself feel incredibly proud about for at least a few moments. Phil looked at each of his offspring, and uttered words which would be their saviour.
“We should get… family therapy….” He introduced gently, as if coaxing a feral animal out from under the fridge.
Phil expected shock, expected anger and denial, but never did he expect stunned silence. The three children he presided looked up at him with understanding, pained eyes, eyes he never wanted any of his brood to have. They all, Techno included seemed absolutely flabbergasted.
“Bruh, it was that easy the whole time? Just- Go to therapy? Bruhh, what a scam!” Techno complained, shattering the tension in the room as they all erupted into poorly hidden giggles.
Wilbur laughed hard, the way he always did when faced with Techno’s humour.
Tommy wasn’t keeping himself together any better, his fists bashing the table like a toddler’s. Though, he himself was in a glass house, even if he kept his laughter short and controlled.
“How the fuck was it that easy?” Tommy agreed, and the room started to become a room of genuine discussion once more, though the tension was lessened tenfold.
“I don’t know, mate. Okay, Techno. How about someone apologises to their brother?” Phil asked, rerouting the conversation back on track with practised ease.
“Yeah, I made cards. Is that okay, Tommy?” Techno asked, pulling business card sized cards out of his pocket. Nervousness flooded the bond, so Phil sent a quick love-fledgling-love to Techno.
Suddenly, Techno seemed more confident, and his lips seemed to twist upward slightly, though not enough to be noticeable if you didn’t happen to have been Techno’s father for the past few hundred years. Phil smiled to himself proudly, he could parent sometimes.
“Uhh, yeah, that’s fine, man. I know you’re not the best at- y’know…” Tommy agreed, looking up at his older brother with less fear in his eyes than when they’d first entered the room, which greatly relieved the ancient vampire.
“Great. So first, I’m sorry for drinking your blood without giving you venom. It was cruel, unsafe and painful for you, and unnecessary on my end. I’m not gonna do that again. I know I said that last time, but I’ve learned by lesson considering you actually got hurt. I thought you were going to die, and I was scared. I used my monotone voice to hide how I felt, and I suppressed my coven bond in an attempt to hide my feelings from Ph-“ Techno admitted, though he was cut off by his father.
“YOU DID WHAT?” Phil exclaimed, before exhaling some air he didn’t need and starting again. “Sorry, Techno. But you shouldn’t have suppressed your bond, it’s really harmful. You’ve met Dream, right?” Phil asked, looking around the room in search of allies.
“Yeah, I know. I’m sorry, Dad. Phil. Whatever.” Techno sighed, knowing Phil wouldn’t let him get away with it without a chastising.
“Well done, mate. Now, your apology?” Phil asked, making Techno have to resist the urge to sigh a fictitious sigh. Either way, Techno was relieved to be able to finish his apology without too much public humiliation.
“Yeah, sure. I suppressed my coven bond in attempt to hide my feelings from Phil and Wilbur, and I shouldn’t have. Feelings are important, as are listening to them. Tommy, I’m sorry I haven’t been as good of a brother as Wilbur. I don’t play the guitar for you and stuff and I’m not all touchy-feely, but I love you. As an English major, it shouldn’t be hard to say.” Techno said.
“Can you shut the fuck up about that, Techno? That was literally over 200 years ago, and you dropped out anyway. Literally nobody cares. I know this is supposed to be serious, but stop bragging so much.” Wilbur breathed.
Techno rolled his eyes, and Wilbur almost sat up, though Phil saw his muscles twitch and sent an appropriate message through his bond, which was completely PG and not at all a string of insults directed towards his idiot fledglings.
“I’ll try. As an English major, it is important that I express myself fully, which includes all my feelings. That includes bein’ an English major…” Techno sighed, enjoying the foul look on Wilbur’s face.
“Also, I’m sorry for tryin’ to tell you I never did a venomless feeding, it was wrong and cruel,” Techno admitted.
“Uh, cool. I’m going to try to forgive you, Techno, but unlike Wilbur, you did actually hurt me. You see how that’s a bit… Y’know?” Tommy explained.
Techno nodded. He had expected such a reaction, after all, but it still hurt to think about the extent of what he’d done.
“Phil, your turn.” Tommy said, trying to get the emotional rollercoaster over and done with.
“All right, mate, I didn’t think Wilbur and Techno’s apology would be over so quickly. It’s a bit odd for me, you know? I don’t do this a lot, I’m a diplomat and a coven leader, not anyone who does stuff that’s too emotional. I- I told Wilbur and Techno it would be best to lie to you, and that wasn’t okay. I enabled Techno’s vemomless feeding by punishing you emotionally rather than Techno. I didn’t do things fairly, and that means I didn’t do my job as coven leader. I’m sorry, Tommy.” Phil said, tilting his head down as he looked at his youngest son who looked to be rapidly attempting to hide the way his particularly watery eyes glistened.
“Thanks, Dad. I just- I wanted to call you that now, and make this a new start, and forget all about this shit. I don’t want to fight for much longer, which includes whatever was happening between me, Wilbur and Techno.” Tommy admitted, fighting back his tears in a completely undeniable way.
Tommy wiped his eyes on his shirt, and it didn’t appear to be tearstained which Tommy counted as a complete win.
“That would be wonderful, Tommy. This has probably been the craziest coven meeting ever, and I hope we really don’t have to do this again,” Phil sighed, like the old man he was.
“Cool. Because you’re all apologetic and stuff, can I do whatever I want tonight?" Tommy asked, a wide smile emerging on his face.
“I’m going to regret this, but sure!” Phil agreed.
Wilbur and Techno resisted the urge to run hundreds of miles away with great difficulty, and almost facepalmed upon seeing Phil’s face become something more like their own. Phil could truly be an idiot sometimes, and his idiocy in times like that left them in danger.
“I want rides.” Tommy said simply.
“You little gremlin- that- actually, that’s a lot better than I thought it would be. Sure," Wilbur agreed wholeheartedly, reclaiming his place as the fun brother with concerning speed.
With that, the Craft family became one once more, their love for each other more valued than mere blood or genetics.
They were family, and nobody would take it away from them.
YOU ARE READING
Do I Need It? (Am I Under Control?)
FanfictionTommy's never left L'manberg City before. So when his new vampire family offer a way out, who was he to refuse? They'd keep him safe, wouldn't they? Fully posted on my Archive Of Our Own Account Carosbee, under my pseudonym Riverinnit.
