SBI family AU

Part #10-Where are you?

Tommy slammed the door behind him, tears streaming down his face. He was mad, he was so mad. He kicked his bed, only to yelp in pain and hold his foot. He knew he was in the wrong, he shouldn't have pushed Techno like that. Tommy flopped onto his bed, staring at the ceiling. He winced when he heard the front door slam closed and a car startup.

Techno pulled out of the driveway and just drove. His mind was in overdrive, analyzing and reanalyzing the argument until he forced himself to stop thinking about it. He took a beer that he stole from Dad's fridge and took a drink. He knew he shouldn't be drinking and driving, but he was almost there. Sitting down at the picnic table, he watched the fireflies dance over the lake as he finished off the six bottles he'd snagged. His eyelids felt so heavy, maybe a little nap wouldn't hurt.

Tommy couldn't fall asleep, no, he wouldn't fall asleep. He was going to be awake and apologize to Techno when he got home. He would give the most sincere, heartfelt apology Techno had ever heard. As the rain poured down, Tommy glanced at the clock, 3:26 am. Techno had left four hours ago, he must be on his way home by now. Maybe he had just stopped because of the rain? No, Techno should be home by now. Tommy got up to wake up Dad.

Techno was vaguely aware that he was cold. His mind was cloudy, he knew he was cold, but he didn't want to do anything about it. It wasn't until he heard the thunder that he reacted. He groggily opened his eyes and took in his surroundings. It was cold and wet, his clothes were sticking to his skin. Sitting up fully, he stretched his stiff back and realized he was shivering. In his haze, he couldn't remember which way he parked, nor did he think it was safe enough for him to drive. Grabbing his keys and phone, he decided the best course of action was to get under the picnic table for some source of protection. He fumbled in the darkness with his phone, only to find that it was dead. Great, he thought to himself, I hate nature.

Phil was shaken awake by a crying Tommy, "wh.. Tommy, the sun hasn't risen yet-"

"Me and Techno got into a fight and he left the house with his car and it been four hours and he hasn't come back yet and it's raining and thundering and I'm scared and what if he got hurt-" Phil had to physically place his hand over Tommy's mouth to get him to stop talking.

With a groan, he got up, "Go wake up Wilbur. Three tired pairs of eyes are better than two," Phil watched his youngest run off as he grabbed his keys and his fluffy house slippers. Techno was probably just sitting in his car in a parking lot or in the corner of some late-night cafe. He trudged downstairs to find an annoyed but concerned looking Wilbur and a puffy-eyed Tommy.

"C'mon, let's go find Techno." Phil grabbed an umbrella and led the pair into the car.

Techno was in hell, but the hell that froze over. He was cold, shivering, and cramped. The rain hadn't let up and the wind kept him consistently cold. He tried to zone out, but the cold would creep into his mind. The dull ache of his back became less and less dull with every second. He lost track of time, but he was sure that his family was asleep. It must be late, or else he'd see the sun. He scolded himself for being so stupid, he had work in the morning. He shouldn't have left the house, nor grabbed the beers. Having hindsight sucked.

Phil drove around the town for the third time, Wilbur asleep and Tommy looking around with wide eyes, but each yielded the same result. No Techno, not even his car. He had no clue where Techno went and that scared him. Phil was silently hoping Techno had just fallen asleep in his car somewhere and that they could go back to bed, but the fear on Tommy's face kept him awake. He couldn't just go home and hope for the best, not with his son in possible danger and his youngest in absolute fear.

Phil parked and turned to Tommy, "Do you have any idea where else he could be?"

Tommy fiddled with his unbuckled seat belt, "Well, um, there's the bookstore, the french cafe, the park, the library..." Tommy looked down, scrunching his face in deep thought before jerking his head back up, "The lake! He could be at the lake!"

Wilbur woke up at the outburst, "hm? What? Did we find him yet?" earning a glare from Phil.

"And do you know how to get to this lake?"

The rain was slowly becoming less heavy, much to Technos relief. He wanted to be home in his nice, warm bed. He hoped he could make it home before Dad woke up, he'd get an earful from both if they found out. He realized he was probably going to get a cold, something he couldn't have if he wanted to work. He groaned, they couldn't afford for him to miss work. Money had always been tight, but with Tommy getting older, it was definitely getting tighter. Techno had dropped out of college to use his tuition to go towards Tommy's and settled for a part-time job at the bookstore. God you're so stupid Techno. You just had to go out on a work night, didn't you? Before he could mentally berate himself any further, he saw lights drawing closer to him. Getting out from under the picnic table, he stumbled towards them.

"I-I think this is the right lake. It looks like it," Tommy stumbled over his words, sleepiness getting to him, "Look! It's his car!" Tommy yelled, waking Wilbur once again. Phil leaned over and tried to grab Tommy's arm, but missed as the boy ducked out of the car.

"Tommy! It's still raining! You could catch a cold!" Phil rushed to get out of the car and follow the boy, ruining his fluffy house slippers.

"It's off. Dad, it's off! Does that mean Techno isn't here?" Phil rushed to grab his son as Tommy started panicking, "Did I make him run off? Is that why he isn't here? Is this all my fault?"

Phil hushed the child as he cried into him, "I'm sure Techno is just around here-" Phil stopped himself when Techno stumbled from behind a tree, dazed and soaked, "Techno!"

Techno looked up before collapsing to the ground, exhausted and shivering. Phil ran over with Tommy and the pair carried him to the car. Phil gently shook Wilbur awake and had him drive Techno's car back home, while Tommy sat next to the sleeping figure. Phil kept glancing at the back, reassuring himself that everything was ok, that Techno was unharmed.

Techno came to the next morning, his head throbbing and his throat scratchy. His headache from the alcohol seemed to worsen with the cold he had caught, but he didn't mind. He was safe and warm in his bed, something he'd taken for granted. When Phil came into his room, he sat up, biting down the pounding in his head and the slight sway he had.

"I can still go to work, I'm fine, really-" Techno couldn't stop himself from coughing, watching Phil's face turn to worry, "I'm fine, Dad. I can go to work."

Phil watched his son start to get out of bed and eased him back into bed, "No, you're not fine. You need to rest. We'll be fine for a week, a month, however long it takes you to recover. Please, just focus on yourself for once."

Techno just shook his head, "No, I'm fine, I can work. It's just a headache." He once again moved to get out of bed, but Phil didn't stop him. He stood and took a few shaky steps before stabilizing. Giving Phil a smile, he took a step and broke into another coughing fit. This time, he allowed Phil to guide him back to bed. He rolled his eyes and grumbled, "fine, you win."

Phil let out a laugh as Tommy entered the room, to which Techno's eyes snapped to the boy, "Hey, Tommy. Might not want to get close, I'm not feeling too well."

Tommy just nodded and stayed in the doorway, "Um, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for annoying you so bad. I should have realized you were tired from work."

Techno nodded, "I'm sorry for snapping at you and running out of the house," Techno looked to Phil, "and worrying you both."

Phil gave his middle child a smile, before standing up, "Let's give Techno some space, ok Tommy? He won't get better if we keep annoying his Royal Highness," and lead a laughing Tommy out of the room, turning off the light and closing the door.

Techno laid back down and buried himself under the mounds of blankets he had. Maybe taking a break from work wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.