Raising Tubbo

Talk Over Some Tea

Warning(s): Self-doubt, self-depreciation

George tapped away at his laptop, looking up from it occasionally to scan the area. It was a weekday, Tubbo was at school, Sapnap was out for a bit, and Dream was busy doing… something on his computer. George was certain it involved coding.

The male's hand twitched slightly, he didn't like being alone, But everyone was busy, and he didn't want to disturb them. He frowned, looking around at the lack of little footprints made by who knows what, and the bursts of high pitched laughter that comes from the person who made the footprints.

He strained his ears to hear anything, a giggle at least, but all he heard was Dream tapping on his keyboard in the other room. George sighed, leaning back from his keyboard, he missed Tubbo. He missed his son a lot, to the point where his heart ached just thinking about him.

'Maybe… Maybe I can bring him home early- No, that won't be fair for Tommy.' He bit his lip, bringing a hand up to bite at his nail. 'Maybe I can just sit with Dream? But I'll be bothering him- Maybe he won't mind? No, he's working on something-'

He yelped, pulling his finger away from his mouth. He hissed at the very short nail, sensitive skin exposed from where he bit it off. He sighed, setting his hand down. He looked back to his laptop, noticing the screen turned off.

He exhaled slightly, closing the laptop, 'I wasn't paying attention to it anyway.' He set the laptop aside, tapping his foot slightly before deciding he needed some fresh air.

The brunette fixed his glasses, slipping on shoes, and standing up, grabbing his pair of keys. He walked over to the door before yelling out, "Dream I'm gonna be out for a bit!"

There was a grunt from where Dream was, indicating he heard George. The older walked out, grabbing his sweater from the rack as he left.

The wind blew gently in his ears as he walked along the pavement, the scruff of his shoes and the revving of cars on the road accompanying the sound. He looked around, breathing in the crisp air. Petrichor.

The soft blow of the wind died down when he heard a familiar voice across the street, "Hey mate! How's it going?" George looked over, seeing Phil waving from his porch. 'Did I walk that far?'

George waved back, "Hey Phil. I'm doing alright, how're the kids?" He asked, cringing slightly at the overused phrase.

Phil smiled, "They're doing great! Wil's excelling at History, Techno's glued to his books, and we both know how Tommy's doing, why don't you come over and chat inside?"

George's lip twitched slightly upwards, nodding slightly as he stuck his hands in his pockets as he crossed the street, taking one out again to shake Phil's hand.

Phil guided him inside, sitting him at the kitchen island. "You want some tea?" He asked, already fixing the younger a cup, George still nodded despite this. His leg bounced slightly, he took out his phone, putting it back in his pocket after seeing the time.

It was weird seeing Phil so laid back, he usually only saw the other telling off one of his sons for something. Now looking at the male in front of him, George noticed a lot of things.

Phil swore, a lot more than he originally thought. Phil was currently ranting about a story where one of his coworkers said something "fuckin' bollocks".

As Phil continued, George furrowed his eyebrows in thought. 'Am I clingy? The only reason I'm here is because no one else is free. Am I ungrateful? Surely not, I love my family. Does that make me attention seeking? Should I just leave-'

"You alright mate?" Phil called, bringing George out of his thoughts. George suddenly remembered Phil was talking to him, he nodded, "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." He spoke.

Phil shook his head, "I know the "I'm fine" card too well. What's wrong?" He sat across from George, sliding over some piping hot tea.

George looked surprised, "How did you-"

"I'm a father of teens, remember? I'm familiar with emotional walls." Phil smiled softly, comfortingly, "Is everything alright?"

George looked at Phil, opening his mouth slightly before closing it again, looking down at his steaming tea. He swallowed down nerves, "Am I greedy?" He spoke softly.

"No." Phil answered instantly, "What makes you think you're greedy? From what I've seen, you're very generous."

George tapped his fingers against his cup, "I don't know, I just feel like I've been asking for too much?" He spoke, the sentence sounding more like a question, "I want to spend time with someone but everyone's busy and I feel like I'm ungrateful for coming here instead of waiting until they're finished-"

Phil cut him off, "You're not ungrateful, you just like spending quality time with the people you love. There's nothing wrong with that." He set a hand on the others, "Don't feel bad about coming here, you're always welcome here."

"But you have the kids-"

"Oh please, even I need a break from the gremlins for a bit." Phil laughed, "Don't worry about it."

Before George could comment an alarm rang in the air. Phil made a noise, turning off the alarm as he did, "Time to get Tommy, wanna tag along and grab Tubbo as well?"

He smiled, nodding at the suggestion. The two walked over to the car, climbing in and buckling up. After they were situated, he started the car, driving off.

When they arrived many parents were walking out with their kids, the kids holding some piece of construction paper. George rose an eyebrow when Phil grinned, they both exited the car, entering the building.

Once they entered Tommy immediately spotted them. "Daddy!!" The little boy ran over, his red Elmo backpack jumbling as he ran, a red construction paper in hand.

"Hey, Tomster! Whatcha got there?" Phil crouched to Tommy's height. The boy shoved the paper in his face, "Is'a family tree! Look! It's me, you, Wil, and Techie!"

"That's great!" Phil praised him. George looked around for a head of auburn hair with an oversized green sweater. He bit his lip slightly, standing on his toes to scan the room.

"Baba!!" A familiar voice called.

George turned just in time to catch the little boy with a bee backpack. "Little worker bee!" He responded, laughing slightly, instantly calming down.

Tubbo quickly scrambled out of his arms, much to George's dismay. He pulled out a purple paper, "Look look!! We did family trees today! It's me, you, Dada, and Papa!"

"It looks amazing, Tubbo." He kissed the boy's forehead. Phil waved them over to follow out to the car. The two children ranted about their activities and projects, finishing each other's sentences occasionally.

George smiled, he loved his family.