This is for the whumptober prompts: Disowned by family, "I'm all alone now", punishment
Some of the lampposts on Wilbur's street flickered, casting a pale orange-y glow onto the cracked asphalt below. Techno leaned against one, allowing himself to catch his breath.
His feet hurt. Not just from the several miles of walking he did, but also because he had no shoes. So Techno wasn't exactly surprised to lift one leg and see a growing patch of red on the bottom of his sock. He took a shortcut through the woods and must have tripped a million times. The palms of his shaking hands were covered in scrapes too. Techno didn't feel too much of it between the strange tingling in his fingers and the numbness of the cold.
His knuckles were bruised a deep blue and purple from the iron tip of his father's cane.
Techno shook his head, clumsily brushing his hair out of his face so he could squint through the rain. He thought he would remember which house was Wilbur's, but staring at them all lined up in the darkness he wasn't so certain anymore. They all looked more or less the same. And Techno had only visited Wilbur's house once, for a school project.
Techno's parents wouldn't want Techno to come to this part of town, where the 'commoners' lived. They saw this entire area as beneath them. Maybe they saw everything outside of their neat brick wall that bordered the family estate as beneath them. It's not like Wilbur lived in the suburbs past the train track, where the fences were falling apart and some folks had to sleep on benches outside because their houses got impounded. No, this neighborhood where Wilbur lived had cookie-cutter family homes that looked like identical clones of each other, built by some real estate company that pandered to the middle class. Phil made decent money and had two kids, he managed to live in a nice area despite being a single father.
That wouldn't change the minds of Techno's parents though. Yet they also didn't want Wilbur anywhere near the mansion, as if scared that his very presence would infect it. It was already bad enough that Techno didn't go to the stuffy private school they'd picked out for his older sibling, prim and proper with teachers who would gladly accommodate private tutoring. No, when Techno was younger his father had aspired for politics. And to make a good impression on the community, Techno was sent to a public school. That would really convince people their future major was concerned with education and other important topics. It wasn't even the worst school in the district - far from it - just worse than the advanced schooling his older brother was getting.
But Techno wasn't the heir to his family's fortune anyway, so did it really matter?
The most annoying part by far was that his mother didn't want him to bring his friends from school to the estate. Or friend, singular. Techno didn't have anybody besides Wilbur. Wilbur was chill though, he didn't seem to mind that they mostly hung out at the park or the library. He wasn't bothered that Techno declined every invitation for a sleepover or a birthday party.
Wilbur had a life Techno's parents would sneer in disdain at. And Techno was just grateful to get even a small slice of the normalcy he wished he could have.
Which made the jokes Wilbur used to make about how jealous he was of Techno sting all the more bitterly.
Techno didn't hold it against him, he supposed that from an outside perspective, the large house and fancy trips and private chef all looked quite tempting. Maybe if Techno had been in Wilbur's shoes, he would also be envious of the grass on the other side when they first met. As it was, Wilbur knew better now and Techno had managed to lose all of that in a single night. So that's how far spite had gotten him.
He made his way down the street with slow, lumbering steps that were more akin to a pathetic shuffling. The rain made it hard to see, but Techno knew which side of the street Wilbur's house was on so that's where he went. From between the soaked strands of hair that clung to his face, Techno tried to spot anything that he felt was familiar.
He only wanted a place to sleep tonight.
Techno had a plan. In the morning, he would hop on a train. He would find one that went across the country, to the beach. Or maybe into the woods up on the mountain ridges. As far away from his family as he possibly could be. And then he wouldn't bother them anymore, he wouldn't disappoint them.
They'd be happy and he'd be alone and that would work out for everybody involved.
But trains wouldn't run until the morning and Techno was cold. Not to mention hungry because his father had gotten angry before dinner. Techno hadn't eaten since lunch. So he had gotten the idea that he could drop by Wilbur's, just for a bit. Maybe he could convince Wilbur's dad to let him sleep on the couch. Techno's parents didn't need to find out.
Techno stopped in front of a house with a large shrub of peonies near the front. He felt like he could recall those flowers, Wilbur told him about his father planting them. Against the gate, there leaned a kid's bike spray painted amateurishly to have a bright red color. That was Tommy's bike. Wilbur's younger brother who sometimes came with them to the park.
This had to be the right house.
Looking at the imposing front door in front of him, Techno felt a small amount of hesitation. It was late at night. Dropping by unannounced was already impolite enough, doing it at this hour should be incredibly frowned upon. It wasn't hard for Techno to imagine his father's disapproving glare, maybe also because he'd seen the pure hatred and disgust burning in that man's eyes aimed at him earlier. Maybe he shouldn't-
A full-body shiver ran through Techno when a breeze of cold wind brushed past.
Yeah, he didn't really have a choice, huh? He wasn't willing to freeze to death and the library - the only other place Techno could go to get away from his family - was closed.
With a shaky hand, Techno pressed down on the doorbell. Then tucked them into his pockets while he waited, hoping that would help against the tremors.
A light lit up upstairs. Techno swallowed.
The only thing he could do was pray that Wilbur's father wouldn't also punish him for being woken up this late at night.
When the doorbell rang to wake Phil up and he saw it was past midnight, he felt a spike of panic that certainly couldn't be good for his heart.
He was up and out of his bed in seconds, forgetting about the slippers he kept near the door. Already, his mind was conjuring up some horrifying images of who it could be that needed him this late. Phil half expected it to be the cops, delivering Wilbur home. So far, Wil's puberty had been extremely uneventful. So maybe Phil was secretly waiting for the other shoe to drop, Lord knows he got up to some pretty wild things in his own teenage years.
Glancing in through Tommy's door that was left ajar to assure himself his youngest at least was fine, Phil went down the stairs and drew back the curtain beside the door. As soon as he saw who was standing on his porch, he quickly undid the latch from his lock.
"Techno?"
The boy that stood before him was trembling, shoulders hunched up to his ears and arms pressed tightly to his side as if that would preserve more body heat. His cheeks and nose were flushed an angry red. He wasn't wearing a jacket, nor any shoes. Phil was so confused.
"Hello, sir." Techno swallowed, articulating with care. He forced himself to make eye contact, though it seemed to take him even more effort than the other times Phil had seen him. "Can I please come in?"
"Wh- Yes, of course." Phil stepped aside so he could usher the teen in.
"Thank you," Techno muttered softly, voice unsteady. "Sorry for the inconvenience."
He always spoke so politely. Phil remembered the one time they had Techno over at the house, how the kid had been acting so stilted and proper. Phil had made a joke about how he'd never get Wilbur and Tommy to adopt the same table manners that Techno had learned. Techno had only smiled weakly at that.
"Are you okay, what happened?" Phil asked. He closed the door behind Techno.
"I'm fine," Techno answered.
"You don't look fine, you look like shit," Phil blurted. Techno's slightly spooked expression made him feel bad, but Phil had spoken without thinking. Techno's parents probably didn't curse either, only obsessed with keeping up their appearances.
Phil had seen the face of that smug bastard politician all over the billboards in town.
"I'm sorry, where are my manners," Phil said lightly. He did his best to give the young boy a kind smile. "Come on into the living room, it'll be easier to warm up there."
Techno followed him obediently, ducking his head when Phil glanced over his shoulder. His posture was stiff, the hands shoved into his pockets the most overtly 'rude' thing about it. When Techno had been in their home before, Phil had just chalked it up to his different upbringing. Something about his behavior now was starting to concern Phil.
He watched Techno sit on the couch, back held straight and both feet put squarely on the ground. That was also when Phil noticed he wasn't wearing shoes.
What the fuck was this kid doing out alone at this hour, not even properly dressed.
"Do you want to tell me what happened?" Phil asked, pulling a blanket from the sitting chair and laying it next to Techno over a couch cushion. Techno didn't touch it.
"I-" Techno stumbled over the word, trying not to meet Phil's eye. "I don't-"
"Hey, it's okay," Phil held up his hands. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." While not technically a lie, it wasn't entirely true either. Phil knew he had to get to the bottom of what was going on. He could tell that his presence was not having as much of a comforting effect on Techno as he would like.
And he couldn't blame Techno. He barely knew Phil.
"I can get Wilbur for you." Phil stepped back.
"You don't have to," Techno said quickly, hunching in on himself more. A look of guilt flashed over his face at the idea of them waking Wilbur up.
But Phil knew it would be better. Techno wasn't going to open up to him and the kid looked like he could use some support. It was like ripping off a bandaid, painful for a moment but better in the long run.
So Phil would not hear any refusal. "He'd want to be here for you, mate."
Phil went back up the stairs, softly closing the door on the still-sleeping Tommy's room. Then he went over to Wilbur's room and softly knocked. After a few moments, he got a sleepy yet inquisitive sound.
"Wilbur?" Phil walked over to the bed. Wilbur was already blinking up at him, in that half-state of waking. Phil gently shook his shoulder. "Sorry for waking you this late."
"What's up?" Wilbur asked, then immediately yawned so wide his hand could barely cover it up. "Is something wrong?"
"I'm not sure yet," Phil said. "Techno is here and I think he might be in trouble."
"What?!" Wilbur shot upright, throwing off his blankets.
"I figured he'd be more comfortable with you there." Before Phil had finished his sentence, Wilbur was already running out of the room, not seeming to care how much noise he made on the stairs.
Yeah, Phil was glad he closed Tommy's door.
When he got downstairs again, Wilbur was sitting on the couch next to Techno. He had picked up the blanket and draped it across Techno's shoulders and was talking in a low voice, barely above a whisper. Techno smiled at Wilbur and nodded.
Phil knew he had made the right call.
Even if it had a nasty feeling of helplessness build up in his throat. Seeing the state Techno was in and the way he was holding himself, walking on eggshells around Phil since he was an adult. It was making all the alarm bells in his head go off. It made him pissed he couldn't do more.
But Wilbur glanced up at him and nodded towards the kitchen.
"Dad, could you maybe get us something to drink? Something hot."
It was Wilbur both asking him to give them space for a moment longer and also hoping to help warm Techno up. Phil was happy to oblige.
He went into the kitchen to whip them up some hot chocolate, purposefully taking a longer than average time to retrieve the mugs and the milk. By the time he was done, he waited a couple minutes more, just so the hot chocolate could cool enough to drink. Then Phil finally went back into the living room.
Techno had stopped shaking.
Phil put their drinks on the table in front of the couch.
"Techno, do your parents know where you are?" Phil asked. It made Techno freeze and curl a little tighter into Wilbur's side. "I'm asking because I don't want them to be worried about you."
And also because Phil wouldn't want to be accused of kidnapping the kid.
"No, they…" Techno swallowed. Phil saw that Wilbur leaned into him. He whispered something in Techno's ears. "They wanted me to leave."
"They wanted you to leave?" Phil echoed dumbly. Maybe because the words simply didn't make sense.
"I was bad," Techno said simply. "So they punished me and told me to leave."
Phil blinked, incredulous. Wilbur was staring at him, watching intently. Waiting for a reaction.
Had he known for a while now that Techno's family was like this? Had Techno begged Wilbur not to tell anybody? How long had this been going on?
"Don't worry, I only need to stay the night." Techno looked at him pleadingly. "I'll be out of your hair by morning."
"Do you have somewhere else to go? Other family or…" Phil trailed off there.
"Not really," Techno said with a shrug. "I'm all alone now, so I figured I could just go wherever."
That simple statement sent a rock into Phil's gut.
Techno was a kid, the same age as Wilbur. How could he be talking about something like this so casually? Like part of him didn't question that his parents could just… discard him like he was nothing. That thought was already horrible enough, then even that got wiped away when Techno shifted the blanket down so he could grab one of the mugs. Phil saw his hands.
They were bruised so badly Techno's pale skin was barely left visible, leaving only dark marks and a few cuts. Like somebody had beaten them.
'So they punished me.'
Phil had not felt this angry in a long while.
"You're not going to spend a night on my couch and then run off wherever," Phil said.
A look that only could be described as undiluted fear passed over Techno's face. Phil could tell from that expression the exact thought running through Techno's brain, that Phil would send him back to his parents. So he quickly continued before Techno could stumble out a reply.
"You're going to sleep in my bed tonight, I'll take the couch. And then in the morning, I'm going to be making some phone calls. To make sure you can stay with us for as long as you need to."
Techno probably didn't know, but Phil had some contacts within CPS and the foster care system. The reason Techno didn't know was because Wilbur didn't ever mention Tommy was adopted, after also being fostered for a couple of years too. It had been a while, and Wilbur would never call Tommy anything but his brother, full stop.
Techno's eyes widened. "But-"
"No buts," Wilbur cut in quickly. "You can't leave tonight anyway."
"I guess," Techno admitted. He took a sip before tucking his chin into his chest. "Uhm, thank you, sir."
Somehow, those polite manners twisted Phil's gut a lot more unpleasantly now.
Still, he forced himself to smile. "You're welcome, mate."
Later that night, with Techno fast asleep in Phil's bed, he cleared out their guest room. There was no way Phil could sleep anyway, not when he was playing out the phone calls he would make come sunrise in his head.