At this point the ages for the boys are thus:

Wilbur: 9

Techno: 5-6

Tommy: 2

If age tracking is of interest on these stories let me know and I'll do my best to update them in the notes here before we get started.

xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx

Tommy was having an incredibly rough day. At least, as rough as he's ever felt it before in all his barely two years of life. At least, that's what their parents had told them.

Wilbur had known the day was going to be something terrible when he was woken up early by Tommy's screaming. It was still dark out at the time and while it only took his parents roughly an hour to put him down again Wilbur's own sleep was properly ruined. He'd not been able to fall back to sleep as hard as he tried.

Which is probably why when he got up to get dressed for school later he was proper mad at seeing his baby brother now refusing to wake up for breakfast. In fact, his mother was still trying to coax him into eating by the time Wilbur and Techno were being walked out the door for the bus by their father. The last he heard was a familiar plastic bowling hitting the floor while his mother let out a tried sigh.

Wilbur's day at school was mostly a blur as he was honestly struggling mostly to stay awake for the more dull subjects. Though he opted to just sleep through maths. He crossed his fingers that Tommy was taking a nap too and wouldn't be so grumpy when they got home.

Xx-xx

Tommy was not, in fact, napping at all.

He'd been placed in his playpen after once more refusing to eat much more than a few bites of food for his breakfast. Kristin had given him a bit of medicine, assuming he perhaps had an upset stomach or something.

However, the problem seemed far more then that as no matter what Phil tried to do Tommy refused any cooperative action. He didn't want to play with his toys no matter what Phil brought him, even shouting 'no' when the man touched anything already there. Heaven forbid he try to tickle the boy as a tantrum was fresh at the ready.

At his wife's suggestion Phil left Tommy in the pen to his own devices for a while. Choosing to get a bit of work done while his son potentially settled his mood with some alone time. It seemed fine…for all of three minutes before Tommy was standing at the end of his pen and huffing at his father for leaving him. Reaching his hands out and calling for 'dad' with a sharp demand.

Phil was quick to give in…the first time. Despite literally calling for attention thought Tommy refused to engage for long, quickly dissolving into a dissatisfied fit. The cycle of 'try to play', 'try to talk', 'give him some time', 'try again', played out almost four times before Phil opted to do as his wife had suggested the first time. No matter the fussing, screaming or angry gibberish that came his way Phil forced himself to remain at his desk.

It broke his heart really,especially when Tommy had started to cry. Thick angry tears welled up and rolled down the babe's puffy cheeks and Phil had to use all his power to not give in. He couldn't stand it when his boys cried, but he knew that this was something that he couldn't encourage by giving in either. When Tommy finally gave in and curled into a little bean shape to sleep Phil let out a breath he'd been holding for what felt like the better part of the last three hours.

Xx-xx

The nap hadn't helped.

When Tommy woke up it was to his brothers being home and getting help on their homework from their father. With a scowl Tommy garbles out his displeasure at that and begins to demand further attention.

He first calls for Wilbur, who had made eye contact with him first. However, when the elder boy didn't get up immediately to see him, and instead even frowned at him, Tommy huffed and shook the wall of his playpen. Soon he was onto calling for Techno, but the boy was out of view as their father stood in the way. Not that it mattered though. As soon as the man moved he was turning towards Tommy.

Watching him approach Tommy frowned at him, letting his father know he was not, in fact, who he was calling for. Phil paid the look no mind and instead lifted Tommy from his pen. He was rocked and bounced and promised that it was fine. That his brother's would be free to play soon. Tommy, however, understood none of it and only knew that he wasn't being given what he wanted. Even if he didn't know what it was he was after.

At this point Kristin opted to take Tommy into her own arms. She'd been trying to swap out with Phil during the day but even she couldn't get her charms to work on her youngest. Even working together the pair had only managed to get Tommy in a good mood for about twenty or so minutes before he soured up again. He didn't seem sick or in pain, which was a great relief. As far as Kristin could tell Tommy was just having a very uncomfortable day.

She hoped it would pass soon. It hurt to know he was having such a hard time and neither she or her husband could sooth him.

Xx-xx

Wilbur struggled through his homework, but this time it wasn't due to the work itself. No, this time his issue was trying to concentrate while Tommy fussed and whined in the background. His parents had tried to bring him into the back of the house to give the two older boys peace to work in, which did help fair enough. At least for him.

Techno, however, being more sensitive to the sounds of the crying child, struggled with his own worksheets. Enough so that their father switched from snack making to help the younger boy finish it all off.

Wilbur looked down the hall, not even wanting to go to his own room if it meant getting closer to that sound. Though he felt guilty for thinking that since his baby brother still seemed to be having a hard day. As angry as Wil had been that morning his parents had taken the time to explain at least that Tommy was just, not feeling his greatest. Not sick, like the last few times, but just, not well either.

Worrying his lower lip between his teeth a moment Wilbur takes in a breath. There was really only one thing to do that he knew of.

Heading into his room Wilbur hopped onto his bed and reached for Jubilee.

Xx-xx

Wilbur tried to put a smile on his face as he handed Tommy the toy he'd been playing with. Wil tried not to let his annoyance rise, and when it did he was doing his best not to let it show. For the last hour, since Tommy had refused any kind of nap or rest, the youngest child had been repeatedly flipping between toys. Not just opting for different ones, but specifically to the ones Wilbur himself was trying to mess with.

The second Wil seemed to be interested in something Tommy had crawled close and reached out in demand for it. The one time Wilbur had tried to refuse it had caused Tommy to practically have a meltdown. He and Tommy were in the youngest's room as Techno had wanted to tuck away into their own. He'd tried coming to play with his brothers earlier, but Tommy's mood had made that impossible for the middle sibling. Techno just couldn't handle the noises and tension.

Wilbur himself wasn't thrilled with Tommy's actions and moods at the moment either, but he also didn't want to just ignore his baby brother. Not only that, but Wil could see the exhaustion in both his parents. He could handle Tommy on his own, like a good big brother.

Wilbur sat back and watched as his baby brother stuck the duck shaped toy he'd just obtained into his mouth with a bubble of sound that wasn't even quick baby talk anymore. There would be no point in picking anything up really, but if Wil didn't for too long then Tommy would still end up fussing. He'd wait a minute or so before taking something else into his hands. He knew Tommy would be taking it either way so it didn't matter if he pretended to play with it or not.

Offhandedly Wil wondered if he had ever been this bad for his parents. If he had been, who had distracted him when they had needed a break? Though, Wil reasoned, he didn't recall Techno being this bad…from what he could actually recall. So…had he been an easy child? Or had he been like Tommy?

Wil sighed as he picked up a yellow lion looking…thing. He wasn't sure what it was exactly, but it came from Tommy's toy bin. He turned the item over in his hands, the semi soft material reminding him of a rubber foam mat. He didn't care for the texture, but Tommy usually ended up chewing on it happily. Which he was reaching out most likely to do now once he noticed Wilbur's attention was on the painted on face of the toy.

Wilbur didn't wait for the sound of Tommy's demand before handing it over to him. However, Tommy paused, tiny brow furrowing as he looked over the toy. His lip curled into a pout as he squeezed the toy in his hand. Before Wilbur could even really see the shift in mood Tommy was flinging the toy to the ground with a dissatisfied shrill whine that climbed up almost like a whinny. Tommy's mouth opened up and suddenly a surprisingly wet sounding cry popped out of his mouth.

Wilbur was sitting up straight suddenly, eyes wide but his body frozen as tears welled swiftly and fell from Tommy's face. His brother was reaching out for him with grabby hands and Wilbur had no idea what to do. Tommy had been fine a moment ago but at the moment he sounded utterly devastated.

Phil took over 'playtime' after that.

Xx-xx

Bedtime that evening was just about as fun as it had been the night prior. Only this time Tommy was openly wailing and screaming his discontent. It wasn't at a constant, but it was often enough that Wilbur and Techno both were finding it near impossible to fall asleep. Techno had gotten close once or twice, but every time he seemed to finally be nodding off Tommy's cry would rip into the air and spoil the attempt.

Wilbur had already tried to give Tommy Jubilee, but the toddler was entirely disinterested in the plush. He still left it with his little brother, just in case, but as the night wore on and Wil grew more tired he regretted it. He wanted to snuggle into the whale himself for comfort since rest was out of the question apparently. Though, he supposed he had, really, the next best thing.

Looking down Wilbur sighed as Techno pressed closer to him, face scrunched up with a irritated pout as he hugged Technopig all the tighter. Wil gave him a squeeze as well, as he tried to curl around him a bit more. They were in Wil's bed and tucked deep in the thick ocean printed duvet. It muffled only so much, but at least they were toasty warm.

Xx-xx

It was barely ten thirty when Tommy finally knocked out. A full day of fussing with limited sleep the night before being his undoing in the end. Kristin watched with relief as Phil tucked in their youngest, planting a kiss on his forehead. She could see her husbands shoulders relax as he stood back up, the nightmare day finally seeming to come to an end.

Carefully she moved back from the door of Tommy's room and made to peek in on her other boys. She wasn't surprised to see them sharing a bed tonight. She smiled at seeing the steady rise and fall of the blanket cocoon they had made showing that, despite the noise earlier, they had also managed to find sleep. A nudge at her back had Kristin turning to face her husband, Phil sharing a similar look to her own as he lifted up the ever so loved whale Jubilee in his hands.

"You think we should tuck it in with him? Since Tommy didn't want it?" Phil asked her in a hushed tone.

"You don't think it would wake him up again?" Kristin counter asked.

"Well, if he does he'll be happy to see it back. I have no problem taking the credit for-"

"Give me that." Kristin cut him off with a crooked smirk, "Go get ready for bed yourself. I'll be in in a minute."

"Of course, love." Phil chuckled, making sure to place a kiss on her cheek before turning to do as directed.

Kristin watched him go for a moment with a settled smile on her face. Even when entirely exhausted, and she knew he was, he never hesitated on being sweet. She rolled a finger over her ring as a warmth welled in her chest.

Taking a breath she turned back to her boys room. She had a delivery to make.

Tucking the plush carefully into Wilbur's arms she suppressed the 'aw' that wanted to pop out at seeing her oldest sons arms subconsciously pull it to his chest. With a light breath she leaned down to carefully place a kiss on both of her boys heads.

It had been a rough day for them all, but they had handled it so well. She hoped, despite knowing better, that days like this one would be either rare or nonexistent. Hopes and wishes don't get rid of the 'terrible twos' though. So, instead, she and her family would just have to press on and battle the worst of the days together.