Chapter Text
Phil was nervous, understandably. It wasn’t like he hadn’t done this before, but considering what he went through with Techno, that didn’t make it any less scary. So far it hadn’t been much worse than last time, better even. The fact that he already had fostered a child, and adopted said child, probably helped the process along a bit.
He parked the car and faced towards the building. Even after five years, it didn’t seem to have changed much. It wasn’t necessarily an ugly building, but you could clearly tell that it had been worn down. Product of being home to so many children over the years you could say. If you could call this place a home.
Phil hated the place from the moment he first stepped into it. That feeling only increased when hearing Techno’s stories from his time living there. The conditions could definitely be worse, but it still wasn’t a place any child should have to grow up in.
He barely registered anything on the walk from the car to the front door. He must have knocked on it, because he was ripped from his thoughts when the door opened suddenly. In the doorway stood a woman, slightly shorter than him, looking to be in her late forties. Her salt and pepper hair was pulled into a low bun, she wore a fitted grey blazer, with a skirt to match it.
She didn’t look particularly excited to see him.
The woman held up her hand in greeting “Hello, Mr. Watson i presume?” She said, smiling widely at him, though it seemed a bit too forced to be real.
Phil blinked at her for a second, deciding whether or not he should return the smile. “Yes, that would be me,” He said, attempting a casual smile, though it felt a bit strained. She didn’t comment on it. “I’m here to pick up… Ranboo?”
What kind of parent would name their kid that? He thought, then immediately regretted it. The kid is an orphan for god's sake, why else do you think he would’ve ended up here?
“Ranboo, yes. We just need you to sign some paperwork and you’ll be on your way.”
There’s that smile again.
The woman, Ms. Roberts apparently, showed him to her office. Phil was a bit caught up in his own thoughts the entire time, but signed everything she gave to him.
“I assume you’ve already read Ranboo’s file?” Ms. Roberts asked, placing the thin binder on the desk while looking at him searchingly. He knew what she was looking for, some sign of reluctance that might cause him to back down or rethink his decision to adopt. To her, one more child in a foster home was one less child for her to take care of.
“Yes, I did,” He said, trying to look as neutral as possible.
She nodded. “Alright, then you know pretty much everything you need to.” That fake smile was once again plastered across her face. “You can wait in the lobby and Ranboo will be out in a second.” Phil nodded, and she walked out the office and down the hall.
He glanced quickly at the binder on the desk, then got up and walked out into the lobby. The right wall of the lobby was covered in picture frames, which he must have somehow missed when walking past it to Ms. Roberts’ office. They all had a bunch of kids of varying ages. They were sitting almost as if posing for a class photo. They looked to get older the further he went, the oldest were maybe from the late 80s or so. The kids didn’t exactly look excited to be in the picture, especially the older ones. It was a bit of a depressing sight.
“Mr. Watson?”
Phil looked toward the door to see Ms. Roberts. “Yes?” He said quickly, standing up straight again.
“Ranboo is ready to go,” She said, moving slightly to the left.
Behind her stood a young boy with almost raven black hair. He was wearing a black zip up hoodie, with a slightly spotted white t-shirt underneath, and a pair of jeans that looked a bit too short for him. He had a small dark purple backpack on and…
He looked completely, utterly terrified.
Phil didn’t exactly think of himself as intimidating. Standing at 5’11 he wasn’t particularly tall or anything, and he’d like to think he gave a good first impression. But based on the way this kid was looking at him, he might as well have had no head.
He wasn’t really prepared for this. When he started fostering Techno, the kid had looked at him as if he was disappointed in Phil’s mere existence (Still did most of the time) He knew that every kid wasn’t going to be like Techno, obviously, but he had hoped his experience would at least help him a bit.
“Um.” Shit. “Hi, I’m Phil, your new foster parent.” He smiled at him, the kindest smile he could muster.
Ranboo didn’t say anything, but at least he didn’t look as terrified anymore. Phil noticed Ms. Roberts sent Ranboo a sharp look, then ushered him forward a bit. “My apologies, he's a bit shy.”
Phil had to stop himself from scoffing.
Shy? That's one way to say it.
Instead, he chuckled slightly. “Ah, that's alright. Techno was at first as well.”
More like he hated me.
“Oh! Your adopted son right?” Ms. Roberts said. Her enthusiasm was so fake he could have smelled it a mile away, but he nodded anyway. Phil turned to Ranboo to see him looking at him with a hint of curiosity, but when he realized Phil was looking back at him he quickly looked away.
The boy was pretty tall for his age, not that much shorter than Techno if Phil had to guess, despite Techno also being quite tall for a fourteen year old. They were both still shorter than him, thankfully. He had a feeling it wouldn’t stay that way for long though.
“Well Mr. Watson, I think Ranboo is ready to go.” She said, sounding a bit too eager at the thought of seeing them leaving.
“Alright, you ready mate?” He asked, glancing at Ranboo. Ranboo blinked up at him before quickly looking to the floor and nodding silently. “Good, let's go,” He said, and with a polite smile to Ms. Roberts, they headed for the car.
Phil had begun to get in the car, but glanced back to see Ranboo standing a bit awkwardly beside the car. He was a bit confused until he realized that the kid probably didn’t know where to sit.
“You wanna sit in the front? Techno usually sits there, but I’m sure he’s okay with you sitting there while he isn’t here,” Phil said, smiling slightly.
Ranboo silently shuffled to the passenger seat, which Phil took as a yes. He then got in himself and waited for Ranboo to put on his seatbelt, before starting the car. The drive was about half an hour, and most of it was spent listening to the radio, though Phil had mostly turned it on to avoid the awkward silence. He had attempted to strike up conversation a few times, but Ranboo had yet to say a single thing, and only nodded or shook his head lightly when answering questions.
God.
Eventually they pulled up to the driveway. The house was at the edge of a small neighborhood, it wasn’t very big, but it wasn’t like they needed a lot of space. It had a garden facing a small forest area. Usually Techno did most of the yard work, not really as a chore, he just generally enjoyed it. Lately Techno had been having an obsession with growing potatoes, so they had been eating a lot of them.
Phil stepped out of the car and began walking up to the front door. He glanced over his shoulder to see Ranboo following behind him, silently taking in his surroundings. He unlocked the door and stepped inside, keeping the door open for Ranboo.
“You can hang your jacket beside the others, then I’ll give you a tour and show you your room. Sound good?” He asked. Ranboo (unsurprisingly) didn’t say anything, he just nodded.
He was still avoiding eye contact, but maybe that could be blamed on the fact that he was eying the room around him. He looked to be taking in every detail, from the books on the books in the bookcase, to the picture frames hanging on the walls.
Ranboo’s gaze stopped on a small square photo, hanging just inside the living room. It was a picture of Phil and Techno. About three years old, so Techno must have been around eleven. It was a selfie. They were in the backyard, Phil was standing grinning in the foreground, while Techno sat in a chair beside him, squinting grumpily at the camera. He had originally hung it up as a temporary joke, but neither of them had taken it down, so it ended up staying. Techno had been with Phil for two years at that point.
The corners of Phil’s lips quirked slightly at the memory, a welcome feeling of nostalgia washing over him.
He turned his gaze towards Ranboo, who was now staring at him with a hint of curiosity in his eyes. He looked at Phil as if he was trying to solve a difficult equation. Ranboo’s eyes widened a bit at the eye contact. His mouth opened slightly as if he wanted to say something, but apparently he thought better of it, because he quickly turned away again.
Phil began showing him around the living room. Ranboo followed him, eying everything curiously, but stayed silent.
They got to the kitchen, and Phil informed Ranboo that he could take any food he wanted. He (once again) nodded. More out of politeness than anything, Phil suspected, because he didn’t look convinced at Phil’s words. He seemed a little less tense than he had been before though.
He stopped in front of his office door. “I work from home, so this is where you can usually find me for most of the day.” Phil opened the door and gestured for Ranboo to look inside. “You can come get me any time if you need help with anything, just remember to knock first.” Ranboo accepted his invitation, and peeked inside. He still kept a good distance between him and Phil though, so he ended up standing at a bit of an odd angle. His eyes darted around the room for a bit, but then he stepped back, apparently pleased with the information he had gathered.
Ranboo looked back to Phil, and froze. His eyes widened, and he took a small step back.
What?
“I- I’m sorry sir. I- I didn’t mean to pry-” Ranboo spluttered, his voice getting higher and as he went on. He almost looked like he was sinking deeper and deeper into himself, as if making himself smaller.
Phil realised he had probably been staring at him, quite intensely too.
I can’t even go twenty minutes without freaking him out. Great job Phil!
“No Ranboo, you didn’t do anything wrong. It's okay.” He quickly reassured him. “I was kind of caught up in my own thoughts, sorry,” He said, smiling as apologetically as he could.
Ranboo stared at him in what looked like confusion for a few seconds, once again wearing that puzzled look on his face. Then he relaxed a bit, shoulders loosening and falling back into place again.
Phew.
“Alright. The bedrooms are upstairs, including yours,” He explained, walking up the stairs, cautiously looking back at Ranboo to make sure he was following.
“The first bedroom here on the left is Techno’s,” He said when they walked into the hall. “And the door at the end of the left wall would be the bathroom, right across from my room.” He pointed to the doors down the hall as he explained.
“And this one,” He said, turning to the door across from Techno’s room. “Is yours.”
He opened the door and stepped to the side to let Ranboo through. Reluctantly, the kid walked inside, glancing back at Phil as if he thought he might suddenly slam the door shut and lock it. He didn’t, obviously.
The room was about the same size as all the other bedrooms. It was quite plain. Phil had thought about decorating it, but he also thought Ranboo might want to do it himself. Beside the door stood a desk, and on the right side of the room was a bed with a night table beside it. On the opposite wall was a wardrobe and beside it a (completely empty) bookcase.
Ranboo stopped in front of the bookcase, he looked over the empty shelves, as if he was searching for something. Quickly enough though, he seemed to give up and move to the bed, then placed his bag on it. It was almost a sad sight. The colorful little purple backpack in the middle of such a dull room. He really had to take him shopping. Ranboo glanced carefully back at Phil, a silent look of question in his eyes.
Phil realised that the kid probably wanted some privacy. “Oh, um well, I’ll give you time to unpack. I’ll be downstairs if you need anything, and I believe Techno is gonna be home in about.” Phil glanced at his watch, 2pm. “An hour or so,” He said. Ranboo gave a small nodd, but he seemed far off. Phil smiled at him reassuringly and left him be. He heard the sound of Ranboo’s door closing on his way down the stairs.
Phil quite enjoyed sitting in his office, even when he wasn’t working. He sat at his desk, it was his thinking space, his quiet place.
His office was right under Ranboo’s room, so Phil could hear Ranboo shuffling around every now and then, likely unpacking his stuff and settling into the new room.
He had only heard the kid speak once, Phil realised. And that one time had only happened because he had been scared of Phil.
Phil groaned mentally. Had it been this hard with Techno? It had been so long since he got him, five years almost. Techno had been difficult, but more in the sense that he didn’t do what Phil told him to. He had put great effort into showing Phil how much he disliked him, and how little he wanted to be there. Phil suspected it was likely going to be different with Ranboo.
He was pulled from his thoughts when he heard the sound of the front door opening. Had it already been an hour? He must have gotten lost in thought.
Phil stepped out of his office and into the living room. He heard Techno shuffling in the hall, so he went over to greet him. “Hi Techno,” He said, a slight smile pulling at his lips.
Techno, who was in the middle of pulling off his jacket, twisted his head to look at Phil. “Oh, hullo,” He said in his usual monotone voice. He pulled off his jacket and walked into the living room, glancing around. “Is he here?” He asked, a bit more cautiously.
Phil nodded “We got here about an hour ago. He’s in his room, unpacking I think.”
“‘Kay” Short and sweet, that’s Techno for you.
“I told him you’d be home about now,” Phil said. “I don’t know if he’ll come down on his own, but I can go ask… ” Phil trailed off as he followed Techno’s gaze.
On the staircase was Ranboo, he had probably heard Techno come home and decided to go down to meet him. He looked a bit awkward standing there, eyes wide, completely still.
“Ranboo,” Phil said, attempting to make it sound cheery. He didn’t know if he succeeded.
But it wasn’t Phil Ranboo was looking at, it was Techno. He was looking at him with something that was either fear or childlike fascination, Phil hoped it was the latter.
Phil figured it was because of Techno’s hair. He had recently dyed it completely pink, (Without Phil’s permission but that's beside the point.) and along with also having grown his hair out in the past few years, Phil had to admit, he was quite interesting to look at.
Ranboo seemed to realize that he was staring and straightened his back instantly, though that somehow only made him look more awkward.
“Hullo,” Techno said, returning the stare. “I’m Technoblade, you’re Ranboo right?”
Phil was honestly a bit surprised by Techno’s manners. The thought made Phil feel a small pang of guilt. It wasn’t that Techno was rude, he usually just didn’t care enough about other people to be polite.
Ranboo seemed just as surprised. He didn’t answer for about 15 seconds, then opened his mouth and said, barely as loud as a whisper. “Yes.”
Techno didn’t move, nor say anything. Neither did Ranboo. They both just stood there, staring. Phil almost felt like he was intruding something, and suppressed a small urge to back away into his office. Techno was the first to speak.
“Mh,” He grunted, then walked out the living room.
That left Phil standing, slightly startled by the abrupt end to the apparent showdown that had just happened between the two boys. Ranboo stayed put, staring at the living room exit where he’d last seen Techno. Phil was about to apologize for Techno, when suddenly he appeared in the doorway once again.
“Forgot my bag,” He said, when he noticed Phil and Ranboo looking at him.
Goddamnit Techno.
Phil knitted his eyebrows and sent Techno a look, nodding his head slightly in Ranboo’s direction.
Techno clearly got what he was trying to say, because he sighed and turned to Ranboo. “Wanna come with?” He said, not even bothering to hide the annoyance in his voice.
Ranboo looked speechless for a little while, as if he wasn’t sure he was imagining this, then finally answered. “Um… okay?” He didn’t seem very sure of himself, and it sounded like more of a question than anything. Phil couldn’t tell if he said yes because he genuinely wanted to, or because he was just scared of what might happen if he said no. He hoped it wasn’t the latter.
Techno didn’t wait for Ranboo, he seemed to have used up most of his manners for the day. Ranboo hurriedly put on his shoes and scrambled after him.
Phil looked after them, and sighed deeply. He pulled out a chair from the dining table, and sat down putting his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. He wasn’t stupid, he knew this wouldn’t be easy. The kid had only been here for about two hours, and had already looked at the verge of a nervous breakdown more than once. Phil just hoped he would be able to help Ranboo.
He lifted his face from his hand and looked out the window facing the garden. Outside he saw the two boys. Techno was leaning over a patch of soil, digging a small hole in it. His mouth was moving, likely explaining what he was doing to Ranboo, who was standing over him. Techno held out his hand, and Ranboo quickly handed him a packet of seeds that Phil assumed to be carrots. Techno watered the hole and then placed a few seeds in it and covered it up again. He looked up at Ranboo, who had been observing everything Techno had done carefully. Techno seemed to have ordered Ranboo to try to do it himself, because he crouched down and began digging a small hole beside the one Techno had made.
Phil was surprised at how… normal the situation seemed. He supposed it was, ‘Two boys gardening together for fun’ That didn’t sound that unusual. Sure, they both looked a bit awkward. Still, from an onlookers point of view, they were just kids.
Phil smiled slightly.
Just kids.
Techno and Ranboo had been in the garden for at least two hours, and they were still going at it. Techno was watering his potatoes, and Ranboo was still working on the carrots. He had expanded to a bigger area now, and had a look of extreme concentration on his face, the same one that Techno wore. Phil had no idea where they got the patience from. Especially Ranboo, most ten year olds Phil had met had possessed what felt like an endless supply of energy and ran around, jumping up and down while talking too loudly. Phil could tell Ranboo wasn’t like that. He was mostly worried whether that was genuinely the kid’s personality, or if he just never really learned how to properly be a kid.
Phil had a sneaking suspicion which one it was.
He had checked the fridge for any food he could fix up to eat for dinner. But, as it turned out, Phil had forgotten to buy groceries. The exact day when he needed to have everything in order, he had forgotten such a basic thing as buying groceries, great .
It wasn’t like Phil didn’t have time to take a quick run to the nearest store, but if he had to be completely honest, he really just wasn’t in the mood for cooking. So, he ended up deciding to just get some takeaway.
Techno and him usually got pizza from a restaurant down the street, and he figured that would be alright.
All kids like pizza right?
Phil sat down at his laptop, going to the website to order. He had to get the boys’ orders, so he got up, opened the window facing the garden, and poked his head out.
Ranboo was still going at it with the carrots, his hands were completely covered in dirt. Techno seemed to be done with the potatoes, and was observing him while sitting on the bench under the red maple tree in the far end of the yard.
“You boys want pizza?”
Ranboo flinched as the sound of Phil’s voice broke the silence. He looked like he had been abruptly awoken from some sort of trance, and Phil immediately felt a pang of guilt for interrupting his moment of concentration.
Ranboo and Techno both looked up and faced him. Ranboo looked a bit confused, but Techno just nodded. He turned to the other boy in silent question. Ranboo still didn’t seem to understand, he just stood there.
“Ranboo?” Phil asked. “Do you want pizza?”
Ranboo blinked at Phil for a bit, then looked at Techno. Techno raised an eyebrow slightly, but then gave a quick nod.
Did he just look to Techno for approval?
Phi dismissed the thought, he’d think about that later.
Ranboo faced Phil again, and nodded. “Okay.”
Phil smiled. “Alright. Techno, the usual?”
“Yup,” Said Techno.
Phil faced Ranboo. “D’you have any preferred toppings?”
“No it’s-” He cut himself off. He hesitated for a bit, then spoke again. “I like pineapple pizza.” His voice was quiet, and he kept glancing at Phil, probably waiting for some sort of reaction. He once again didn’t look very sure of himself, but Phil couldn’t help but feel a bit relieved though. He had voiced his opinion, letting Phil know something about himself. That was a win in his book. Maybe this would be less difficult than he had initially thought.
(Phil couldn’t exactly say he agreed on the whole pineapple on pizza thing, but he could let it slide)
He ordered, and sat down to wait.
The pizza arrived, and Phil poked his head out of the window once again, telling the boys to wash their hands before they sat down to eat.
The silence at the table was slightly awkward. Phil tried to make small talk with Ranboo, but he answered everything in short, one sentence replies at most. Techno was a lost cause when it came to small talk, so Phil didn’t attempt it.
Ranboo had looked absolutely mesmerized when Phil had placed the pizza in front of him. Even more so when he was informed that it was all his. He was a bit hesitant to actually eat it at first, but when Phil and Techno began to dig in, he followed eagerly.
Ranboo looked less tense now. At least he didn’t constantly look at them like they were going to rip his head off any more. Maybe the time he’d spent with Techno gardening had helped reassure him a bit.
Both boys retreated to their room after helping with the clean up, and Phil sat down to watch tv for a while.
Phil got up from the sofa, stretching a bit before walking to the kitchen. He made himself a cup of coffee, and walked back out again.
He glanced at the stairs. He couldn’t hear any sound coming from the boys’ rooms. Not like that was out of the ordinary, Techno would usually be reading about now. He didn’t know about Ranboo though.
Phil walked upstairs. Techno’s room remained quiet as he walked closer to the door, and he decided not to disturb his reading. He hesitantly walked up to Ranboo’s door. Phil knew it probably wasn’t the morally best thing to eavesdrop at someone's door, but he was just making sure Ranboo was okay. That was fair, right?
As he got closer, he heard a dim noise, it sounded almost like scribbling. A pen against paper. Was he writing something? Maybe he’d brought some supplies with him in his backpack. Phil smiled slightly, that was a nice thought.
With that, Phil headed back downstairs. He watched some more tv and tidied the living room a bit before going to sleep himself.