Chapter Text
The screaming that Philza heard coming from the ‘abandoned’ house was definitely a tad bit worrying… He was sure that this place had been 100% left to rot, judging by how almost everything was smashed to the ground.
The screaming persisted, and the man could tell by the tone that this wasn’t some dangerous adult. No, this sounded a lot younger. A child?
As the anxious man walked through the hallways. Stumbling slightly at the hidden cracks in the floorboards, he approached the room that he thought the noise was coming from.
It looked like an old run-down cleaning room. A washing machine and dryer side by side. Tons of washing baskets at the side, there were multiple. Giving Phil a hint that this may have been a home that once housed many people, a little like his home.
He was confused as to where the sound was coming from, as there weren't many hiding spots in a room like this. Until he saw the shifting, coming from one of the dirty clothing baskets.
The man was quick to pull back the sheets, what was once probably a lovely white, not a dull-filthy gray. Underneath, however… Was something that made him flinch back.
He hadn’t gotten a good look at first, so he was horrified that he uncovered some kind of animal. Until the cries clued him in on the fact that, whatever it was… Was probably too in fear to hurt him back.
Gathering up a small amount of courage, he peered over the tiny basket to get a better look, shielding his face with his hands in case it went to attack.
He very quickly put his arms down when he realized that the ‘animal’ thing was actually… A baby.
A very newly-born baby.
The thing couldn’t be older than a couple of months .
Phil wasn’t heartless, the man bent over to pick the tiny thing up. Fretting at the situation of it all.
He’d come to explore a house which was supposedly void for months, to hear a child… No, a baby scream.
Babies need constant feeding to live, and this kid certainly didn’t look like he had just been dropped off here, so he could only ponder and worry about how truly long that this little bundle of life had been trapped there.
He wasn’t leaving the kid here, he had no clue what he’d do with the kid… But no, he wouldn’t let them die here.
Thoughts rushed through his mind as he began to explore the rest of the house, silently hushing the baby as its cries began to still.
Who would leave a baby here?
Were they coming back?
Was this some poor-families living decision?
Were they just trying to raise a kid as best as they could?
Glancing back down at the baby’s messy clothing, he decided to re-think that last thought. Unwealthy or not, the state this kid was in… Even when Phil had nothing, he could still do a better job than whoever did this.
One of the rooms was a sky-blue painted room. It looked pretty old and very untouched. Judging by how disgustingly gray the top of everything looked. Philza had thought it was just a shitty paint job, but on closer inspection it was dust…
The corner of the room had something wooden smashed to the ground. It appeared to be a hand-made crib. It looked like it had been thrown together with no real skill… Not worrying at all…
There were a few photos scattered around, they looked somewhat recent. He began to notice the ripped pieces on the ground. A black-and-white image of lines?
As he picked a few of the pieces up, he realized what the photo was depicting.
It was an ultrasound photograph…
The other pictures began to clue him into more pieces of this strange baby's life. Phil had to use his free hand to wipe the photos, which glass had just been destroyed with dust.
Phil pulled a grossed-out face at the gray mark it left on his kimono.
It was a picture of the baby, he could immediately tell that it was taken in a Hospital if the many tubes were anything to clue him in.
The others showed a similar scene, with many wires and feeding tubes surrounding the baby.
So was this a sickly kid, or? It gave some reasoning as to why the kid might’ve been ditched. Maybe whoever the parents were couldn’t stand the thought of losing a kid, so much that they left them before they could see it happen…
Phil’s eyes locked onto something on the bed. It was a very clean and new-looking stuffed cow. Bright red, mixed with a lovely pure white. The thing appeared to be hand-knitted. And so did the blanket sitting next to it.
The corner of the red and white blanket had a hand-stitched engraving.
Tommy.
Tommy? That was a nice name. Phil carefully picked the two bright things up, trying not to get any dust from his fingers onto it as he handed it to the infant, who latched onto the cow with its tiny fingers immediately, pushing his face up to it.
Philza continued to check each and every last room in the house, just to be sure that there were no other babies hidden somewhere amongst the quiet place.
The man had found a large duffel bag, not much important in it. So Phil poured it out, he could use it to put whatever the thought would be useful inside. He knew one thing for sure.
Tonight, he was going to return with a child.
Phil had no clue if this kid's parents were anything friendly, but he thought that he should take anything that the kid would want when he was older. This stuff he was touching would probably be very sentimental to him.
Him.
That’s what Phil assumed the child was, judging by the very… ‘Boy-ish’ choice for the room. Meaning the cars, the dinosaurs… Phil never was too much of a fan of this stuff himself, but his parents had done the same thing for his room.
So safe to say, he was pretty sure the child was a boy.
The boy in question began to whine and fidget a little bit. Which clued the man in on the fact that the infant was probably hungry. Philza walked off to the kitchen area and began to re-think.
Would baby food from here even be safe? The place looked so… Germ-ridden.
He still looked around, looking through drawers and cabinets.
He did find baby food… But the lid was opened, and he was pretty sure he saw black stuff moving inside. So that was a no from him. He could pick some up from the village, that place was always awake for business, be it from the crack of dawn to four in the morning.
The many empty bottles he had found around the apartment made him think that he was missing out on a big part of this story.
Phil did find a birth certificate. It was bent and very clearly not treated well. It told him the same name, ‘Tommy’ and actually confirmed on it that the kid was a boy. Good, at least he wouldn’t misgender him now.
Philza slid it into the duffel bag. He now had the baby’s date of birth, so that would be helpful if he decided to alert anyone. Orphanages, authorities… Whoever he went to.
(Philza already knew that he wouldn’t be taking this child to the foster system.)
-
To be expected, his 8-year-old twin boys… Very rightfully screamed when they saw the man burst in, holding something very small and loud.
He very quickly tried to calm them, saying that it was alright, and the ‘thing’ was just a baby.
That was when a thousand questions began, asking where he found a baby. Why did he still have the baby with him. Why was he holding a big bag… All the questions that pretty much anyone would ask in this situation.
He tried to answer as many of the questions as he could as he placed one of the white carrier bags on the kitchen counter.
Ah yes, he had stopped at the 24-hour marketplace on his way back. He had gotten a few scared and worried looks. Many judging ones too.
It was to be expected, going into a store when it was now dark , holding a screaming-filth-covered baby.
Phil pulled a few of the things he had bought out of the bag, he’d just bought the essentials that he remembered owning from when Techno and Wilbur were first rescued as babies.
He was, however… Holding the fussing infant with one arm, which was going to very clearly be an issue when it came to feeding him.
So he attempted to ask his un-experienced sons if they could hold the baby for a moment.
He hadn’t expected them to both turn him down, he shot them a quick disappointed look as he watched them step back. Apparently, they were much keener on observing the man do this all by himself, rather than helping…
Phil sighed and quickly turned to them. “Alright, could you boys get the car-booster seat? It’s in the upstairs storage cabinet. It’s black, It’s like the one that Schlatt’s son Tubbo has, yeah?”
They didn’t seem keen on helping but nodded. Seeming to have turned the request into a race as they both bolted up the stairs.
Phil knew that realistically, he had high chairs and other baby equipment. But a car seat chair would do for now.
Tommy had been fussing the entire walk back, which Phil couldn’t soothe no matter how hard he had been trying. All he hoped was that the child liked formula milk…
Soon enough, Wilbur and Techno appeared with the dust-covered baby seat. It hadn’t been used in eight whole years so he hadn’t expected it to look crystal-clean. But it’d do.
His sons went back to intensely staring and watching every move the baby made.
Phil knew his sons, which unfortunately meant he could tell that they didn’t like him… Not one bit…
Hopefully, Phil could change that…
One steaming hot baby bottle later, and the infant was content. No longer screaming with every little baby breath he had.
Phil exhaustedly flopped onto the couch, the handle of the baby carrier still in his grasp. He was sure to keep watch of the little thing. He didn’t even know what was wrong with him.
Maybe he was premature? That would make a bit of sense. Kinda.
The kid had been acting fine though, so he would worry about it later on. What he would worry about now though, were the eyes he could feel burning into his skull.
He turned around, catching them mid-grimace towards the baby. As he motioned them to sit.
His sons did as they were told, not too keen on addressing the thing on their living room floor.
“Do you boys have any questions…?” He knew that they did, and he braced himself slightly, he knew that what he was about to hear would probably not be the kindest towards the baby.
“When are we taking them to the orphanage?” Wilbur started.
Phil did a double glance, thinking he’d misheard. “I mean, I wasn’t planning on doing that right away-”
“We’re not keeping it, are we…?” Techno grimaced. He didn’t like this thing, and he certainly didn’t like that Phil even thought of keeping it…
“Techno, It’s not it. He’s a baby and his name is Tommy.”
“Tommy’s an ugly name…” Wilbur cut in.
This wasn’t going as well as he had hoped.
“Boys, I found him all alone. Buried under filthy clothes, I couldn’t leave him there to die.” He mentally scolded himself for using the ‘die’ word. But it was kind of truthful. The baby was small, and very well would have died if it weren't for the man.
Wilbur and Techno appeared to look a little sympathetic at that, not much. But still a little bit.
As the baby had finished the bottle that Phil had provided for him, the man bent over and picked the filthy infant up. He made sure that whatever he did next, it was getting this kid into some clean clothes.
Techno and Wilbur didn’t like this new baby. They didn’t like how Phil hadn’t left it alone once. Or how loud and… Wiggly it was. They weren’t a fan of the way their dad smiled at it so much.
Dare they even admit, they were a bit… Jealous of the new thing.
Yet they still proceed to follow Phil around, like moths to a lamp as they watch his every move.
That was until the man began to change the clothes of the infant, they did not wanna see any of that grossness, dramatically covering their eyes as if they had been blinded. Phil could only lightly chuckle, trying to hide his concern.
He had changed the baby, new clothes, new diapers… New everything, but he didn’t miss the cuts on the baby's stomach. The small injury looked far too big on the baby's body, and looked far too fresh…
His sons had clearly noticed the way they were no longer being dramatic, they acted as if they hadn’t seen it.
Techno and Wilbur couldn’t help but feel a little guilty.
So they had actually agreed when Philza asked if they could retrieve the medkit from the bathroom medicine cabinet.
The clothes had been changed and the injury had been decently taken care of, all that was needed now was a gentle amount of water through the baby's golden curls. Something that the baby was not happy about.
Which was why the infant proceeded to screech the way babies do, letting out high-pitched noises that the twins didn’t even know was possible.
“Can you make it shut up?!” Techno groaned, forcefully covering his ears.
Phil pointedly ignored him as he frowned at the thick amount of dirt coming from the boy's hair. It was so dusty and filth-ridden. That anyone glancing by quickly would’ve thought it was brown .
The baby had continued screeching through the entirety of his hair being drenched, with his sons repetitively yelling at the baby to shut up.
Phil, as patient as the man was… Finally told them to head to their rooms, or at least out of the way. He was a little bit pissed.
The boy was just a baby! A baby who was left to die, and his sons were being selfish about it…
As Tommy let out a particularly loud shriek as the last bit of lukewarm water hit his hair, Phil heard the sound of something smashing in the hallway where his boys were… Of course. He didn’t know what his boys broke, but he’d deal with it later.
The following noise of feet stomping and doors slamming let him know that the boys had noticed the object smash.
Phil picked the baby up, cradling him in his arms as he heads to the same storage cabinet where he asked the boys to fetch the baby seat from.
The storage cabinet door was still wide open, unsurprisingly not being closed from earlier use. They didn’t use the room much, as well as the other empty room opposite.
But maybe… They’d begin too soon.
The man quickly spots what he’s looking for, a well-crafted baby crib. Much better looking than the smashed one on the ground. It was the kind that rocked too, which was a bonus. He used to have two, but decided to help his good friend Schlatt out, not expecting to ever need this stuff again.
Phil knew that it was typically advised to put the crib in the kid's own room. But he knew that was for babies 6 months or older. And… Phil hadn’t checked the birth certificate date. That’s why he played it safe with the baby formula and not baby food.
The man peered over it, baby Tommy in his arms. He had a wave of nostalgia hit him, remembering what it was like when Techno and Wilbur could still fit in it. He blew on the wooden crib, getting some of the dust off that had gathered with time.
All of the dust in the air had caused the baby to let out a tiny sneeze, one that made Phil out-loudly ‘Awe’ at, coddling the child closer. He heard another crash from in the hallway and assumed that was one of his twin’s doings...
Phil was a strong man, as he was able to pick the wooden crib with one arm, being able to angle it correctly through the door frame without it bashing either side.
He attempted to get out into the hallway and was very quickly stopped by the sound of loud squabbling from his children. He was really unsure of what they were fighting about, but it wasn’t pretty.
He was 90% sure it was to do with whatever had fallen.
“Boys, can you please quit fighting for two minutes? Especially when I’m trying to do something important here.” Phil groans, not liking the pattern he noticed going on.
“Well, Techno started it!”
“No?! You’re blaming me for something you did yourself!” Phil was very confused as he watched his twin boys squabble.
He’d ask while he tried to move the cot.
His boys were keen on trying to force out their side of the story but managed to finally get it out of them. Some sentimental belongings of Wilbur and Techno’s had fallen at the same time, and they were both 100% that their twin had done it on purpose.
Phil did not want to deal with the squabbling of children right now, what he wanted to deal with was making sure that this poor infant was comfortable.
Phil had not-so-kindly snapped at them, telling them to quit all of this bickering and fighting. He knew baby Tommy was the reason they were acting like this, which didn’t make the man any happier that his 8-year-old sons were so upset about it.
Snapping at the boys seemed to get two-very mixed reactions. The baby whined a little at the intense change of voice range. Techno had slammed his door again, extra hard. And Wilbur had left silently. Not willing to talk to his father or brother.
The new baby seemed to intensely like the new crib. Putting his baby arms in the air when Philza began to rock it.
God, Phil missed this. The whole thing of being able to care for newborns. He knew that they were noisy, tiring… And needed a lot of care, but he was willing to put up with that.
As he lay on his bed, now ready for sleep… He couldn’t help but think as a thousand thoughts raced through his mind.
What was he going to do about the baby?
He knew that a new kid in the family was usually something you talk to your children about, but even Phil didn’t know that he would’ve returned from the abandoned household with a living being…
His sons were cranky and fighting a lot, he could tell that they were mad and upset at him. Phil understood that, he really did. He knew they were just children, so of course, they wouldn’t be the most mature about this.
But this was just a baby.
A baby who was left in a house that nobody was expected to ever go inside, left in a room where nobody would’ve checked. With nothing besides the dirty-baby clothes, the small thing was wearing.
He knew, whether he admitted it or not. If he’d even been a few hours later to explore this home. If he had decided to search the next day as he had originally planned.
This infant could’ve very well been dead.
This baby was saved by him.
This life was heard and spared by Phil.
It was then when Philza had realized this was a decision for him to make. He wanted to do what was best for the child.
He had a completely unused bedroom, they had the room to bring up another little boy. Phil had decided on his own to adopt Techno and Wilbur, so why was this child any different?
This was a decision for him. Not for his Twins.