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Tommy and Tubbo had hit it off.
Leaning back against the park bench, one arm thrown over the back, Phil watched with a soft smile as his adopted son and Schlatt’s biological one ran around the playground. Four years old already. He still remembered Schlatt passing out that New Year’s night. Tubbo was much healthier, so was Schlatt. They hadn’t seen Miss Newborn-Thrower since that night. Personally, if Phil never saw her again, it would be too soon.
Beside him, Schlatt was sitting so close they were partly pressed together. Instead of leaning back, though, the young man was pushed forwards, elbows resting on his knees and hands clasped together in front of him as he watched the kids with a worried expression plastered on his face. This was meant to be a nice outing for the four of them as Kristin got the other two of Phil and her adopted kids, Techno and Wilbur, some new clothes before school began.
It was a good thing that Tommy and Tubbo got along, considering that the two families lived together. They had a large house, it was cheaper, and they had registered that they both lived there legally. It did help that Phil’s mom worked in the legal center in town and was willing to threaten local politicians to help anyone she wanted. And usually, said politicians listened.
As the pair watched, Tubbo tripped while sprinting after Tommy and went skidding across the grass and wood chips. On his face. Instantly, Schlatt’s eyes widened and he started to get up. “No, nope.” Reaching over, Phil pulled him back down. Tubbo sat up. Scrubbed at his face, wrinkled his nose. Then, he and Tommy glanced over. “Don’t look worried.” Phil sent a thumbs-up, Tommy returned it. Then, Tubbo shook his head, ran his tiny hands over his face again, and then got right back up. “He’s not hurt.”
“How do you know?”
“If he’s hurt then we’ll probably end up figuring it out within a few minutes. I think he was a bit more embarrassed if anything.” Phil replied. When Schlatt stared at him, Phil explained, “Kids are tougher than you think. Especially Tubbo.”
At some point, another kid came over. Tommy and Tubbo did welcome them in. Still, Schlatt was watching with a pensive, worried expression the whole time. And Phil glanced to the side at the right time. Because he had the chance to give Schlatt a slight warning.
In the time since he had adopted his kids and married Kristin, Phil had interacted with several Karens. Whether it was in the grocery store, at the very playground in the park they were currently at, or just somewhere else like a restaurant or even a walk on the street, he had started to be able to sense their entitlement from a distance at a glance. And hoo boy, did this Karen have entitlement coming off of her in waves. She had the classic blond bob haircut, the tortoiseshell sunglasses, the dress that looked like she was trying to mimic Nancy Landgraab from the Sims 4. White and the bright orange, atrocious pencil skirt. And the heels. Of course she had open-toed heels. Of course she did.
“Schlatt.” Reaching over, Phil gently touched Schlatt’s knee. “Let me handle this.” When the Karen walked up, Phil smiled and said, “Hello.”
“You’re not supposed to be here when there are children present!” Karen scolded. Wagging a finger at them both, she kept on chattering away. “You perverts. Get out of here!” She tried to shove at Schlatt. Immediately, Phil gently grabbed onto Schlatt. The Karen yanked her hands back, screeched, “Don’t touch me!”
“I didn’t touch you.” Tommy and Tubbo both looked up. In an instant, Tommy’s face switched from happy to panicked, and he pressed himself back into the slide. Oh, no. Looking over, Phil met her gaze coldly and said, “Ma’am, you’re scaring my son. Please keep your voice down.”
“Who? Who’s your son ?” She sneered. When Phil scoffed, he looked over at Tommy and Tubbo. Then, Schlatt got up, hurried over to the kids. There, he crouched down to speak to Tubbo. “Don’t you dare approach them! Someone help! Call 911! He’s going to kidnap them!”
Running a hand over his face, Phil sighed and then got up himself. “Whatever.” He walked over to Tommy and gently scooped him up, held him close. “Hey, Toms. It’s alright. Let’s go home, okay? We can get some ice cream or something.” There was a nod into his neck. Holding Tommy closer, he watched as Schlatt carefully picked up Tubbo.
“What, are you both their dads?” The Karen sneered. And there’s the homophobia. How lovely. Rolling his eyes, Phil stroked Tommy’s hair back. “Neither of you can do a good enough job! They need an actual mother! You could never!” Schlatt’s mouth pulled back into a thin line as they walked away. The Karen kept shouting after them, stuff about how children needed mothers and how they would never be able to be good enough.
Swallowing, Schlatt ducked his head slightly. They got to the car, carefully put Tubbo and Tommy in their car seats. Then, Schlatt dropped down in the passenger seat, Phil hopped into the driver’s seat. Then, they started driving. Stopped by McDonald’s to pick the kids up Happy Meals and water and shakes. Schlatt helped them with setting up their food, then settled in his seat again. He was…oddly quiet. Normally, he would joke about picking up just a coffee instead of getting the kids something to eat. But he wasn’t.
Something was wrong.
Once they got back to the house, Phil got the kids out himself. Told Schlatt to stay in the car. Then, he got the kids inside, told Techno and Wilbur to tell Kristin that he and Schlatt would be out for a bit, and returned to the car. There, he sat down next in the driver’s seat. Looked over at Schlatt.
“Do you want to talk or do you want to drive in quiet instead?” He asked softly. Swallowing, fingers digging into the side of the armrests, Schlatt stared ahead through the windshield.
“Just drive. Please.” The words came out in a choked tone. Nodding, Phil turned back to the road. For a long while, they just kept driving. No words, no music. Just the tires rattling against the road and the car shaking every so often. The clouds shifted from a pale pinky-orange against a pale rose sky to a deeper sort of lilac blue tone. The sky deepened to a deeper blue-grey, the stars beginning to come out. Taking a breath, Phil shifted his fingers on the wheel. Then, eventually, Schlatt spoke.
“She’s right. I don’t—I can’t—“ Sniffing, Schlatt turned to stare out the window. Glancing over at him, Phil turned down one of the side roads towards one of their favorite places to get food. They’d been driving for hours, so they would need to gas up soon. Because Phil was awful at keeping the tank filled and also drives like this weren’t uncommon. “I can’t, I should, she was right. I can’t—I’m going to break him, Phil. I’m going to do something wrong.” Clinging onto his hair, Schlatt shook his head. Looked over at Phil with a pained expression. “I’m going to break him, Phil. He’s still so small. ”
“You won’t, Schlatt. You would never hurt him on purpose.” Reaching over, Phil touched his arm. Then, he drove into the drive-thru of the Five Guys. “Normal order?” There was a nod. They didn’t start talking until after they had ordered. “Schlatt. Schlatt. She’s wrong. You’ve done perfectly well with Tubbo so far.”
“But what if that stops? What if I turn out—what if I turn out to be a horrible dad?” Schlatt asked, meeting his gaze. His eyes widened slightly before Phil could even reply. “What if it turns out I was the worse fate? Than his mother?”
“She was never his mother.” Phil pointed out. Swallowing, Schlatt took a breath and looked away again. “Schlatt. She abandoned him. She literally threw him at you. Maybe she was the one who gave birth to him, but she’s not his mother. I don’t think Tubbo even thinks there’s anything different about his family, either. Even if he does, he certainly doesn’t care. He loves you. That’s what matters. Right?”
“I’m going to break him, Phil. I’m going to do something wrong. This is my—I never should have started dating her.” Taking a breath, pinching the bridge of his nose, Schlatt said, “I love Tubbo, don’t get me wrong. But it would be better for him if someone else was his dad.”
“So what are you going to do?” Phil asked. Leaning against the door, Schlatt pulled his legs to his chest. He looked both a whole lot older and a whole lot younger than just twenty-two. It hurt. It physically hurt. “Are you just going to leave him with someone? Are you going to give him up?”
“What? No, no I would—“ Crossing his arms, Schlatt sniffed again. “I wouldn’t. I can’t. I just…”
“You want what’s best for him.” There was a pause. Then, Phil added, “Schlatt, you’re what’s best for him.” Both of them went quiet. Taking a breath, Phil quietly suggested, “Why don’t we go to back home. Alright?” Schlatt nodded, sniffed again.
Phil started driving.
When they got back home, it was after dark. Phil and Schlatt walked up to the house quietly. As soon as they opened the door, though, there was a flash of blond and brunet hair and red-white and green clothes and then Tommy was basically jumping into Phil’s arms and Tubbo was holding onto Schlatt’s legs. Glancing over, he watched Schlatt for a second. First, there was a bit of shock like always. Then, his gaze softened, and he scooped Tubbo up and glanced over at Phil.
Phil smiled right back, of course.