Chapter Text
Back when he was a child, Phil Watson, or also known as Philza Minecraft, was very bright. He did a lot of things and had a lot of hobbies. But his most favorite one was learning about planes. He loved planes with all his heart, and he one day wanted to be to first man to fly with wings. Wings that worked and he didn’t need to use a plane to sky dive.
He wanted to fly. He wanted to feel the harsh wind touching his cheeks as he flew higher into the atmosphere. He wanted to feel the air get thinner and he would start to feel a little light-headed, but he would fly back down to where the trees were, and he could smell the strong scent of pinecones and grass.
He wanted to be free.
He didn’t like to be stuck on the ground. Though he’s been on a plane as a child because he was visiting his great-grandparents and they lived across the continent, he just didn’t feel free. He was stuck in a room, a compartment, and if he were to be sucked out of the window, he would die. Why? Well, I think it’s because he didn’t have a parachute to glide down.
But never mind that! He wasn’t free enough. He didn’t feel free enough. Not until he got his first set of wings.
He was twelve when he was gifted wings. Personally made wings. The only wings that were created in the whole entire universe now belonged to him. And he was happy. But… it didn’t go out great. He failed to fly multiple times.
Soon enough, 5 months after his twelfth birthday, when he got his wings, he found out that the wings were fake. They were props that everyone uses in plays. He was furious when he found out. He cried and ranted. His parents were not happy with that, so they grounded him.
I know, why would a child’s parents ground them for getting mad about realizing that their “wings” were actually fake?
I don’t know. Ask Philza’s parents. Don’t ask me!
But, as Philza got older, his dreams of flying were fading away, slowly but surely. Even as he saw a video of a man’s attempt at flying that failed, he didn’t have the urge to go back into being the first person to fly without using a plane.
⋆∞⋆
Now an adult, Phil Watson has lost the reason to ever love again. He lost the love of his life in a plane accident, making him look back at his memories of a child. Maybe it was fate for him to lose faith in being the first man to be flying up in the air. Maybe his dreams were meant to die, because in the future, his most favorite person would die from something similar to it.
It’s been 3 years since his wife’s accident, and he forgot all about being a human being. He seemed to lose hope that something good would happen. He’s living though. He lives a normal life, he has enough money to go to the movies every now and then, but he doesn't. He stopped looking for a better job. He stopped trying so hard to get tips from being a waiter, and just decided to work at the local 7/11 in his town. He lives by a routine, but that routine breaks.
It breaks when he finds a piece of paper, no, a poster on a window of an antique store that’s been in the same state as him for decades.
Looking for a child to adopt? Well, this is the perfect place! Alyssa’s Antique Store is coming to a close, and Niki’s Opportunity Orphanage is arriving in town!
Call (111)-111-111 if you have any questions about Niki’s Opportunity Orphanage!
Call (222)-222-222 if you have any questions about Alyssa’s Antique Store!
Once Philza read the poster, he wondered… he and Kristen wanted to have children. Maybe this is a calling for him. Maybe he should adopt a child. For Kristen. He heard a voice in his head say, ‘Go… adopt a child… Kristen wants you to…” So, Philza took his phone out and called the first number.
Dialing…
“Hello, this is Niki, from Niki’s Opportunity Orphanage, how many I help you?”
“H- hello?”
“Hello, how may I be of service to you?”
“I… I saw your poster at Alyssa’s Antique Store, am I correct?”
“Yes, you sure are! I am Niki, founder, and CEO of Niki’s Opportunity Orphanage. Do you have any questions to ask me?”
“Yes, I do actually,” Philza said, hearing children screaming. He heard background voices telling them to be softer, but he heard footsteps. Maybe Niki was moving to a different room?
“Well, shoot them all at me!” Niki said, she obviously had a smile on her face. She had opened a door and closed it. She definitely went into a different room as it was a lot quieter.
“So… when do you open?”
“Well, the business is opening next week Saturday, as Alyssa is going to move her store to a different city because she is moving. However, I have a lot of kids, around 20-30 kids to bring there, which will be accompanied by my fellow team members.”
“Okay, what is the age range?”
“We have children as young as five to teenagers up to 18 years old. All of them have gone through many different things and some do have disabilities, and some have trauma, and some have gone through a happy life, we have kids that came from different countries, so yeah. We try our best to make these kids feel at home, and we do not tolerate bullying or anything bad.”
“Okay, that’s good.”
“Yes, we also make sure to remind them that they are all equal as some have gone through stages in their lives where they have thought of things that should not be placed in a child’s mind.”
“Oh… I see. Could we meet somewhere? To talk about the children more, perhaps? I am very interested in adopting one, as I myself have had friends that were orphans and they have gone through many things. I really want to provide a child the same opportunity.”
“Wow, well, that’s amazing! I can try to fit you in my schedule,” Niki said as Philza heard the flipping of pages before she started talking again, “Do you think you can fit through the hours of 2:00-4:00 P.M. tomorrow? I will try to bring all of the children’s records that I am allowed to show you on that day.”
“That’s a perfect timing, but where would you like to meet?” Philza asked.
“We can meet at the local coffee shop where my business will open, maybe? I live there, so perhaps that’s a good place to talk?”
“Are you talking about The General’s Coffee?” Philza asked.
“Yup! So, are you free tomorrow from 2:00-4:00?”
“Yeah, I should be. My shift doesn’t start then.”
“Alright! I’ll talk to you about the prices, which are low, since we don’t believe that we should buy children. The child actually chooses how much their soon-to-be parents would pay, which is never that much. We let them see you pay the money, but you always get the money back.”
“Okay, well, that’s nice. I’ll see you tomorrow, then?”
“Yup! See you tomorrow…”
“Phil Watson, but just call Philza if you'd like.”
“Alrighty, Mr. Philza Watson. See you tomorrow, and I wish you to have a day full of beautiful opportunities!”
“You as well.”
Call ended…
Philza sighed and smiled ever so slightly. He was going to adopt a child. He smiled that he wouldn’t need to pay for the child. He smiled that he was doing that Kristen wanted him to do. He smiled because he couldn’t wait to find a child that would be perfect for hi- no. A child that Kristen would love. All of this is for Kristen, so why not get a child that Kristen would want?
⋆∞⋆
Phil waits at a table in The General’s Coffee, looking for a woman. No, not a random woman, the woman that he talked to on the phone yesterday. He checks his watch, he tried his hardest to look good for the part, so he dressed in his finest clothes. It was 2:06 P.M. and Philza was starting to sweat. He cracked his knuckles, he was worried that he came here for nothing, and Niki meant next week tomorrow, but he knew that she would be lying. And she didn’t look like a person that lies. Well, she didn’t sound like it at least.
After four more minutes, he heard a familiar voice. Niki. Okay, so Niki was here. He saw a fairly tall woman with a briefcase in one of her hands and a book in the other. Philza thought that this must be her, so he went up to her and asked a question.
“Are you Niki from-” But he was cut off.
“I am! Oh, I’m so sorry for cutting you off!” Niki said with a frazzled face.
“No, it’s fine. Let’s just go sit and we can start talking about the children,” Philza went over to where he was previously sitting, and Niki sat across him.
“Okay, so, where do you want to start, Philza?”
“Well, I want to see all of the children’s papers. Like, their ages, names, faces. I want to know everything about them.”
“Alright!” Niki took out her briefcase and she took out a folder filled with papers. Each section had pages upon pages of information about the kids.
“That’s a lot of information you have there…”
“Yeah, but if you compare it to a child that actually has parents, it’s not that much. But! Which age do you want to start with?”
“Maybe seven?”
“Okay, so we have three kids, at the age of seven as of right now.”
“Who are they?” Philza asked as Niki took three stacks of paper out.
“Thomas Simmons, we all call him Tommy, Toby Smith, he prefers Tubbo, and Ranboo. We were never told what his real name was. As the ages get younger, the fewer last names there are. However, some kids are allowed to have their own last name if they don’t know their last name. They can also choose their own first name as well.”
“Okay, can I look into Tommy right now?”
“Sure!” Niki gave Philza Tommy’s information and Philza looked through it all carefully.
“So, Tommy is deaf?”
“Yeah, but he's a really cute kid, he’s really energetic and fun to be around with. He knows how to read and write, so if you don’t know sign language, you can communicate through writing.”
“Well, I’m in luck, I know sign language.”
“That’s great! However, you need to be a tad careful with Tommy. He’s gone through eight foster homes in the past 3 years and some of them have left him scarred. You need to be sure that you don’t say anything that would hurt him. But he’s a cute child, though. If you need some light in your life, he’ll do that for you.”
“Okay… what about Tubbo?”
Niki let Philza hold onto Tommy’s papers, and she gave Philza Tubbo’s papers.
“So, Tubbo here, he’s also a very energetic child, but not as much as Tommy. He’s very obedient, much like Tommy, but a little bit more. He does have dyslexia, but he and Tommy are great friends. Best friends, actually.”
“So, Tubbo can’t read?”
“He can read, but some of the letters get a bit mixed up. He’s not really open about his dyslexia, but his friends do know about it. And the team members. We also told the kids to not talk about disabilities unless the person that has it is fine with discussing about it.”
“Okay, is there anything that I should look out when around Tubbo?”
“Well, Tubbo is a bee lover! He loves animals and flowers, he’s very enthusiastic about trampolines. He actually used to be a gymnast, but someone is actually going to adopt him, so I’m not sure if you can get ahold of him.”
“How about Ranboo?”
“We don’t have much information about him, but he has gone through three foster homes in the last 7 years.”
“Wow. That is not a lot.”
“Yes, it’s because he wears sunglasses, and he always wears a mask. He’s always running to the bathroom whenever we eat. He’s definitely not the social butterfly of the group, but we have tried to get some stuff out of him. He’s never told us his name. He never really speaks to us. He speaks to himself, and he has a plushie that he talks to a lot. He has a very charming voice though. However, he’s a real loner to be honest. That’s why no one really wants to adopt him, but he once told me that he actually doesn’t want to be adopted as he loves it at the orphanage.”
“That’s a lot to remember.”
“Yeah, but I mean, that’s just what it is. You get a lot of information about some kids, while for others, you literally get nothing. That’s what really made me interested in orphanages. I also bake, so I bake for the children a lot and it makes me really happy seeing them smile. That’s what keeps me going on. Seeing kids smile.”
“Hm… at least you have something that’s keeping you going on. I’m just barely staying on shore. Sometimes, I feel like I’m on the brink of losing touch and I’m suddenly being sucked into the dark, deep ocean.”
“I’ve been in that mindset before. When I lost someone that was so special to me, I had forgotten about how to be happy. That was until I found my passion. Children.”
“I really wish to find my passion, but every time I think I’ve found it, it’s just not it.”
“I hope that you find your passion within one of these kids. Some of these kids here have got so much in them, I truly know that they’re going to go far,” Niki said with a smile plastered onto her face.
“Yeah, but I’ve chosen one.”
“Y- you have?” Niki said with widened eyes. She never expected to have gotten a child accepted this fast. And it had only been an hour!
“Yes,” Philza said with a small grin.
“Who? Tommy or Ranboo?”
“Tommy. I would love to adopt Tommy and make him my child,” Philza said with a giant smile. Niki’s jaw went to the ground, and she squealed in happiness.
“Oh, wow! Thank you so much! Promise me that Tommy will live a happy life, will you?”
“I promise. I’m very excited to meet the energetic boy,” Philza said, his smile not fading away.
“I’m sure that Tommy will love you,” Niki said as she slowly calmed down, “Why don’t we go take care of the adoption paperwork when my business opens, maybe? All of the paperwork is at my place, and it’s a bit crowded because all 32 kids are still living there.”
“Oh, that’s fine. I mean, I don’t want to crowd your place even more than it already is.”
“Yeah, my best friend is living there as well, so it gets hectic.”
“Who’s your friend?” Philza asked as Niki collected all of the papers and put them into their correct sections.
“Jack Manifold. You probably have never heard of him, but he’s a nice guy.”
“Well, that’s good. So, I guess I’ll see you next week?”
“Yup! However, in our call yesterday, I said that I was going to talk to you about the prices?”
“Yes, then you said it’s practically free, right?”
“Yeah, that actually was true. You just summarized it, so yeah. But it would help us a lot of you could donate, because me, Jack, and the rest of the team, all have side jobs which help us provide what the kids need.”
“Okay, I’ll try to donate. I don’t have much pocket money, but could a couple dollars could help you and the team, right?”
“Why, of course! Anything will help us. And I mean anything. Anything that is child-appropriate, that is.”
“Okay, I’ll make sure to donate when I come next Saturday. I can’t wait to meet Tommy and the others! See you on Saturday, Niki!”
“Alright, see you then, Philza!”
“Goodbye, Niki.”
“Bye,” Niki says, and Philza went out of the coffee shop, holding a hot coffee in his hand. Oh, and did I forget to mention that Niki bought Philza a coffee when she found out that he didn’t buy a drink? Yeah… I think I forgot to mention that, but now you know that!
⋆∞⋆
Ten Days Later…
Philza went in his car and started driving. Today was the day in which he would meet Tommy. He drove to the orphanage, and he saw many things as he looked through the window. He saw a new sign on the walls, and the place looked more happier than ever. It didn’t look boring, and as he went into the orphanage, he could sense something different. The smell was different. It was softer. More welcoming. More… happier. For some weird reason, he was met with a loud ringing bell.
“Oh!” Philza exclaimed, surprised by the loud sound.
“Ah, I am so sorry! I forgot to mention about the bell, it’s still in the working. Eret dropped the package that the bell came in, so we have to buy another one,” Niki said.
“It’s alright, so, this is the place, huh?”
“Yeah! I’m just going to tell Bad that he’s in charge of greeting people as we are actually having someone adopt some kids today, and some parents called us that they were coming here in about two hours. After I do that, I will lead you to your (hopefully) soon-to-be-son, Tommy!”
“Great, have you told Tommy yet?”
“I actually have not, I’ve been dying to tell him though! I get so excited when I get to be a part of a child being adopted.”
⋆∞⋆
Philza was sitting on a chair when he heard small footsteps ring through the room. He turned to where the sound was coming from, and he smiled as he saw a small boy that was holding a small cow plushie. Philza smiled at the sight. As the boy went closer, he hugged his cow and held it tighter and started to sign, using ASL.
‘Hello, my name is Tommy!’
Philza then signed back.
‘Hello, Tommy! My name is Phil Watson, but just call me Philza.’
‘Okay! Ms. Niki told me that you’re gonna be my dad!!’
‘Yeah, she’s correct! I’m going to be your dad, Tommy!’
‘I’m very happy, Mr. Philza.’
‘I hope that you are. You and I are going to have a fun time together! However, just call me Philza or dad, even Tommy.’
‘Yay! But… what about my best friend?’ Tommy signed before looking back at Niki.
Niki then signed, ‘Tubbo’s getting adopted, remember, Toms?’
‘But I don’t want to leave him!’
‘I know you don’t but ask your dad if you can meet your best friend sometimes.’
‘Oh, yeah!’ Tommy signed with a happy face. Tommy looked at Philza and asked probably the most important question for him at the time.
‘Mr. Philza?’ Tommy obviously wasn't comfortable enough with Philza to call him dad.
‘Yes, Tommy?’
‘Can I go to my best friend’s house, Tubbo, sometimes?’
‘Hmm, depends. How many times is sometimes?’
‘Uhm.. everyday?’
‘Well, if I have gas in my car, then maybe!’
‘Yay! You’re the best dad that I’ve ever had!’
Philza smiled the biggest smile when he heard those words.
‘Well, let’s go home now, right Tommy?’
‘Yeah!’