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Wilbur was wandering around the hero tower, attempting to find something to distract him. He had managed to finish all his work quicker than usual, and he was free to do whatever.
The problem was that he didn't tend to go home without Techno and Phil, as well as the fact that he didn't have anything to do at the tower that he could think of.
So here he was, walking along the halls of the lower floors, which were mainly dedicated to the mentees that the new programs had brought in.
He let his feet guide him wherever they felt and he ended up making his way to the trainees’ room. The students are all with their respective trainers, practicing using their abilities to some extent.
He spots Tommy practicing with a trainer he knew well enough. It was Eret who had been training Tommy for the past months, trying to see what the limitation in his ability was.
Tommy has the ability to control the air around him, which he mainly uses to move quicker and access more areas that a person usually wouldn’t be able to reach. This made him more convenient in surprise attacks rather than direct ones.
Eret was helping Tommy test the theory of whether or not he could potentially use the air as a semi-weapon, using harsh/strong winds to throw an opponent off balance enough to get an attack in.
It seemed to be a good theory and it definitely had potential. However, it would definitely be a long while until it was perfected.
Tommy finally stopped as he was knocked to the ground by the other, at which point they both stopped to catch their breath.
“You’re doing better than before, Tommy,” Eret said, with a grin, “A bit more work and you’ll be out in the field in no time,”
“I’d rather he wait until he is older before he tries to join us on missions” Wilbur comments as he makes his way to the duo.
Tommy’s expression lights up as he spots Wilbur, scrambling off the ground to tackle the taller of the two into a tight hug, “Wilbur! You finished your mission already?”
Wilbur shook his head, “Nah, the mission isn’t until later so I thought I’d come and check up on you,”
Tommy’s grin only seemed to widen at that, pulling away with a smug look in his eyes, “Well, I’m glad you came! Eret says that I’m improving a lot quicker than expected and my theory turned out to be true!”
Wilbur raised an eyebrow at that, “I know, I was watching you guys, “
Tommy paused at that, looking away with an embarrassed expression, “Ah, right. I told you all this before already,”
Wilbur shrugs, “That doesn't mean I wouldn’t like to hear it again. Aaand, I have a feeling you have another theory running around in that head of yours,"
Tommy's face lights up, leaning forward as he nearly yells in Wilbur's face, "Oh I absolutely do! It's genius, Wilbur! I'm a fucking genius!"
Wilbur patted Tommy's head with a fond chuckle, "Alright, let's hear what you've got,"
So Tommy goes on about his idea.
The idea was now around the idea of surrounding objects and turning them into borderline bullets. Controlling the wind in theory meant you could throw things fast. But if that were applied to several items at once, achieving incredible speed? It would definitely be efficient.
It never fails to surprise Wilbur how many theories Tommy came up with that he was willing to try, modify and succeed in achieving. They all seemed insanely difficult, most would give up on them before they reached the end. But Wilbur supposes that was Tommy's best quality – his unrelenting stubbornness.
And Wilbur did admire that part of Tommy a lot. Maybe even envied him to some extent. The burning passion that the blond had for experimenting with the new, the confidence he had in his capability. Tommy to that day was one of the most mature trainees they had, and even compared to most heroes, he was still more stable.
Eventually, the bell rang and the trainees were all scrambling to their feet to get to the changing rooms. (They all looked exhausted but still wore grins on their faces. Wilbur should tell the others that the program was going great.)
"I guess you've gotta get changed now, huh?" Wilbur noted as he helped the other onto his feet.
"Yeahhh," Tommy answered with a sigh, "Man, I thought for sure I would get it this time,"
Eret chuckled, ruffling Tommy's curls lightly, "You made a lot of progress, Tommy. You're gonna be ready for sure by the next session,"
Tommy grinned wide at that, bouncing on his feet slightly, "Really, you mean that?"
Eret nodded in affirmation, pulling her own bag over her shoulder, "You're a smart kid, Tommy. I know you'll do it perfectly next practice,"
Wilbur watched them both walk away with a fond smile adorning his face, waving goodbye to them as they disappeared around the corner. They had made a good choice assigning Tommy to Eret. Tommy was passionate and determined, but that also paved a path for stubbornness and frustration. Eret was patient enough to handle Tommy’s antics while honest enough to give good criticism. He seemed to be the perfect mentor for Tommy.
Better than you could ever be, His mind harshly whispered to him. He didn’t disagree. He never did.
He wasn't like Eret when he trained Tommy and doubts he ever could be.
And he definitely wasn't like Phil when he trained him and Techno.
Wilbur still remembers those days with fondness, even if those memories were often filled with him whining, saying he didn't want to do the training he had once deemed useless. He would lay on the ground and spout out dramatic speeches he'd seen on TV while Phil watched in amusement and Techno looked at him as though he had regretted everything that led up until that moment. (Even if the man pretended he wasn't, Techno was a massive softy)
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Phil watched in amusement as the younger of the twins lay on the ground, arms and legs spread out as though he were a star. He wore a frown on his face as he looked up at the ceiling, “I don’t wanna do this anymore!”
Techno, who was sitting beside him, just frowned at his brother’s actions. He didn’t seem to find the situation as funny as Phil did. But even so, there was a glint of amusement in his eyes, “...You’re just being lazy, Wilbur,”
“No, I’m not!” Wilbur protested, slamming his hands lightly against the ground, “I just don’t wanna do this stupid ‘baby’ training. I wanna do the real stuff already!”
Phil chuckled, crouching down as much as he could, “Wil, you know why I can’t let you do the advanced training,”
Wilbur shook his head rapidly, “I call bullshit! We’ve handled ourselves for so long, we can handle more than this!”
Techno hummed, looking to Phil, “As much as I hate to admit it, Wilbur’s right. We have been on the streets long enough to know how to fight. This training was…less, than what I was expecting for us both,”
Phil's gaze turned sympathetic at their words, sighing as he rubbed the back of his head, “I…I realize that you both are more capable than most of our mentees, but you never learned how to ‘properly’ fight. You just relied on instincts,”
Techno raised an eyebrow at that, crossing his arms while Wilbur sat up beside him, curious as to where this was going, “And what's your point, Mr.Angel?”
“First of all, don’t call me that. I told you, you can call me Phil,” Phil quickly corrected, “Second, you lack any proper technique. You kids are both very strong and are familiar with the city already. But you lack any proper technique that could further your abilities. Mentoring you isn’t just meant to make you physically stronger, but also helps broaden your knowledge on how to fight,”
Wilbur tilted his head as he thought about it for a moment. Eventually, he settled on answering with an, “Oh,”
Phil let out a snicker at the response, while Techno just looked to be lost in thought, “Yes, ‘oh’. I’m not underestimating you, Wilbur. But the battles that superheroes fight are much more dangerous than the street ones. I want to make sure you two are more than ready to handle those battles,”
“...Okay, fine,” Wilbur pouts again, pulling himself up,” I guess we’ll do the stupid training,”
Techno snorted from where he was sitting, standing up as well only to bonk Wilbur in the back of his head, “Just admit it, you just wanted an excuse for being lazy,”
Wilbur fumed at that, as Phil looked on with fond eyes, “Shut the fuck up, you pig-headed-”
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Wilbur let out a heavy sigh and walked out of the room, roaming the halls for anything that seemed interesting enough to distract him. He never liked being left alone with his thoughts for long. They always got messy.
He managed to go all the way around the halls and ended up where he started— back in the training room. (He does tend to get lost in his thoughts easily, it was a trait that he always found annoying.)
The room was nearly empty, with most of the students having already left for home. They all loved the idea of becoming heroes but there were few that didn't find the training you had to be out through frustrating. Especially when there was no definite way to tell when you would be ready for the field.
Of the selected two were Tommy, who always liked to experiment, and Ranboo, a boy with the patience of a saint— the two boys who were both sitting on the floor chatting with each other.
Wilbur smiled at the sight and pulled away from the door, having not been noticed by the duo just yet. He should leave them alone, they seemed to be talking about their sessions again (It was something that happened often)
But just as he was about to do just that, he heard his name being mentioned mid-conversation.
And as much as Wilbur liked to believe he was better than that, he stayed back to stand just beside the door, hidden from the plane of sight of the two mentees. Sliding down the door, he pressed against the wall to try and hear what they were talking about him.
"-and he fucking rocks, man. Why the fuck wouldn't Wil be my favorite?" Tommy's voice spoke out, his tone nearly that of a shout.
…Oh. They were talking about him.
Oh. He's Tommy's favorite. He wasn't sure what he was favorite was but he was Tommy's favorite regardless. He —what he never thought could be possible— managed to place higher than Techno and Phil, both of whom were so much cooler than him.
Tommy had chosen him. He thinks that he ‘fucking rocks.’
Ranboo seemed to chuckle at that, not sounding surprised in the least, “Of course he’s your favourite hero, I don’t know why I expected anything else,”
Even if he couldn’t see them, he could tell the blonde was pouting as he retorted, “Fuck off man! Wil’s a great hero, and I like him,”
“I’m not saying he’s not, Tom,” Ranboo calmly replied, and he still heard the smile in his voice, “I’m just saying that you’d pick him as your favourite no matter what, despite that you’d rather jump off a building than admit any of that to him.
( That was…sweet. Wilbur smiled from behind the wall, Tommy picks me as his favourite every time and I might just cry because of that, this has been a hell of a day, )
“Well, it’s because he’s fucking amazing, Ran!” Tommy said, still as enthusiastic as ever, “It’s that simple, mate,”
“Well, I never really asked before,” Ranboo mused, rustling heard around him, “Why exactly is he your favourite?”
“Well, it's simple, big man,” Tommy responded, “He’s good at a lot of things! He can play the guitar, he negotiates on behalf of his team, he can be calm or stern when needed and his ability is so cool!”
Ranboo huffs at that, seeming to expect that answer, “You really are his fanboy, huh?”
Tommy doesn’t hesitate when he answers, “His number one fan, Ranboob. And if you tell him about any of this, I’ll fucking hunt you down,”
“Yeah, sure,” Ranboo sighs, “Not like I can teleport away from you whenever I want,”
“Don’t give me that,” Tommy threatens, still lighthearted in his tone, “I know for a fact that you have a limit,”
“...But you don’t know what it is,” Ranboo calmly answers, and Wilbur can hear the smirk in his voice, “Anyway, I better get home or Niki will be upset with me, and not make my favourite for dinner,”
“Man, you are so lucky you have Niki for a sister, she’s so cool,” Tommy whined, the sounds of him standing up with his bag echoing out the room, “I wish I had a sister like that,”
Ranboo was silent for a moment, before he deadpanned, “You have Wilbur?”
“Okay?” Tommy said, sounding confused.
“And Phil as well as Techno-”
“Yeah yeah, they’re all my mentors, what the fuck are you talking about?” Tommy questions him, steeping further away from the door Wilbur was sitting beside toward who he could only assume was Ranboo.
Ranboo, with an exasperated tone, said, “They’re all practically your brothers, Tom. You already have a bunch of siblings,”
“Nah man, they’re just my mentors who I managed to get to like me. That’s not really a sibling,” Tommy said, as though it was obvious.
"Alright then, what is a sibling supposed to be like then?" Ranboo questions, the steps slowly but surely growing closer.
"Well…" Tommy hummed, and Wilbur could tell he was tilting his head the way he always did whenever he was thinking hard about something, "I guess it's someone who's willing to do stupid shit for you?"
Ranboo sputtered at that, "Tom, what ?"
"Like, I've seen how Niki acts around you!" Tommy's footsteps grew closer and closer, "She would legitimately kill someone for you. Hell, I think she tried to do that once,"
"And don't Techno and Phil practically do that already?" Ranboo noted, "Despite being some of the top heroes, they sure are reckless when it comes to you,"
"...Huh," Tommy seems to pause in thought at that, "I guess you're right. Not gonna lie, it does make me feel a lot better when they're on missions with me,"
"Even more than with Wilbur?" Ranboo jokes.
Tommy laughed at that, "Yeah I guess. Wilbur is fucking great, but he's always…well, he's better suited to stealth missions and shit like that,"
And Wilbur felt like a knife sliced through his heart. He…he wasn't entirely sure why that was the case though.
…Maybe it was because Tommy seemed to think of Techno and Phil as more of a safe space than Wilbur. And that shouldn't frustrate him as much as it did. After all, the blonde's words did hold some truth to them.
His ability wasn't power-based like his brothers. He could essentially turn into a ghost, gaining invisibility and the ability to pass through walls. He tried to go on a more power-heavy mission and came back with a gunshot wound. Safe to say, he hadn't tried to do any missions of that sort after that incident. But-
"And besides, I think Wilbur is the best emotional support I have. I go to him about everything, dude. It's honestly a miracle he hasn't gotten sick of me-"
Wilbur heard a thud and he could guess that Ranboo probably hit Tommy on the back of his head. Good. The child needed to realize that there was no way he could ever get sick of Tommy.
"Stop with that, or I'm going to tell Wilbur," Ranboo threatened, his voice having grown louder.
"Okay, shit man!" Tommy whined, "...but yeah, Wilbur's the best. Techno and Phil make me feel safe around others, but Wilbur makes me feel safe around myself. Honest to god, I think I would do some stupid shit if something happened to him,"
"I should've known you were the overprotective one in this relationship," Ranboo sighed, and Wilbur could tell he was just a few steps away from the door, "Wilbur is too smart for this,"
He goes to his phantom form and quickly escapes through the wall until he's in another room by himself, away from the two mentees. He let out a heavy, feeling relief at not having to keep completely quiet anymore.
…Tommy thought that Wilbur was cool. He was his favorite hero and liked his music and trusted him with his secrets and was a safe space to him and-
Wilbur wasn't sure when the kid's opinion of him started to matter so much. Before, it was just him trying to get Phil and Techno to take him seriously. He remembers doing everything he could to get their approval. ( You still do that, his mind harshly whispers)
When the blonde came into his life, he knew he would grow attached. He was just a kid that he had taken under his wing and who he grew fond of. But the fondness grew and grew until Tommy was just as important to him as Techno and Phil were.
Now, he wants to make sure that he doesn't ruin Tommy's view of him. He didn't want him to realize the guy he has been idolizing was just some loser who got lucky. He wants them all to keep thinking of him as an actual hero. He felt like he would shatter if they thought of him any less (Phil and Techno never seemed to look at him the same. Not after the…the incident.)
He won't let that happen.
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Wilbur doesn't know what he was thinking.
He was assigned to a mission that was supposed to be risk-free. There weren't supposed to be any dangerous enough weapons that he would need to be cautious of. The only thing he was meant to do was collect information and the hell out of there.
He ended up getting caught anyway, and they pulled out guns. The guns were different from ordinary guns, specialized to shoot bullets that were made from a very specific metal. He forgets the name, but he does know that it was one of the few metals strong enough to break through his armor.
He learned this the hard way.
He leaned against the wall clutching his chest, groaning in pain as he struggled to keep himself up. He looked forward, relieved to see that the bastard who had shot him was unconscious.
(Heroes were never allowed to kill, no matter the circumstance. The only exceptions were when the threat was big enough to be classified as a national emergency. There were several times when he wanted to break this specific rule, but instead had to shut up and follow his command, his nails digging into his palm.)
He doesn't know exactly how he'd been caught, but the threat seemed to be much bigger than the way the file had said. The man unconscious was deathly aware of his surroundings and easily detected Wilbur.
By that point, Wilbur had already used up all his energy on staying invisible, so he barely had enough energy to fight back, so much as to maintain his phantom mode. He won the match, of course, but he wound up with a bullet right through his side.
It really fucking sucked, he doesn't know how Phil and Techno could ever handle this and have the courage to try and do it again. (He could hear the whispers in the back of his mind reminding him that he did it again as well. He chose to ignore them)
Looking down, he felt his suit soak up all the blood that was spilling. Even as he grasped it, he still felt his wound wouldn't stop bleeding. It seems that the bullets did a lot more damage besides tearing through his suit.
But…but he'd be fine.
It didn't matter that the wound wouldn't close up. It didn't matter that the criminal could wake up any second and shoot him again. It didn't matter that he felt like everything around him was slowly falling away. He couldn't think that he has to be a hero. One that people could rely on. One that his family could rely on.
He has to push through it and deal with the pain. His older brothers have done it before, so why couldn't he? All he had to do was get the villain to HQ by himself, and then he could get treated in medbay.
But that proved to be difficult when he tried to get up, only to fall back onto the floor where he had collapsed (When did that even happen), his vision growing lore and more black spots with every passing second.
“Ah, shit…” Wilbur mutters under his breath, tilting his head to the side. He felt his body losing its energy, that it was struggling to let him stay awake, so much as keep his head straight. He was gonna tear a new one into whoever the fuck said this mission was “risk-free”. If it was risk-free, he wouldn’t be sitting there with a bullet through his…(he was sure anymore. He doesn’t know if it hit anything important. He doesn’t even know for sure if he’ll even-)
This was his own fault. He should have been more careful and cautious. He couldn’t keep letting Techno and Phill handle the more dangerous missions. Hell, he knew that with the way Tommy is training, he was likely gonna follow the same path as his brothers. He had to be strong, he had no other choice or he would have to-
“-ill?” A crackly noise echoed through the room, followed by a static-filled voice, “Wilbur, are you there?”
Phil was calling. Why the fuck was Phil calling him? He was supposed to have today off, and be resting up in his quarters. How did he even know he was on a mission today? He doesn’t remember even mentioning anything like that to him.
“Tommy told me that you were on a mission today,” Well, that answers the last question, “But you’re taking a bit longer than usual, so I just wanted to check up on you,”
Wilbur forced cheer into his voice as he answered, “I’m fine, Phil! Just a bit more work to do than expected for this mission. I’m done anyway, so I’ll be heading back,”
“...Alright, if you say so-” Phil get cuts off mid-sentence by another familiar voice that Wilbur didn’t want to hear.
“Phil, he’s lying,” Techno said, cold in his delivery, but Wilbur knew him long enough to tell that the pinkette was worried. ( And he guesses that his brother knew him long enough to tell when he was or wasn’t telling the truth.)
“Yeah, he’s definitely lying,” Tommy chimes in, his usually cheerful tone replaced by a more somber one, “And I looked up the mission he’s on. They marked it down wrong, it was meant for more the fighter-class heroes,”
“What?” Phil hissed, and he had no doubt in his mind that it was directed at the employees still left in the room.
“Tommy, what do you exactly mean by that?” Techno asked slowly as if he was holding back his own rage by just a thread.
“What I mean ,” Tommy starts, walking closer to the mic, “is that the mission involves people who were armed and dangerous. This wasn’t meant for stealth heroes, they were definitely gonna get caught no matter how good they were. If Wilbur won, and he’s lying about it-”
“Then it means you’re hurt,” Phil finished for the youngest, aiming the statement at Wilbur himself, “You’re hurt and you’re telling us again ,”
And Wilbur just couldn’t take anymore.
They had all seen right through him, shattering all his attempts at lies into dust. They managed to pinpoint what exactly went wrong and what it was that Wilbur was doing. They knew everything and Wilbur didn’t want to try anymore.
He felt something lodge in his throat and all of a sudden, he was sobbing into the communicator, clutching it as though it was his lifeline. (It might have been exactly that, and that terrified Wilbur so much more.)
“ I’m sorry, ” Wilbur chokes out, still struggling to even keep a grip on the communicator, “I just- I didn’t want to disappoint you…I wanted to be stronger for you-”
“You’re already strong, Will,” Techno cut him off, stating it as though it was a common fact, “You don’t like to accept that, but you’re strong. You’re a top hero for a reason,”
“You could never disappoint us, Will,” Phil continued, “You’ve done so many great things, how could you even think that?”
“Wilbur, just tell us what happened. Please ,” Tommy pleaded, and Wilbur doesn’t think he’s heard him sound that wounded before.
“I- I got shot,” Wilbur answered, and he can feel himself slowly losing consciousness with every passing, “They had some high-tech guns, I think. I managed to get all, and they’re all down. But, I have a bullet in my chest and I don’t know if I’ll make it-”
“Please don’t say that, Will,” Tommy sounded like he was on the verge of tears, holding everything in for his sake, “Please don’t, or I will cry,”
Wilbur chuckled at that line, his grip on the communicator slowly growing more lose, “Hey, you’re stealing my line again,”
“Wilbur, we’re coming to get you. Just try to stay awake,” Techno spoke up, the sound of the wind crackling through the communicator.
“Can you do that for us, Will?” Phil asked, sounding further away than Techno, “Just stay awake for us, and we’ll be there in minutes,”
Wilbur shook his head, before remembering that they couldn’t see him, “No can do, king. I’m probably gonna leave in a minute,”
“Wilbur-” He interrupted Tommy. As much as he loved him, he wanted to get in his last words before he went.
“Shh, I just wanna say that I love you guys,” Wilbur lays down on the ground, the communicator limply held in his hand beside his head, “And I’m sorry for all the shit you have to go through cause of me and my stupid pride. I’m really really sorry, and I…I wish I could be there and give y’all one last hug,”
“Why does it sound like you’re saying goodbye?” Tommy questioned, his voice sounding frantic and shaky, “Phil, why does he sound like he’s saying goodbye-”
“He’s not ,” Techno said in a firm tone, but Wilbur knew that tone. That was Techno’s ‘I don’t even believe myself right now’ tone. Techno was lying to Tommy. That wasn’t good, Tommy could tell when Techno was lying too.
“...Okay, I believe you,” Tommy still sounded like he was going to break into tears at any given moment, but he still said that. Techno must have gotten better at lying.
Well, he trusts them to take care of each other when he’s gone. He just wishes that he could have said goodbye to them in person.
With that lingering thought in mind, he let his eyes shut close, the darkness enveloping him in its welcoming warmth.
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The room was way too bright.
That was the first thought that came to his head when he woke up. The second thought was, ‘Why do I feel something on my hand?”
He glanced down with tired eyes and he immediately felt his gaze soften as it fell onto a certain teenage blonde who was sound asleep on his arm. He was dressed in his casual wear, but it looked far more ruffled than usual…Taking a closer look, he could find the traces of tear marks on Tommy’s face, accompanied by red puffy eyes.
That was when he remembered what exactly had transpired before he fell unconscious. He was talking to Phil, Techno, and Tommy, telling them…something. He didn’t really remember what exactly he said but he remembers feeling both desperation and acceptance. He remembers hearing the panic in Tommy’s voice, the unease in Phil’s, the worry in Techno’s-
He really thought he was gonna die. He was so sure that it was gonna be the end of him as he was bleeding out in that building. But it seems like the wound was able to be healed if the bandages and the severe lack of pain in the chest were anything to go by.
Tommy inevitably woke up from all the rustling and moving that Wilbur was trying to do, testing his limit and pushing himself beyond them in some mimicry of a human experiment on himself. (Listen, he was bored and he sure as hell wasn’t gonna wake up Tommy)
The blondes slowly blinked with sleepy eyes, taking in the sight of Wilbur awake before he nearly jumped right onto him. “You fucking bastard, you’re awake!” He cried out, wrapping his arms tightly around his neck.
Wilbur wore a faint smile as he returned the gesture, though not as tight as he would’ve like to (It still felt painful to move his arms too much)
Tommy curried his head into Wilbur’s shoulder, sobbing out indecipherable sentences that Wilbur tried to decode but ultimately failed, simply sitting on the hospital bed with a crying child nearly on him.
From all the commotion in the room, it shouldn’t have surprised Wilbur that someone else would come rushing into the medbay as well.
And it definitely shouldn't have surprised him when he saw Techno and Phil standing in the doorframe, staring at him as though he were some kind of miracle (Maybe it was, it didn’t seem like his wound was on the less fatal side of things)
It only took a moment of the brothers taking in the scene before Wilbur felt two more bodies crash into him, creating a kind of pile on his own bed.
“Well,” Wilbur said, so quietly that it could’ve been mistaken for a whisper, “As much as I’ve missed you guys, you’re kinda crushing me here-”
That resulted in the trio almost immediately backing away, the oldest of the brothers rushing to him again, asking questions like ‘how are you feeling’, ‘does anything hurt’, ‘did we break anything, are you sure?’
“Phil, I’m fine,” Wilbur exclaimed in a fond sigh, “Nothing hurts, and I’m feeling great. Maybe just a bit tired but nothing too big of a deal,”
Techno raised an eyebrow at that, “Sorry, but I think you can understand why we might doubt that,”
Wilbur flinched at the jibe, looking away from them as he felt his throat lodge up with guilt again, “...Right. Sorry about that,”
“What do you-” Techno was nearly straight away.
“Damn right, you asshole” Tommy exclaimed, the redness in his eyes, more clear than ever, “You don’t just say that shit and expect us to be okay with it, why would you think that was okay?“
“I-” Wilbur shuttered, struggling to find the right words before he felt a gentle hand rest on his shoulder. Looking up, he found Phil sitting on the bed as he gave him a soft smile.
“Don’t mind them, mate. You just scared all of us went you suddenly went silent on us,” Phil explained, calm in his tone, “But…do you mind explaining what you were saying?”
Wilbur felt the memories flash through his head, and he flushed red and looked down, “...You guys were all fighter heroes and I always felt like…like I chose the easier path,”
He glanced up and saw the three of them listening carefully, their eyes fixed on him with a softness he had only seen be reserved for him. He looked down again.
“I always wanted to become stronger and prove that myself to you guys…and that urge kind of grew when I overheard Tommy say I was his favorite hero,” Wilbur smiled at the last sentence, looking up towards Toommy just in time to see him grow faintly red at his ‘secret’ being revealed.
Phil and techno also looked amused at the statement, Tommy growing redder and redder in his seat. Meekly, Tommy mumbled, “...Well, it’s true. You’re my favorite hero, no matter what you think of yourself,”
Techno nodded at that, turning his attention back to Wilbur, “I said it that day and I’ll say it again; Wilbur, you’re a strong hero, even if you don't realize it yet. You don’t have to be a fighter to be a strong hero,”
Phill continued, smiling at him ever so softly as he ran his fingers through his hair gently, “You don’t need to prove anything to us, Wilbur. You’ve already done so much and we all love you so much for that,”
Wilbur felt the tears that had been building up the whole time finally fall, a smile overtaking his face as he responds, “Yeah, I got it,”
And with that, the four brothers hugged and cried and talked and laughed, eventually falling asleep right there in the medbay, left for the healers to find.
Maybe the voice that taunted Wilbur wouldn’t immediately leave. It might never leave. But it didn’t feel controlling of his life now that he allowed himself to rely on his family. His brothers.