Chapter Text
Phil sat in the living room watching the news and sipping his tea.
“Asclepius, Ares and Hypnos have done it again, capturing yet another one of our city's most dangerous villains, they really are our greatest protectors.”
Phil turned off the tv with a sad smile. Damn he missed them, they still technically lived here but he rarely saw his three sons, it was an uncommon occurrence and that fact alone made Phil sad. Without them yapping at each other and running down the halls, the house felt so big and so empty and it was so, so quiet. He tried to fill the gap with music, a radio, guests, even started welcoming the crows from his backyard, but if anything, it all made the emptiness that much more obvious.
The man took a long sip of his tea before letting out a sigh. They grow up so fast.
— — — — —
Phil wandered around his empty house, he’d recently bought a bunch of house plants to combat the void and they were pretty easy to maintain, he didn’t have to water them very often, just when it was hot and dry which, to be frank, wasn’t often, so they were all thriving. A forest in his home and yet it still didn’t make a difference. The crows liked them though and that did bring Phil a bit of joy.
Speaking of, there was the sound of feathers and flapping wing beats behind him and Phil turned around to find a crow perched on the edge of one of the larger pots.
“Hi mate.”
“Squawk!”
Phil raised an eyebrow at the bird, “So? If you're hungry go eat worms ‘nd shit.”
“Squawk!!” The bird squawked indignantly.
Phil huffed, “No! You're not getting food from my fridge!”
The crow gave Phil an angry glare and squawked again.
“NO! Fuck off.”
Phil turned on his heel and walked away from the bird towards his kitchen only to hear a ruffle of feathers and some angry chirps as a weight landed on his head. “The answer still is and alway will be ‘no’. Jesus.”
Peck.
“No, go away.”
Peck peck.
“No!”
Phil was so caught up in his conversation with the crow on his head that he didn’t hear the sound of the front door opening.
“Hey dad? Who are you talking to?”
Phil looks down from the bird to find Techno, Wil and Tommy staring at him from across the kitchen counter where he’d ended up standing.
The man and the bird stared at the three boys who all stared back with varying levels of confusion and concern lining their features.
Quickly, Phil lifted his hand, swatting the bird on his head who let out an indignant squawk as it flapped its wings and flew onto a pot, Phil gave it a glare of betrayal, the crow knows he wanted him outside but it was, evidently, being a pain in the ass.
“Hi! How are you all?” Phil queried, obviously evading the question.
Techno gave him a look, “Better question, how have you been?”
“Fine.”
They all continued to stare before Phil turned, flipping the switch in the kettle, “You still haven’t answered my question. So? How are you all?”
“Good.”
“Good.”
“Good.”
The kettle finished and Phil poured two cups before placing the tea inside. He’d already taken note of Wilbur and Tommys cups of coffee. He moved over to the table where the boys had already sat down, placing one of the cups of tea in front of Techno who gave him a nod of thanks.
Wilbur looked up at the crow sulking in the corner, “So, who’s your friend?”
Phil felt heat rush to his face and he looked up at the bird, the crow squawked, “His name is Ian and he likes to desperately pester me for fridge food.” Phil looked up as Ian descended, settling back on his head and giving him a peck.
Yet another awkward silence followed and Phil felt like he was drowning in the silence.
“So, how have you been at work? You're all over the news you know.”
Tommy nods, “Yup, it’s kinda tiring but the job is cool and I enjoy helping people out, so.” He doesn’t make eye contact with Phil.
Wilbur tilts his head back looking around the room, “Yeah he’s right for once-“
“Hey!”
“It’s a pretty fulfilling line of work.”
Techno nods in agreement, “Hey, when did all the house plants get here?”
“A week ago.”
The three boys seem surprised at this information and look between each other nervously.
Tommy pipes up first, “I’m gonna go take a nap.”
Wilbur eyes him, “Same, I’m exhausted.”
Techno shrugs, “Sleep is probably a good idea.”
The three of them stand up and walk off with one last concerned look that they thought he didn’t notice.
Of course he noticed, he’s a parent. Ian squawked from his perch and plucked at Phil’s hair, the bird was somewhat growing on him at an incessant rate.
Phil sighed, “What do I do? My kids are acting like I’m crazy and that was the awkwardest conversation in history. Fucking hell.”
“Squawk!”
“Yeah I know they’re worried about me, I just- I just miss them.”
“Squawk.”
“Yeah yeah, I’ll go to bed too, I hadn’t realised how late it was, let me just-“
Phil hopped up, moving around the table to clean up the cups. Once he’d washed up, he turned off the lights and headed upstairs towards his room. But he paused as he was passing Tommy’s.
“-he looked sad.”
That was Tommy.
There was a huff, “I'm more concerned about the crow he keeps talking to, personally.”
“How has it been a week since we were last home? At least!?”
“Wilbur, you know why.”
A huff.
Phil could hear someone, presumably Wilbur, hop up and start pacing the room.
“I just don’t want to ruin whatever’s left of our relationship.”
Phil sighed, “Me too, Wil.”
Then he turned and kept walking.