Chapter Text
Phil stares down at the paper that was placed in front of him. In the corner was a picture of what looked to be an eight, maybe nine, year old. He had short golden hair, it looked like it was well taken care of, however, hairs sticking out all over the place like he had just sprung out of bed. His eyes were crystal blue, but they were unseeing, glazed over. He also wore a ratty old sweater, too big for the small boy.
At the top of the page read ‘Thomas ‘Tommy’ Innes’. Phil was surprised to find that the boy was actually 17. What surprised the man more was the reason that the boy was put into foster care in the first place—parents killed by their eldest son after years of abuse and neglect. Somewhere in Phil’s brain something smiles widely at that, but he pushes it back away. As awful as they must have been, it was still horrible.
It looked like the eldest son was sentenced and sent to a detention center until he became of age. Phil felt a bit of pity for the boy, probably now a man, for having to go through so much to only still go through his formative years in confinement.
Phil sighed and pushed to file away from him, running his hand through his hair.
“That bad, huh?”
He turns his head towards his son, leaning on his hand. “Yeah,” He breathes. “Yeah, it’s that bad.”
“Was he, also, in a cult?” Techno jokes.
Phils huffs, “No,” He smiles and gets up from the kitchen counter. “Just saw his older brother kill their parents.”
A grimace flashes over the other’s face. “Jeez.”
“Yeah,” He walks over to the couch, Techno sitting in a chair to the left of the couch, book in hand. “That just means we’ll probably need to be careful. No parent or brother talk. Nothing to do with murder.” He gives a bit of a pointed look at his son.
Techno rolls his eyes, “No orphan killing jokes, got it.”
Phil chuckles, “He’ll be here in two days, should probably tidy up around here.”
Techno didn’t know what to think about getting a new foster. He had been through his own fair share of shitty things, but that doesn’t mean he knows how to deal with others with similar problems. He doesn’t even know how to deal with ‘normal’ people.
So, when Phil asks him to give the lanky blond kid that had arrived a few minutes before a tour, he just stands there dumbly. After a minute (waaay too long), he looks toward the teen and moves his head in a way that says ‘I don’t know what I’m doing, just follow me’. The kid must have understood what he was trying to communicate because he walks towards Techno and the two head upstairs.
“So… uh,” Honestly, Techno has no idea how to begin this bad excuse for a tour. “That Phil’s room,” He points to the first room on the right. “Next to the bathroom,” Points further to the right. “The room at the end of the hall is my room,” To the door at the end of the hall. “And you’ll be staying in the room next to mine.” Towards the door further to the left.
The blond just stares blankly.
“Right, um,” What does he do now? “I think they’re done now… unless you just wanna go unpack.”
They both glance at the bag in the boy's hands, then look back at each other. Techno’s mouth forms into a straight line as the other looks deadpan at him.
He clears his throat, “ Anyway , I’m just gonna go down..” He points down the stairs before quickly rushing down into the kitchen.
At the counter, Phil and a bland-looking woman sit, talking and looking over an assortment of paper.
Phil looks up and smiles at Techno. “Hey, are you two done with the tour?”
Before he can respond, another voice speaks up. “Yup.”
Techno flinches back slightly, turning towards where, just a few moments ago, was an empty space. However, now there stood a child that Techno is more and more convinced is magic.
Ignoring that fact and also that they had, not, finished the tour and the adult had run from the teenager because he felt awkward. Techno nods at his father who looks at him dubiously. Welp, he was never really good at hiding… anything.
“Right, well, I think that will be all right now.” The social worker says, then walks over to their foster. “Thomas, I’ll check in in a few weeks.” They give each other a look before she turns back to address them all. “Call me if anything happens.” A final glance towards the blond and walks out of the front door.
All three of them are silent, listening to the social worker drive off.
Phil claps his hands together, startling the two others. “Well, let’s discuss some things before we get you settled down.”
The teen nods and follows Phil into the living room. Techno follows after the two and sits next to Phil on the couch while the kid takes the single chair.
“Okay,” Phil looks between the two, smiling. “How about we introduce ourselves.” Neither of the boys says anything, making Phil breathe a small chuckle. “Alright, I’ll go first. I’m Phil Craft or Phil. I’m fond of crows and I like to build miniature buildings.”
The teen raises a brow.
“I thought it was weird when I first got here too,” Techno says.
Phil waves a hand dismissively. “You go next Tech.”
“Mmk,” He takes a deep breath. “I’m Techno, I like mythology and gardening.”
Smiling, Phil nods and then looks towards the other blond. With both men looking at the teen, he grows nervous.
“Um, I’m Tommy. Innes.” He stumbles over his words. “I, uh, like animals, all of them. And I… that’s all.”
“Great!” Phil says brightly, “Now, let’s go over some house rules,” Tommy tenses and sits up straighter. Phil puts a hand up in a placating manner. Techno can’t tell if that actually makes the teen calm down, he sees a flash of anger before it disappears, being chased away by caution and fear. “Nothing too serious. Just knock and ask before entering someone else's room. You can always get anything from the pantry or fridge, but if it has a name on it, please be mindful.” He looks around at everyone before moving on. “Curfew. I’d like you to be home by 10, it’s starting to get too dark around then and I want you to be okay. However, if you’re staying out longer than that please call me.” Tommy opens his mouth but Phil interrupts him. “We’ll worry about that later. Anyways, it'd be good to be in bed by 11, especially when school starts, but if you are still awake by then, please don’t make too much noise.”
Phil doesn’t say anymore, watching the emotions passing through Tommy’s face. He never drops his smile, which, to be honest, creeped Techno out when he first got here and he’s sure Tommy isn’t feeling far off.
“Anything more to add, Techno?” He must have spaced off because now Phil was glancing at him, a bit of question in his eyes.
Techno cleared his throat before speaking, “I don’t think so, but I’ll say if I remember anything.”
Phil nodded then stood up from the couch. “Alright, I’ll start on dinner. You two do whatever in the meantime.”
The two watched Phil leave the room before looking back at each other. They both immediately looked away. They sat in awkward silence for what felt like an eternity.
Finally, Techno thought of something and gathered the small bit of confidence he had, and asked, “Do you... want to watch a movie?”
Tommy picked his gaze from the ground and looked at him. Techno pressed his mouth into a thin line, awaiting the blond’s response.
“Sure.” He mumbled.