Follow Your Passion: A Seamless Tumblr Journey
Wing Care But Families Are Hardπ
They/Them Pronouns)
(1000+ words)
Description: You go visit home after a few weeks. Phil, your grandpa, greets you in the living room. Things don't settle well and it comes to a head while he preens your wings. (Platonic Philza x Reader)
[Read the rest under the cut]
{γβγ}
"Hey Phil," You said, pushing open the door of Techno's home. Just like you thought he'd be, Phil was reading a book as he curled up on the couch. You stretched your wings out a bit, shaking them out a bit.
"I'm still jealous you can do that," Phil complained as he stretched his arms. You laughed at him, flying in the rain was horrendous when you didn't have an oil gland. You never had to worry though. You could fly in the rain for a bit if you really wanted to.
You didn't often because having wet wings was more than mildly uncomfortable but you still could.
Phil walked over to you, settling a towel on your head. You grinned up at him, wrapping your arms around him quickly.
"Woah-!" Phil laughed. Gently, he ran a hand through your hair. You melted into the touch, relaxing until you were leaning heavily on Phil. "You're so cold, mate."
"Mhm," It's a distant answer, too busy focusing on the mini-preening to your head to answer. You click your tongue in contentment, feeling a low rumble build up in your throat. "I think your wings need to be preened, Y/N."
You groan, too relaxed to do it yourself. "Can you help?"
"Of course."
He gently pulls away, settling you down on the couch. You shuffled to curl away and spread out one of your wings. He gently ran a hand through them, looking for blood feathers.
Carefully, he made sure to avoid them when he pulled out feathers. Gently and carefully, soothing and relaxing. You crooned happily, melting back against the couch.
You closed your eyes, feeling nothing but gooey as he gently fixed up your wings. It'd been so long since your last preening, back when Tommy was still living under the basement in his makeshift home. It was cold but it was nice as Tommy preened them.
You missed him... You hadn't been allowed to see him after... everything. Your dad was too overprotective to let you see your thrice backstabbing uncle.
"You okay," Phil asked softly, carding a gentle hand through your fluffed up mahogany feathers.
Tommy was never like Phil when he preened. Tommy was quick and nimble but soft. Phil was slow and gentle and tough. Years of experience compared to Tommy's slight hesitation or fumbling. But your uncle was always hesitant recently...
You nodded weakly. "Yeah, just-... I-I miss him..."
"So do I," Phil admitted, the same rough edge from when he talked about Wilbur coming through. "But you know why you can't see him."
You bit your tongue. "Not even after his death?" You wanted to ask. Instead, you sighed.
"Because he's a liar and backstabber," You recited your father's words like they were your own. "He only ever treated Dad like a weapon."
"Family meant nothing to him," Phil stressed, plucking a father out with a sudden pinch. "We meant nothing to him."
You shook your head. They didn't know Tommy like you did, even if they thought they did. Admittedly, he hadn't told you everything, but you knew a majority of the twisted things Dream had done to your once headstrong and stubborn uncle.
And you knew exactly what family meant to him. It meant Wilbur and Techno and Phil. But it also meant Tubbo and Fundy and Niki and L'Manberg. Family was a sore subject but on the late nights where he was too broken to care about reputations, he cried to you about how much he still loved Tubbo and L'Manburg. They had hurt him, he had hurt them.
In the end, their blood-strengthened bond had been stronger than weak, years old ties.
And it did hurt.
You had thought that, maybe, he would actually become your uncle that you've been hearing stories about. The Tommy that waged wars with gods and won with only a ragtag group of kids. The Tommy who had been a conman long before he became family.
But things had changed and he had changed. In the end, you can only be glad he is still alive.
"How has Snowchester been?" Phil filled in the silence, plucking another feather. "I heard Ranboo and Tubbo adopted a kid."
"Yeah," You managed after a few seconds, thoughts and words dying on your tongue. "Micheal is a sweet kid. He's starting to talk, kinda."
Phil nods, running a hand through your feathers a final time and patting your shoulder. You leaned away, settling on the opposite side of the couch.
The rain seemed to pour harder, fighting against the windows like a beast. It didn't usually rain around your dad's house, but you supposed there's a first time for everything.
"Phil," It's hard to find the right words. It's like your mind is forgetting your entire vocabulary. A part of you is saying bail, but it's the cowardly part of you. The part that took after Phil.
"Did you ever love Tommy?"
It's an easier question than "do you love me?".
"I-," Phil tries, his brows furrowed. Their purple wings, already so pale, shift awkwardly. It's uncomfortable how long it's taking him to answer. "Of course I did-, do. Of course I do."
It's not the answer you were looking for. You craved something more honest, and something more caring. It was silly to dream when you had already known the answer.
"Yeah," You muster, staring out the window. "I should probably go soon."
"So soon-?" Phil says, a little more brokenly than earlier. "But-?"
"Tubbo'll need help with putting Micheal to bed." You offer weakly. "They're so hyper that it's a two-person job."
"I see." They sigh, giving you a tight smile nonetheless. "Visit again soon. Techno hasn't admitted it yet but he misses you. You're his kid."
"Wilbur being your kid didn't stop you from killing him."
You bite your tongue and nod. When you step out, the rain feels heavy as you fly away from your grandfather.
Tubbo wasn't expecting you back until Sunday and you didn't really have a house built anywhere else.
Tommy's hotel could use a customer, right?
{γβγ}
[lol this was written a while back but I'm finally getting around to posting it. Anyway happy pride month! I'm going to be posting double today in honour of da gay. ]
[L0v3, k1ng]