Wilbur has been searching everywhere for Tommy, He went down every street, went in the library and was currently knocking on Tubbo's door. He's hoping that the kid was smart and just stayed with people he knew.

His mother opens it, Wilbur fiddles with his hat nervously. "Sorry to bother, I was wondering if Tommy ended up with you all. I lost him earlier and this is the last place I could think of."

"Mary brought him over to me earlier, explained that he had lost you in the crowd. He ran off again when I was busy," she pauses to shout over her shoulder. "Toby dear? Is Tommy with you?"

They hear a muffled "no" and she turns back to Wilbur with a pitying look. "I'm sorry Wilbur, I hope you find him. Toby said he left to find you..." He trails off, holding the door with one hand.

"That's alright, I'll see if he made it home since I've been out. Thank you Mrs. Smith."

The air was cold enough that Wilbur's breath was visible when he spoke. If Tommy was alone out here in the cold he'd be very mad at himself.

Though, he supposes it's all that strangers fault. He could've just pocketed the money, left the wallet in the alley and been on his way with Tommy by his side. He hated it when people acted like he couldn't take care of his brothers. Did they think he wanted to steal? Everything he does is for Techno and Tommy, and yet people still think he's not enough.

His pity party is interrupted by seeing a man carrying a kid into the woods. Wilbur gets closer to investigate. "And then he-" he hears a small voice, not just any voice but definitely Tommy's voice. Now to go see why the hell the man who separated them was the one carrying his kid.

"What the hell?" Wilbur steps in front of them, making Tommy stop his story. Wilbur knows he should be happy but right now he just sees red. "Why do you have my goddamn brother? What'd you do to him? Put him down."

He knows he probably seems pretty disoriented but there's a lot going on here, he isn't quite sure what he wants to demand first.

"I saw someone hurting him in the alley, he passed out. I kept him till he woke up then we agreed I'd carry him back if I could talk to his brothers about this." Wilbur can't take the guilt anymore. He steps forward and grabs the boy from Phil.

Hearing Tommy whimper at being moved so suddenly makes the anger inside Wilbur leave his body almost instantly. What the hell happened to him? What would've happened if no one had stepped in? He feels sick thinking about it and holds the boy even closer to him. He turns to the side and keeps hugging the boy, as if protecting him from Phil.

"Alright, I can respect that. Talk. Then don't come back here again." He bites.

"Wilbur, please be nice, he saved me." Tommy murmurs, Wilbur could tell he was just as tired as he was. With how abnormally hard it was to keep supporting Tommy's weight, he realizes he must be getting tired too. "He's good Wil, I'm fine. Please stop."

Techno must have heard the commotion because the brunette approached them almost silently. Wilbur wasn't quite sure where his brother learned to tread that carefully through a place covered with dead brown leaves everywhere. Especially at night.

The allusive sibling puts a hand on Tommy's shoulder and shares a look with Wilbur, before slowly tilting his head at Phil. "What's going on here?" He says very evenly.

"It's fine, Tommy was hurt and Phil brought him back." Tommy's shaking pretty badly from the November air. Wilbur tilts his head up to check him for injury when he notices how pale the boy is. He's definitely going to be sick.

Wilbur only has himself to blame.

"Techno, please take him inside and take care of him, he isn't doing well." He orders and Techno picks up the boy, both of them look pained now. It reminds him how far Techno had come in the months on their own.

Techno was very smart, he'd always be studying in their shared room. Wilbur had always wanted to leave the orphanage, Techno always convinced him to stay. Saying he'd get into a good school, and they could start a good life after he was done.

The younger brother was devastated when the teachers laughed in his face for wanting to go to college. It was already so difficult for average families to get a child in. No matter your grades, what mattered more to places like that was status and money. Both things Techno would never have.

After learning this, Techno dropped school. He started disappearing from the orphanage during the night. Only to come back through their window with scrapes all over his body, and powder to hide the bruises.

Wilbur always stayed up and waited for him. Some nights he'd pace the small room and worry about every possible bad situation that could happen to Techno while out doing whatever dangerous activity he did every night.

A few times he was prepared to go looking for the other when he saw the sun start to rise and Techno hadn't climbed through their window, but Techno always came back.

This went on for weeks, till early September. Wilbur was up reading when Techno stumbled through the window. He looked so pale that Wilbur thought he was going to collapse. He runs over to help the stumbling boy sit down on the bed.

The smell of alcohol was making Wilbur's eyes water. "Techno where the hell have you been? I tried to ignore it but I can't anymore. If you're gonna be drinking and being so damn reckless I need an answer."

He gets no response, just an empty look that makes Wilbur feel so helpless. "What about Tommy? What's he going to say when you have too bad a headache to even speak to him tomorrow? Can't you see you're losing yourself more everytime you go out there?" Wilbur pleads with the boy.

"Tell him to go to hell." Techno mumbles before turning away from his brother and closing his eyes.

"You don't mean that." Wilbur whispers and brushes his hand across his wet face. This was going too far. Nothing was ever going to get better until they did something themselves.

Techno apologized in the morning, and if he hugged Tommy a little longer than usual that afternoon, the younger boy was none the wiser.

They ran away that weekend. None of them looked back.

Techno didn't even look back now, just listened to Wilbur and removed Tommy from the situation. Wilbur was grateful Techno knew when to ask questions versus when to act first.

He crosses his arms and faces Phil once again. "Who?" He asked the adult.

"Some business man, you know how the people from the bigger cities are. I don't think he's going to try to hurt him again but-" He's cut off by Wilbur.

"This was 'again', he's already come home hurt. I don't know what to do anymore, I can't just keep him in the woods with me, we need the money. Besides, he loves talking to all the people even if many of them are rude." He knows he's ranting but no one's been listening to his worries but him. "What happens next time that happens? What happens next time and you're not the one to help him?" His voice rises with a sob at the end. He leans against a tree and refuses to look at Phil.

"What if he stays on my street? I'll watch him when you can't." The blonde offers.

"You shouldn't have to babysit an orphan. I can't drag other people down with us. Besides, I can't just- make him stay in the same part of town forever." Wilbur tries to keep his voice down so that Techno and Tommy don't get worried.

"Talk to him about it, at least let him know that if he doesn't feel safe he can sell newspapers in front of my store. You're not dragging me into anything Wilbur, I want to help you."

"Why?"

"Because I know you are doing everything you can for them. You have to let others help you too." With that, Philza steps back and prepares to go home.

Wilbur is left without words, Phil's statement fills his lungs with water. He knew he'd been drowning for a while, but to hear someone say it felt so much worse.

He goes back to the fence and weakly pushes it open. Stumbling inside, he splashes his face and strips to his boxers and undershirt before going to his spot in the corner. Techno's putting a bowl away, probably what Tommy ate out of before crashing again.

He doesn't lie down, afraid that once he closes his eyes Tommy will be lost in that alleyway again.

Instead he brings his knees to his chest and buries his head in them. A hand in the sleeping boys hair as he starts choking out sobs. Partly sobbing in relief, partly out of guilt.

"He's gonna be okay Wil, I checked him over." Techno sits on his side not occupied by the injured boy. "His ribs are really bruised up, but I don't think anything was broken."

"Well that's something." Wilbur whispers. "Phil, he told me he'd watch Tommy. I told him that wasn't necessary but that i'd make sure Tommy knew he would be safe there."

"That sounds like good news, why do you sound so spiteful?"

"Because people can't just come in here and basically tell me I need help!" He whispers angrily.

"Maybe we do, it's nothing invasive. He just wants Tommy to feel safe when we can't be there."

"Who kept you safe, all those nights when you left me for the town?"

Techno's lips form a thin line and he closes his eyes for a moment. "You did, Wil. I knew no matter what happened you'd have my back. Now let someone help you do the same for Toms."

"Techno, he thinks we're enough, he trusts us to protect him. I tell him what Phil said and he'll realize we're not what's best for him. That this situation isn't something we should have ever brought him into." Wilbur feels so defeated, Techno looks at him with a sad expression.

"You're a kid too Wilbur. I think you forget that. We're so used to only relying on each other, Tommy isn't. Do this for him, let go of your pride and tell him what Phil offered. Kid needs to have as many people in his corner as possible."

"He should only need us! I should be enough. Why aren't I?" He's crying again.

"You're doing what you can Wil, so am I, but these are the cards we've been dealt and a ten year old is gonna need more than a 15 and 16 year old. Try to understand that okay?" With that Techno turns off the lantern and lies down.

The world was always colder when he was alone. The darkness made the November air settle on his skin and never let go. He doesn't lie down. He straightens his legs in front of him and looks up at the ceiling.

Tommy starts whimpering in his sleep, then he's thrashing around. Wilbur can only stare. He doesn't have the energy to do much else, he wasn't quite sure if he was supposed to wake Tommy up.

The young boy wakes himself up eventually, breathing heavily. "W-wilbur? Techno?" He cries out into the darkness.

"We're right here, where we always are." Tommy wraps his arms around him and Wilbur buries his nose in his golden hair.

"Where we always will be."