Chapter Text
Tommyinnit , the current reigning racing champion along with his co-pilot Tubbo. Well one of them anyways-
Fuck the tie okay, in his head he and Tubbo were the only racing champions.
He had been riding the wave of good things that had come his way as months passed from his brothers finding out about his driving.
Tommy was just enjoying the time with his friends and his family, he was happy to have his brothers at every race they could manage to come to. He also had the whole syndicate behind him (Well at least most of them, he had no idea where he and Dream really ever stood), and it seemed like Wilbur and Techno were actually starting to like the people he hung around.
Wilbur seemed to become fast friends with Niki and Eret and had even been talked into driving with them a couple times.
Techno hadn’t made friends friends but was on decent terms with a lot of the gang so Tommy felt okay about it.
He had even managed to attempt to pick up his grades in school a bit so Phil wouldn’t get too sus about him working too much and ask him to cut back to take more time to work on school.
It was a lot of things to juggle at once and it left him tired most nights but it was worth it to be able to chase the high of speed.
The only thing that had started to eat at him a bit was the fact that Techno and Wilbur had left it hanging over his head that he needed to tell their father at some point. It wasn’t like they were forcing him to do it immediately, they had been very lenient on time span and had told Tommy whenever he felt comfortable to go ahead and do so.
Tommy didn’t need to do it in a certain time frame, he just needed to do it eventually.
The blonde had pushed it aside for so long out of fear of Phil’s reaction to it all. He had lied to his father for a while, it did help that his brothers had been accepting at the end of it but Tommy still had his doubts.
Even then with his growing confidence he was gaining as months went on and with races won, the blonde was starting to feel like he was beginning to be at the point to open up to his father about what he loved doing.
So of course as he was starting to decide, he figured he should approach the two that got him into his hobby in the first place before telling the others and his brothers about how he was going to do this.
He stayed back till after one of the smaller races had finished, some of the syndicate was just going to hang for the night. Usually everyone helped clean up afterwards and then just lit some bonfires. Tommy always stuck around for the get togethers but tonight he, Wilbur, and Techno had needed to be home at a decent time because it was family game night and they knew Phil would be crushed if they were late. They figured they would help cleanup before they had to get out of there.
Wilbur had been helping Ponk and Punz fold away the gambling table in the betting area while Sam had moved away some of the heavier equipment, Karl chatted to him about plans for things as he did so. The Mechanic had a smile on his face while the announcer rambled in excitement, the green-haired man looked over towards Tommy and flashed him a smile with a thumbs up.
Tommy stuck his tongue back out at the man as he kicked a pebble close to his foot. Looking down at his phone he frowned slightly, he and Wilbur would need to be out of there soon or he wasn’t sure he was going to get enough time to ask his friends.
Usually Techno kept them on time, even forcing them to leave twenty minutes earlier if needed but their eldest brother wasn’t there. He was attending to some “business” again, whatever the fuck that meant.
Tommy walked up to the announcers table where the two leaders of the syndicate were chatting as they cleaned up the microphones. “Uh hey guys could I talk to you two about something? It’s kinda important..” The blonde clears his throat awkwardly.
Both Niki and Eret look up from the microphones towards Tommy, Eret raises a perfectly shaped eyebrow from behind their glasses while Niki looks at him curiously.
“Is everything okay? Dream isn’t bugging you again is he?” Eret asks, frowning slightly as they stand up from where they were squatted down now causing Tommy to look up at them because of their height combined with the platform shoes they always wore.
“Ah no, he’s actually kept his distance the past two months?..” Tommy furrows his eyebrows.
That information doesn’t seem to comfort Eret at all, in fact it makes them look even more concerned.
“Well what can we do for you Tommy?” Niki asks with a soft smile.
“So...I wanted your opinion on something family related.”
Both Niki and Eret blink at him, “I mean I would say I know Wilbur pretty well, Techno doesn’t speak much to us so I don’t know if I can help with-” Niki starts but Tommy cuts her off.
“No no, not anything to do with my brothers. I’m uh- I’m thinking about telling my dad about racing…” He says fidgeting slightly.
Niki’s mouth falls open a bit like she was not expecting those words to come from the blonde, though Eret’s eyes aren’t visible they’ve got a taken aback expression on their face.
“Wow, that’s a pretty big deal Tom. I thought you were going to wait longer since you seemed pretty nervous about it. Are you sure?” Eret leans against the announcer table kicking up one of their heels onto the table leg for support.
Tommy nods giving his two friends a reassured expression with quite a confident grin on his face, “I think I am honestly, I don’t know things have been going pretty good these past couple months. I think I’m ready to, I’ve gotta do it eventually. Why not while I’m at my peak instead of being forced into a situation when I might be in a bad spot.” He says with a shrug.
“Well I mean if you feel like it’s time and you're comfortable with it then I totally support you in telling your dad. If he has questions you could always bring him by and he can talk to us, I’m assuming you're going to tell Wil, Techno, Sam, and Tubbo about this too right?” Niki asks with a smile.
Tommy nods but also looks to ponder a bit, “Well yeah, it will probably go smoother with Techno and Wilbur there, it’s most likely going to be a family meeting type thing. I might ask Tubbo to be on standby in case things go super poorly but I don’t think it will get to that point. I honestly have a good feeling about it. You think I should talk to Sam about it? Why?”
The last sentence alone makes Niki laugh, “What do you mean why? He’s literally the one you go to for everything, it will probably be good to get his opinion on it too.”
Tommy frowns slightly and looks back towards the Mechanic that is currently chatting rather fondly with Ponk, as Karl had probably gone off to meet up with Sapnap. “I do not! He’s been pretty busy lately with the shop and other things. I don’t want to bug him about it...”
Niki gives him an incredulous look, “Tommy it’s Sam , if you needed something he would drop literally everything to help you. You wouldn’t be bugging him seriously.”
“Yeah well- whatever okay I’ll talk to Sam about it. What about you Eret? You’ve been kinda quiet. What do you think?” The blonde asks looking towards the taller figure who’s been silently listening with somewhat of an unreadable expression.
Eret reaches up and leans their glasses down a little so their eyes are slightly visible, “Well like Niki said, I would say that if you think you're in a safe situation I think telling your dad is the best option. Though just be aware that he might not have the best reaction to it at first, you haven’t exactly been truthful to him and you are doing something illegal. Considering how your brothers reacted it will probably take some time for him to feel super comfortable with you racing.”
Tommy nods and sighs in slight stress as he runs his fingers through his hair out of habit, “Yeah I know, I don’t think he’ll get super fucking pissed though? Especially with Wilbur and Techno there I think I’ll have better chances. I don’t know guys, I just feel like this is going to be okay.” He looks towards both Eret and Niki with a shrug and smile.
Niki gives him a soft grin while Eret sighs before giving the boy a lopsided smile back.
“Well if you think so Tommy I’m sure things will turn out alright, just remember we’re here for you if you need us. We’re just a call away you know.” The pink-haired girl reaches to give the blonde a gentle loose side hug that Tommy squirms out of but looks to appreciate.
Eret nods as they stand back up to finish putting everything away, they hesitate for a moment before putting a careful reassuring hand on Tommy’s shoulder, grey eyes meeting blue. “Hey, in all seriousness if things get kinda tough you can always give your dad my phone number and I can talk to him to explain things if it will make it easier. I’m always available…” They say carefully with a very sincere tone of voice.
Tommy locks eyes with Eret and blinks before nodding slowly and clearing his throat as if not knowing how to respond at the sudden gesture. He seems to come back to senses though as he nods and gives a soft thank you in return.
Eret nods curtly before raising their sunglasses back up to their face, “Anytime mate.” Their manicured hand pats Tommy on the shoulder in a reassuring way before letting it drop back to their side.
Wilbur comes walking up just as the conversation finishes and they return to chill chatter, Tommy pitches in to help the two syndicate owners finish packing up.
“Come on Tommy! We have to get going we’re already going to be kinda late. I overshot on time!” Wilbur starts to move his brother by his shoulders towards where he parked his car.
“I’m going, I’m going, get the fuck off!” Tommy grumbles, shoving his brother's arms only to get poked viciously in the back. He moves to poke his brother back in offence only to have Wilbur dodge the attack making him even more irritated.
“You two have fun!” Niki calls back waving them off.
“Yeah yeah” Tommy answers back as Wilbur gives a proper goodbye to his two friends.
“What were you talking to them about?” Wilbur asks as they walk back to his beat up Prius.
Tommy puts his hands into the pockets of Wilbur’s old beat up jacket and kicks at the dirt, “Yeah about that, I’ll tell you when we get to the car.” He blows air out of his mouth in a restless way.
Wilbur looks back at him in confusion, narrowing his eyes at his younger brother, “The fuck did you do , you gremlin.” He eyes his brother with apprehension.
Tommy glares at him and punches him in the arm, “Nothing you prick! Just fucking wait till we get to the car. Fuck man you’re always like ‘Tommy what did you do memememe’ no fuck off.”
Wilbur scoffs, “You cannot blame me I’m half expecting you to tell me you’ve bought drugs or some shit-”
“Shut up man”
“Don’t tell me to shut up-”
It doesn’t take much to get his brothers on board, Tommy’s assuming they’ve been waiting for this the day they found out he was racing. He’s sure they're relieved to not have to be hiding their brother around and honestly Tommy is kinda relieved as well to not have to lie to his father for much longer.
The idea of telling Phil the thing he was so dedicated to and something he was actually making profit off of was outweighing the possible nerves he had. He was just excited to show his dad something he was proud of even if it meant his dad getting a bit upset. Tommy hoped at least his father might understand with his brothers there and hopefully he can explain it a little more.
The three Watson brothers discussed how best to do this as they went on a grocery store run for Phil.
“You seriously think I should make a speech?” Tommy asked as he threw a box of some random sugary cereal into the cart.
Wilbur instantly reached in and put the cereal back for exchange for some weird ass knock off brand no one knew. It just had an oddly animated hamster on the front of it and didn’t even say the flavor.
Techno frowns and puts the cereal back for basic cornflakes as they round off into the next aisle. ”Well yes, you’ll figure out what you wanna say and it will be organized.” He says rather emotionlessly as he examines a jar of pasta sauce way too closely.
“Sounds like you should be giving a Ted Talk instead the way Tech wants you to do it.” Wilbur snorts looking in disdain at Techno’s pasta sauce of choice.
Who uses fucking Prego when you have something as masterful as Ragu.
Techno raises an eyebrow up at Wilbur, “That’s exactly what he should be doing, he’s going to tell Phil that he’s been illegally racing in a gambling pool for cash...I don’t know how you would subtly bring that up in conversation.” The exhausted looking college student looks too done to be dealing with this as he puts the sauce in the cart only for Wilbur to look in deep betrayal at the jar.
“I’m shitty at memorizing though, I’m going to forget it all the minute I start talking to him!” Tommy whines walking alongside the cart, looking off into the soup section.
Techno shrugs and turns back to look at the shelves and then down to the list their father had given them, “I just think it would be better in my opinion if you wrote down what you wanted to say- Tommy soup isn’t on the list stop looking over there.” Techno narrows his eyes at the blonde.
Tommy pulls a can of tomato soup from the wall and waves it out in his brother's face. “No you eat that horrible cream of mushroom shit! Tomato is superior and I want it.”
“No you're just a whiny child, cream of mushroom is perfectly fine.” Techno explains in such a calm emotionless way that it makes Tommy want to straight up smack his brother in the face.
Wilbur looks at the two unimpressed, “Oi can we actually focus on the conversation at hand..Besides your both uncultured imbeciles with horrid taste buds, only sociopaths eat cream of mushroom and your tomato soup is just unseasoned mush that only older women eat.”
Both the eldest and youngest Watson look at their middle brother with disgust.
“Says the man who I watched eat bland ass ramen. Make that bland BEEF ramen.” Techno shoots back as he moves the cart away.
“Who the fuck eats any other flavor besides chicken it’s disgraceful you asshole- Techno fucking come back I’m getting my tomato soup!”
They had actually sat down in the car to plan it out much later after purchasing their groceries in peace (Tommy did get his tomato soup but only because he was paying for the groceries with racing cash, so Wilbur and Techno really couldn’t stop him).
They worked it out that they would just do it on the next family game night so they wouldn’t have to call a family meeting.
Techno didn’t seem as keen on it because he figured there was a chance it could just ruin the night and it would make Phil more upset, but Wilbur had figured it might be a lot more comfortable and casual to do it that way instead of straight up organizing a family meeting which would set off more alarm bells and put their dad on edge.
Tommy agreed with Wilbur because he thought it would also be best but certainly not because he was Wilbur and not Techno (even though Techno would say favoritism played a part). The boys decided that's what would be for the best.
When the day came Tommy woke up feeling jittery, he felt like he could barely stomach breakfast that morning to the point where Phil asked the boy if he felt sick because Tommy always finished his food.
The kid just replied that he had a presentation that day and was just feeling nervous for the public speaking aspect, which even his brothers gave him a look for.
Tommy had never feared public speaking so that excuse was fucking shit.
Tommy resolved to quickly and quietly finish up the rest of his cornflakes and rocket out the door to meet up with Tubbo before Phil could ask anymore questions.
The older man looked skeptically at Wilbur and Techno who were sitting quietly in tense positions finishing up their own breakfast.
“Things alright with Tommy?” Phil asked, looking towards the direction of the door in concern.
Techno clears his throat as he wipes his mouth and makes a move to take his plate to the sink, “Probably just in a hurry to talk to Tubbo, I’m sure it’s fine Phil...We’re still doing family night tonight right?”
Tommy could barely focus the entire day in class, his leg was bouncing up and down with anticipation so much so that during lunch as he sat at the table per usual with Tubbo, Ranboo, and Purpled, Grayson had to tell him to stop shaking the damn table.
“I’m sorry man I’m just nervous.” Tommy replied, cracking his fingers to keep his hands busy.
“Ah your telling your dad tonight right?” Ranboo asks as both Tubbo and Tommy nod collectively.
Tubbo, half a sandwich in hand, pats his friend on the shoulder. “It will be good Tom, Phil’s a chill man I don’t think I’ve ever seen him fully lose it anyways.” The brunette says as he shoves the food into his mouth.
Tommy shrugs, “He’s fucking scary when he’s pissed but he’s never lost it at me like that, only once but that was because he couldn’t find me at the amusement park and nearly had a stroke. Even then he only grounded me a couple days and never yelled at me really.”
Purpled scoffs and stares at his piece of pizza like it’s offended him, “Lucky, I swear the last time I did something my dad didn’t like he nearly chucked my PC out the damn window. The only reason he didn’t I’m pretty sure is because he knew I needed it to actually do school work.” the hoodied kid rolls his eyes and rips a piece off of the lunch.
“That’s if you actually did your schoolwork Purp.” Tommy snorts, receiving a tater tot being thrown at his face.
“That’s not the damn point Tom!” It causes laughter from the three boys sitting around as Purpled glowers.
The blue-eyed blonde looks over to his best friend sitting next to him, “Say Tubbo think I can count on you for a quick escape tonight if I need it? Will your parents mind?” he asks.
Tubbo awkwardly looks away while Ranboo nervously chuckles, “Yeah about that Ranboo is actually staying at my house tonight, we kinda planned it a couple weeks ago and it took a hell of a long time for his parents to agree so uh-” Tubbo explains looking away from his best friend.
“Nah man it’s not a big deal don’t worry about it, Tech and Wil don’t seem too worried about it so it should be fine anyways. As long as you two meet me down at Sam’s the next day, I have a new idea for a trick and I want opinions.” He covers up the slight hurt with ease. It didn’t bug him too much; he knew Ranboo and Tubbo had gotten much closer as of late and Tommy was all for it.
Ranboo was a cool guy and a close friend anyways he just hadn’t anticipated Ranboo and Tubbo’s closeness. He knew it was okay for Tubbo to have close friends on a level that they were close and again he was good friends with Ranboo anyways, they all were. Tommy just couldn’t lie and say a part of him was a bit worried about losing his co-pilot, but it wasn’t like he could be mad at Ranboo for that.
It wasn’t the tall man’s fault, Tommy just had a lot of issues with feeling like no one stayed at his side for long but that wasn’t anyone else’s fault but his own. His friends didn’t need that burden on them.
“Are you sure Tommy?” Ranboo asked looking a bit guilty which makes Tommy start to feel some guilt, fucking bastard can’t look at him like a lost puppy .
The blonde grins back at Ranboo and kicks him with his foot under the table, “Yeah big man have fun, well not too much fun not without me anyways.” He knew it was a big deal for Ranboo, his parents pretty much never let him do anything without breathing down his neck.
Tubbo grins, “Yeah, we’ll drop by the shop tomorrow you know I’m always down.” The brunette high fives his best friend.
“Wow gee thanks guys guess I’m chopped liver.” Purpled frowns looking away dejectedly.
All three boys look over to their friend and frown, “Hey none of that you asshole, you’re not allowed to feel fucking emo. The reason I didn’t ask is because you know you always come anyways.” Tommy says throwing a tater tot back at his friend.
“Daawww does Purple feel a bit left outtttt?” Tubbo teases as he reaches across the table to grab his friends arm and shake him.
Purpled tries to stop the smile fighting it’s way onto his face, “You all are disgusting fuck off.” He says with not much bite to it.
Tommy gets up from the table to throw his arm around Grayson and sway him along.
“Purpllleeddd my friend you know we love you!”
“Yeah well I hate all of you. Get the fuck off of me Tom!”
Ranboo clutches his chest dramatically, “I’m wounded Purpled really.”
The three proceeded to bully Purple for the rest of lunch until the bell rang for them to get back to class.
As the sun began to set on the day Tommy sat on his couch, exhaling deeply trying to keep himself from getting worked up as they all waited for Techno to get home so they could start ‘game night’.
Phil was finishing up dinner in the kitchen chatting across to Wilbur seeming to be in a good mood which made Tommy feel a bit better.
The blonde felt his phone buzz, everyone had been sending him good luck messages towards the end of the day which he had to admit was boosting his confidence. He was happy to have his friends behind him.
Tommy picked up his phone and looked down to see two texts, one from Tubbo and one from Sam. The blonde smiles and clicks the Mechanic’s phone number first glancing over the message.
Hey goodluck tonight I’m sure things will go okay, let me know if you need anything :)
Below the message was a picture of the green-haired man standing with Ponk and Purpled. Both Sam and ski mask-wearing man were holding thumbs up signs while Purpled had thrown an insanely cheesy big smile, that Tommy knew held sarcasm behind it with a peace sign.
It was enough to get a small chuckle out of the boy, “That fucker…” Tommy mumbled under his breath as he sent a quick picture back of him doing a thumbs up as well.
Scrolling out of the message he clicked down to Tubbo and his conversation.
Techno home yet?
No, he just called and said he’d be in five, he was picking up some chips for Phil at the store
He should be anytime
Goodluck Boss man, Ranboo and I are rooting for you :D
Thanks I’ll let you know how to goes
Tommy closes his phone as Wilbur sets their usual board games on the table and sits down next to him. “You ready for this?” He asks, noticing his brother’s nerves.
Tommy lets out another sharp breath as he cracks his fingers again, “I think so.” He mumbles looking off towards the Television that had just been turned on for some background noise.
Wilbur wraps an arm around his brother and pulls him into a side hug that Tommy loosely accepts, “It’s gonna be fine, I’m here and so will Techno. Just explain it out like you told us you were going to and no matter what dad says we’ll have your back.” The curly haired older brunette looks down at his brother and smiles.
Tommy smiles in return and nods, “Thanks for not being a shitty brother Wil..” The blonde says playfully as he nudges his brother in the ribs with his elbow.
His brother snorts. “Don’t mention it Toms.”
As things settle in the door opens and both Watson boys lock eyes with Techno who’s carrying the tortilla chips and his own bag thrown over his shoulder. “I’m back, I got what you wanted.” He says gazing at his brothers intently.
Techno gives Tommy a nod which is about as genuinely reassuring as Tommy was going to get from his older brother.
“Great thanks mate, alright boys food is ready, come and get it! Who’s turn is it to pick the game tonight?” Phil calls from the kitchen as he peeks out and motions for them to come and grab plates.
Both older boys look at Tommy who freezes slightly, Wilbur grips his brother closer and clears his throat slightly as they get up from the couch. “Actually dad before we do that Tommy, Techno, and I wanted to talk to you about something.” He nods at his brother who swallows hard before taking a deep breath and following his brothers into the kitchen.
Phil turns around to look at them in slight confusion, “Yeah it’s all good, everything alright?” He asks, raising an eyebrow.
Techno looks over to Tommy who still looks a bit tense though he nods and smiles.
“Yeah should be dad, but it’s kinda important?” The younger blonde says in a bit of a quiet tone.
The Watson’s load up their plates with food before all returning to the couch, they all settle in before Phil looks to his sons. “So what’s up?” He asks carefully, looking between his kids for answers.
Tommy fidgets under his dad’s stare but his friends as well as his brother's support comes to mind and he sits up a little straighter.
Wilbur and Techno look towards him to continue with reassuring looks.
“I wanted to talk to you about something I’ve been doing, I just need you to hear me out completely, Dad before you say anything. Please?...” Tommy explains carefully trying to keep his voice leveled and controlled so he doesn’t freak himself out. He was actually going to do this.
Phil’s eyebrows furrow in a bit of concern, “Alright?...Go ahead Tom.” He says looking with suspicion.
Wilbur gauges his father’s expression, “Trust me dad he’s been thinking a lot about this it means a lot to him.” He says looking to nod at his father.
Phil looks over to Techno who nods in agreement, “Hear him out completely dad.” He adds softly with a serious tone.
Phil shifts in his seat looking to be more at focus and gives all his attention to his youngest son, “Okay, I’m listening.” He says looking back at his son with a genuinely sincere and calm look. He can tell Tommy is nervous so he’s trying not to look distressed himself, he’s not sure if he’s ever seen Wilbur and Techno look this serious in regards to Tommy either so they seem to know what’s going on. If whatever this is means a lot to Tommy, then it means a lot to Phil as well.
This was it, no backing out at this point, go on. Tell your dad what you’ve been wanting to tell him for months now. You got this.
Tommy takes a deep breath and starts, “So...I’ve been racing for the past few months, I picked it up awhile ago. Purpled introduced me to a couple friends of his and I got into this racing syndicate. I’ve won multiple cups and I’ve actually started making profit off of it. I’ve been doing it with Tubbo and-” The blonde notices his father’s eyes widen and then harden, his heart rate skyrockets a little as Phil opens his mouth to speak.
“You’ve been what-”
“Wait dad, wait please let me finish you promised. Please dad.” The youngest Watson begs, Phil silently looks at him, his mouth closing slowly into a pinched frown. Shit.
“Let him finish explaining dad, he’s really good at it honestly.” Wilbur adds in trying to soften things because he can already feel the tension starting to brew in the room and he’s trying not to panic. God please just finish and chill it out Tommy.
“I know this is a- a lot to process but I promise I’ve been safe with it and I’m actually really really good at it dad. I feel like this is what I’m meant to do! I’m the league’s champion with Tubbo- Well one of them anyways. Techno and Wilbur have been making sure I’ve been good and- and I’ve made a bunch of new friends! I’ve been taking care of the car I’ve been using and keeping up with my grades. I’ve even been saving up what I’ve been making so I can help you pay bills so you don’t have to work as much. I also even took a piece of it and put it towards a college fund so you don’t have to pay tuition and-” He stutters explaining, starting to quicken his pace and trying not to let his expression falter as he sees his dad shut his eyes and press his thumbs into them letting out a strained breath through his nose.
“Thomas…” He starts slowly making Wilbur draw in a sharp breath, Tommy nearly jumps out of his skin, Phil never calls him Thomas .
Techno finally steps in, “He’s been really responsible with it Phil, he’s put so much into it and he really takes it seriously.” The pink-haired man explains carefully, trying to also not go stiff at the growing anger he can see starting to develop in his dad’s sitting form.
It goes completely silent for a moment as they allow their dad to process the information he’s been told.
“So this is what you’ve been doing after school this whole time? You don’t actually have a job you’ve just been going to race?...Where did you even get the car from that you're using.” Phil’s voice is quiet and leveled in a very careful way that makes all the boys go stiff.
The fact that he wasn’t blowing up was making it even worse.
Tommy can feel his heart start to drop with Phil’s tone of voice causing him to stutter. “I- well yes.. The car was given to me by this really nice guy named Ponk and this nice Mechanic named Sam. He fixes it up and keeps it nice. It’s a Pontiac-” He starts to ramble about the car but Phil cuts him off.
“So what your saying to me is that you deliberately lied to me, so you could go out and race in what I’m assuming is an illegal betting pool because otherwise I would have had notice before. I would have had to sign some papers to legally let you race. With a car given to you by a man that I don’t know.” The anger is starting to build in his voice but it stays relatively leveled.
Tommy opens his mouth to speak but nothing comes out, he can feel his body start to tremble, no no no this was not how this was supposed to go . His mind goes blank for a moment and he completely forgets everything he meant to do in this situation, instead he meekly mumbles. “Yes dad but-”
Phil turns to Wilbur and Techno, leaning forward from where he was sitting so now his elbows are set on his legs, “And you two knew about this and allowed your younger brother to not only do something illegal but something extremely dangerous?...Is this what I am to understand?”
“Well yes but we only found out a couple months ago after he had started-” Wilbur scrambles and then cringes at his own words as Phil blinks and turns to look back at Tommy gaze darkening. “We checked to make sure everything was okay and the car was safe, he’s a really careful driver! Tommy knows what he's doing Phil!” He firmly adds, frowning tightly in defense for his brother.
“He was capable and we assessed the situation, we set conditions for him to continue racing and he’s been following them.” Techno jumps in, nodding and standing his ground for his brother’s sake.
Phil seems to get more furious as his eldest son’s words, “Conditions?! The responsible thing to do would have been to pull him from it. Not set restraints and allow him to continue, with Tubbo none of the less! Not only could he have been killed but Tubbo could have been as well, and you two knowingly let them continue on?! What would you have done if the two had gotten arrested hmm? Better yet what could you have done if they have gotten into an accident?! You could have had that on your hands and then Tubbo’s family would have been terrified! I am extremely upset and disappointed in the two of you. Not only because you decided to allow them to participate in the act, but it seems that you two decided to hang out and watch as well.”
Techno and Wilbur visibly shrink a bit, both frowning and looking away from their father.
Phil shifts his gaze over to Tommy who is still standing paralyzed and trembling, “I am also extremely disappointed in you as well. You decided to lie to me and I had no actual idea where you have been the past couple months. I thought something was off but I didn’t want to say anything and push you away more. Apparently I should have asked because you were committing illegal activity that could have gotten you and your friends locked up and in some serious trouble or even worse. ”
“Dad, I have been careful though! They all have been, if you would just meet them or maybe you could come and watch? I know it’s a bit risky but I really am experienced and I thought we could use the money to-” Tommy tries desperately to explain but Phil seems to be having none of it at this point.
“Tommy enough! I’m glad and appreciative that you thought of me and wanted to use the money towards this family but this is not the way to do it! Son I need you to understand that not only are you putting yourself and your friend in harm's way but if you get caught with illegal winnings we could have everything taken from us. CPS could be called because they feel like I’m an unfitting parent who has just let their son take part in illegal racing right under my nose with no knowledge. Better yet I could be arrested for money laundering. I can’t have you doing this!” Phil’s voice starts to raise as he rubs at his face more, the struggle to keep himself composed is starting to get tougher and tougher.
Tommy feels his eyes begin to sting and blur as tears begin to pool in his eyes, guilt and remorse starting to fill him up as he caves in on himself a bit, “What do you mean you can’t?..Dad..” his voice starts to break at the end.
“Dad you're overreacting a bit just hang on for a moment!” Wilbur gets up off of the couch, at this point starting to lose his own temper himself.
Phil looks up at his son with anger starting to show in his expression, “Wilbur you sit down this instant and hush! Tommy-” He looks over towards the blonde and his expression softens a bit though it is still firm. “Tommy I forbid you from racing anymore, you will come directly home from school and if I catch you doing anything you shouldn’t I will ground you completely. You won’t see anyone and will be spending that time in your room doing school. Am I understood?”
“Dad!”
“Phil!”
A chorus of yells come from both Techno and Wilbur as Tommy stares at his father, his expression completely breaking as the tears start to come down his face.
“Dad please you can’t do this, that's all I have! I have to race please please I’ll do anything!! I’M NOTHING WITHOUT IT, IT’S ALL I AM YOU CAN’T TAKE IT FROM ME PLEASE!” Everyone flinches as they stare at their normally cheery and stubborn brother begin to break down desperately, unable to stop the frantic sobs from escaping his lips.
“Tommy-” Wilbur starts reaching out to go towards his brother to comfort him while Techno glares at their father. “Phil you can’t do that to him-” The college student starts but Phil raises a finger silencing them and their movements. The older man tries to hide the way his own hand shakes at seeing his son so distraught, trying to push away his son's words of feeling worthless from his mind before he cracks.
He can’t have his son in danger, he just can’t.
“This is the end of this conversation, we will talk more about this tomorrow but I don’t want to hear anything the rest of the night.” He states firmly with some edge at the end of it, meaning this was indeed as much as Phil was going to hear about it.
Tommy quickly backs up and sprints up the stairs of their house, sniffling and wiping his face roughly.
“Tommy wait!” Wilbur calls after him, instantly running in pursuit up the stairs after his upset younger brother only to get the door to his room slammed in his face by the sound of the lock turning shut instantly.
Wilbur knocks on the door rapidly, “Tommy come on let me in buddy.” He says with a bit of a pleading tone to his voice as he listens helplessly to his brothers sobs from the other side.
Techno stands up from his chair looking like he’s trying to contain his own anger, he scowls down at his father who is rubbing his temples. “You know all he ever wanted to fucking do is make you proud.”
Phil scowls right back up at his eldest, “Techno go, when I said I didn’t want to hear anymore of it for the rest of the night I meant it. We’re done here, you’ve really let me down son.”
Techno walks up towards the stairs where his two brothers have gone before turning to look back at Phil, “No, you let Tommy down. You know I’ve never seen him more excited to show you something in his life. He thought out this whole thing of what he wanted to say...Yet all you could focus on was the negatives, I did the same thing when he first told me too. The difference is Wilbur and I actually gave a shit enough to consider Tommy’s wants and feelings in the matter. Maybe you should take a moment to think about Tommy’s happiness instead of what he’s doing wrong because that’s all we’ve ever fucking done for him. You and I both know that, the sad thing is you can’t even deny that can you?...” Techno’s voice is icy and cold.
Phil doesn’t respond right away which is enough for Techno to ascend the staircase without so much of a glance back. “Have a good night father.”
Phil has never wanted to punch a hole in his own wall more then now. How did this night go so fucking sour?
He pushes himself off the couch silently, trying to keep the sounds of Tommy’s sobbing out of his head as he starts to clean up the plates of uneaten dinner. It seemed that none of them were really hungry anymore.
…
The minute Tommy’s door closed and locked he couldn’t hold anything in anymore. Trying to keep himself from hyperventilating as sobs came out of his mouth. Tears rapidly streamed down his face as he sunk against the door, fingers finding their way into his hair and pulling as Wilbur knocked from the other side.
“Go the fuck away!” He yells hoarsely even though there is no real bite or hatred in his voice. Just broken heart ache.
The thought of never racing again made him want to scream, the tears got even heavier.
He couldn’t not race, he just couldn’t.
Racing was the only thing he ever wanted, racing was his reason for living and breathing. What was he if he couldn’t do what he did best? If he couldn’t chase that adrenaline rush out on the track. He couldn’t he couldn’t, he would be miserable for the rest of his life.
Everything he had would fall apart, he would lose all his family, he would never get to drive on the track or in Sam's lot again. Never get to hang at the shop with his friends, never get to experience the feeling he got the minute those flags dropped.
He would be nothing, they wouldn’t need him anymore. Everything he had fought so hard to build would be fucking gone.
Tommy could already see their disappointed looks. God, he couldn’t hurt them. Not that.
Through blurry eyes he picks up his phone that’s been in his pocket shut off. Thumb shaking as he clicks past through all the messages from his racing family, wishing that things have gone okay, it breaks his heart even more and makes him want to just disappear into nothingness because he’s letting them down.
He shakily shifts through to call someone, anyone . His finger automatically hovers over the call button on Tubbo’s contact. His fingers freeze as Tommy takes in a shaky breath.
No No he couldn’t call Tubbo, he was out with Ranboo and it would completely ruin their night. He couldn’t lay this all on his friend, how could he? They deserved to have a nice evening.
Tommy was quickly starting to realize he was going to ruin everyone's night, he couldn’t call anyone, he couldn’t let them see him like this.
He couldn’t even call Sam, what was he going to tell him?
He also couldn’t face his brothers right now even though all he would have to do is open the door.
Tommy had one simple task to do tonight and he’s gone and fucked everything up for his whole family, now he’s gotten Wilbur and Techno into trouble on his behalf too.
Not only was he a disappointment to his father but now the two people he looked up to the most.
He wipes his eyes and throws his phone across the room onto his bed as he tries to regain his breath. Wrapping his arms around himself he brings his knees up to his chest and sits his head in them.
He had to race, he had to race.
He needed to get the fuck out of here.
Tommy raises his head and looks from his school backpack to his window.
He knew what he needed to do to be able to save the one thing keeping him afloat.