Set Up •●• phan

XXXII

"What the hell was that?"

Dan raised his head from where it was laying on Phil's chest. "What was what?"

A low rumble shook the boat and Phil felt it thrum through his body. "That. What was that?"

Dan snuggled into Phil's embrace. "Nothing. Let's stay here."

The rumbling came again, louder this time. Phil's contented expression morphed into one of worry and he sat up. "Dan? We should go see what's happening."

"But it's so comfortable..." Dan moaned, tightening his hold on Phil and closing his eyes.

The boat shook, and the rumble sounded again, with a slight scraping sound edging it. Dan's looked sharply around and sat up. "Maybe we should go."

Phil looked relieved, and slid off the bed, picking up his clothes from the floor. Dan followed suit, pulling on his jeans and buttoning his shirt, which was laying at the other side of the room. Phil threw him a shoe, but they were too worried to laugh when it hit him on the arm, leaving a red mark.

The boat shook again, harder this time, and Phil heard a horrible grating sound close to them. He jumped backed away from the wall it seemed to be coming from, clenching his teeth to stop them vibrating in his skull.

"Phil?" Dan said, his voice shaking.

"What?" Phil crossed the room and stood in front of Dan, looking worriedly at him.

"I think we may have missed an announcement or two."

Phil grabbed Dan's hand, feeling it trembling inside his own. "We need to go up on deck."

Dan nodded and took two quick steps over to the door. He reached out and took the handle, feeling the freezing cold metal sending shivers down his spine.

He twisted the doorknob, and the door slammed open. It smashed into Dan, sending him flying backwards. His head cracked against the wall, and a pool of blood began spreading around his damaged body.

"DAN!" Phil screamed, jumping towards him and kneeling down beside him. He shook Dan's shoulders desperately, blinking back hot tears.

Dan's eyes flickered and Phil yelled again, his voice terrified.

"We... We need to get up on deck..." Dan's voice sounded weaker than it should and Phil felt him trembling.

The boat shook again, and a small tear appeared in the metal walls of the room. Water started to drip through and run down the walls.

"Oh my god, Dan," Phil breathed. "We need to get out of here."

Dan lifted his head a few inches, and then sagged. Phil caught him, desperation giving him strength. He opened the door and propped it open with his foot, trying to lift Dan enough to get him out.

The scraping came again, louder, and the rip in the wall opened. Water started cascading down onto the floor, mixing with Dan's blood and leaving a pink puddle around Phil's feet.

Dan's eyes widened at the sight and he pushed himself up off the floor. "Phil," he whispered. "Phil..."

"We need to get you up on deck," Phil said, trying to stay calm, but his voice was trembling. "Can you take my shoulders and stand up?"

Dan's nails dug into Phil's sides as he pulled himself up. Their eyes locked for a second - Dan's full of pain, and Phil's desperate, with held-back tears making them glitter.

Dan swayed slowly on his feet. He felt like his head was being slowly crushed, and that his skull was cracking under the pressure. He felt dizziness and sickness wash over him.

"I love you, Phil."

Phil shook his head, gripping onto Dan's back and trying desperately to lift him into a standing position. Tears dripped down his cheeks. "Please, Dan."

"I'm sorry."

Dan leaned forward and kissed Phil, gently, trying to convey all of his emotions with this one movement, ignoring the pain that swelled as he moved, and focusing only on reaching Phil. Their lips met, Phil's salty, Dan's bleeding. He pulled away slowly, not breaking his gaze.

Then, he collapsed.