Phan One Shots - jilliancares

The Boy Who Made It Rain

tw: parallels between the rain and depression

Dan could control the weather. Not everywhere, of course. No, he could only control it in his little town. There were higher ups, people who got cities or even entire states. Dan was glad that he didn't get assigned to something as big as a state, because then there'd be even more angry people turning up at his door. Already, most of the town hated him, and people were constantly knocking on his door, telling him to please, please make it stop raining. It wasn't that simple.

They always came in bright red rain boots and blinding yellow jackets. Dan didn't understand why they wanted the rain to stop so badly when they had these devices to protect them.

He was currently laying on the floor, his knees hugged to his chest, and he sighed as he heard a knock on the door. He contemplated just laying there and refusing to answer the door altogether, but he knew he wasn't supposed to do that, and he was supposed to take weather requests after all.

The only ones he ever accepted were thunderstorms.

Dan slumped out of his room, sighing as he heard the familiar pounding of rain on his windows. That was his work, he was making that rain fall from the sky, hit the windows, bounce from the pavement. He was the one flooding the fields and making the thunder crack through the clouds, followed immediately by the bright flash of lightning. It was always immediate, the storm was always right here.

He took his time going to the door, expecting one of his usual complaints.

"Please make it sunny tomorrow, please! It's my daughter's birthday, she wants to play outside!" Dan thought playing in the rain was the most fun.

"Why can't you make it not rain for just one day, you lousy asshole!" Dan almost conjured a tornado the next day.

"If it's not sunny tomorrow, I swear I'll have to kill you." Dan flooded the town.

What Dan was most certainly not expecting was a boy at his door, who looked about his age, with the kindest question on his lips. "Would you like some cookies?"

"I- What?" Dan asked, staring at the boy in confusion.

"I made some cookies, I was wondering if you wanted any," he said, and Dan was just about to refuse, when he changed his mind. Would could be the harm?

"Sure, why not. Do you want to come in?"

And that's how Dan ended up with a boy named Phil on his living room carpet, with an empty tin of chocolate chip cookies in between them.

"So, do you have a weather request?" Dan asked finally, knowing that this part was inevitable. It was in his job description, if he were to invite someone into his home, he was supposed to ask them for a request. In truth, Dan had never actually had someone in his home before, as he'd never even had a real friend.

"No, not really." The boy answered, and then he excused himself, and bid Dan a good day, and he was gone. Dan thought about him for the rest of the day, and when he slept, he dreamt of a boy who shone like the sun.

The next day the boy returned, and this time he was carrying brownies. Dan accepted, and he invited Phil inside, but not without accusing him of trying to make him fat.

After they'd eaten every crumb in sight, Dan sighed and asked the question. "Any requests?"

"No thanks," Phil answered, and Dan blinked in confusion, but he accepted it.

He wasn't even surprised when Phil showed up the next day, a tin of sweets in hand. Dan told himself not to get used to it, and then he invited him right in. And when it was time for Phil to go, he did not ask for any weather requests, and Dan couldn't help but wonder what was going on. Why would anyone bother interacting with him, if not for the weather?

One night was particularly bad, and Dan was wrapped in his duvet as he sat on the floor, and he couldn't help wondering why he was so sad. The rain was coming down in waves, and as a tear rolled down Dan's cheek, thunder boomed outside the window. He was taken aback when he heard a knock on his door, and he wondered what kind of person would dare go outside in a storm like this. Dan doesn't know why he was surprised to see Phil.

He invited Phil inside, and together they talked and laughed, and Dan didn't even notice as the storm died down.

"Why is it raining all the time, Dan?" Phil asked one night, a week or two later. Sleepovers were now a common occurrence between the two, and Phil would show up even when he didn't have freshly baked sweets. (Sometimes Dan missed the baked goods, but he missed Phil more when he's not there.)

"I can't help it," Dan whispered, and he thought about how sad he was all the time, the anger and sorrow that constantly fought within him, causing him to simply lie on the floor and let the weather do the talking.

"Is it because you're sad?" Phil questioned, and Dan sighed, admitting defeat.

"I can't help that either," Dan replied, and as he closed his eyes, Phil slipped his hand into his. Dan didn't even notice as the raining outside subsided into a drizzle.

It was weeks later when Phil kissed him. He'd brought over a basket of cookies, and his lips had tasted like chocolate. When Phil had told him he loved him, Dan had replied likewise. That night they'd lain in each other's arms, re-tasting the sweet, chocolate chip cookies every few minutes.

The next day, as the clouds drifted away and the rain ceased to fall from the sky, a rainbow appeared, as did the sun. It turns out that Dan only needed some company, he needed someone to like him for him, and not because he could change the weather.

Of course, it still rained, quite a lot actually. Sometimes it rained for what felt like forever, but the sun still appeared sometimes. In fact, the sun was starting to come out more and more, and Dan had people complaining to him of sunburns. The next day he gave them sweltering heat coupled with humidity.