Midnight Eyes ✵ Phan

*11*

Phil hurried with Dan in in his arms towards his apartment. The boy was ice cold and his fingers looked to be turning a freakish shade of blue. It was just like when Phil had first found him. They had taken two steps forward in the right direction...only to take two steps back.

The others, including Zoe, scurried behind them, all wittering to each other about what was about to happen. They knew Phil well and Phil, despite his happy facade, could break easily if someone hurt him. And with the lengths they went to find Dan, it was almost certain that Dan had hurt him.

'Phil, are you alright to take care of this by yourself?' Troye asked as Dan hit the bed, Phil wrapping him in a cocoon of blankets. 'We are happy to help but I also want to give you space if you need it.' Troye continued, Phil simply nodded, no words forming in his mouth as he began to rummage for medical supplies.

The others soon left, each with their own goodbyes to a barely conscious Dan. He had woken up sometime during the ordeal and was struggling to keep his eyes open, despite the hubbub around him. His eyes were peeling open before snapping shut and his arms barely twitched as he tried to move them. It was as if he had woken up from a coma. The fever he was most likely coming down with wasn't helping either but Dan knew that problem would soon be out of the way- or at least he hoped so with the number of medical supplies in Phil's arms.

'I don't really know how to treat something like...this,' he motioned to Dan's body, finding no more words for the symptoms he had, 'so I'm just going to give you what I take when I have a fever...if that's what you have.' Phil mumbled to himself, rambling about the importance of medication as he began to play doctor with the Neko boy in his bed. Within no time, Dan was asleep and Phil was barely awake next to him, both of them lulled to sleep by the hectic day they had both just suffered.

When they woke up, it was by the sun blasting through the window, causing them to flinch as it hit both of their faces. Dan hissed and scurried backward whilst Phil yawned and stretched upwards before leaving the comfort of the bed. 'Are you feeling better?' Phil smiled weakly, taking Dan's temperature again. His forehead still seemed too hot and his fingers too cold but it was nothing a few more days could fix, his body was capable by itself at this point.

'Why didn't you just let me go?' Dan mumbled, hiding his face behind his legs. He was fed up with all this: the care, the comfort, the hope. Phil was giving him blind hope for a better future when Dan knew he never had one. He had to go alone if he was going to stay alive and Phil wasn't working in that equation.

'You sound like you expected me to.' Phil's eyebrows furrowed, his face contorting into one of confusion. 'You thought I would leave you out to die?' His voice was raised, his body tense as his confusion was replaced by a loud anger.

'Yes, I did.' Dan's voice was strong, doing whatever he needed to do to get rid of the man in front of him.

'How?' Phil breathed, his voice trembling under the pressure of those words. 'How could you really believe THAT I WOULD LET YOU DIE OUT THERE!'

'I DON'T KNOW! Okay? Just let me go, you say you're helping but you're only putting my in a prison...it's no better than what they would do if they caught me.' Silence fell, encasing the screams and shouts that had suddenly come out of their own mouths. They didn't believe it themselves. How could Dan make Phil lose his temper so uncontrollably? Why was Dan the only one who could make him this passionate about something? How was this possible?

'I'm not letting you go. You know this dismal place is the best that either of us can get.' Phil gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. This was painful for him, painful for Dan too. Both of them were so desperate not to have to separate but in this moment both of them wanted to run away and face their problems alone- like so many people do.

'I know...I just don't think I can burden you any longer.' Dan admitted, letting out a heavy breath as he watched the curtains flutter as the wind blew through the open window.

'You're not, don't you understand that? I care about you, Dan. For God's sake, I hardly know you and I already count you as my best friend. What more can I do to convince you to stay?' Phil begged, falling onto the bed where Dan still lay, clasping one of his hands in his own.

'You don't have to do a thing.' Dan admitted. 'I don't want to leave...and if you feel that I'm not a burden...'

'You're not.' Phil assured, giving his hand a small, reassuring squeeze to emphasise his point. Their eyes locked and the truth came flooding out. Phil only portrayed sincerity so different to Dan's restraint to tell the truth. He couldn't understand how Phil could be so forward- he couldn't understand why he loved that trait so much.

'Okay...then I'll stay.' Dan smiled weakly, leaning himself against the headboard of the bed, his head pounding at the sudden change in orientation. Phil smiled brightly, on the other hand, the words making his day- his year even.

Simply knowing Dan was going to stay was all he needed.

'But, if I'm going to stay...' he paused, taking in a deep breath, 'I want you to know what happened in my past.' Dan admitted, twiddling his thumbs, his concentration on anything but Phil, who was now making his way to sit down to Dan on the rather small bed frame.

'Tell me anything; I'm here for you.'

word count: 1008

published: 20.04.17