United [A Superhero AU] - Book Two

Chapter Twenty-Seven - Phil

The moment the meeting is over, Phil pulls himself to his feet and moves to the kitchen, desperately needing tea. He hates talking about the villains. It makes him think of... no. No, he can't. It's been hidden for more than a year now. That secret will not get out now.

He sets the kettle on the stovetop and closes his eyes, his mind travelling back to him and the many occasions where he would slip away under everyone's noses just to show up at Phil's flat. He always managed to smile, even if new bruises dotted his neck and arms. Nobody knew about the two of them, not even his brothers. Phil exhales shakily, his eyes burning. He didn't get enough chances to be with him. He'll never get another chance.

Phil opens his eyes and scrubs the moisture off his cheeks. He won't break down in the middle of the kitchen like this. He won't. The kettle starts whistling and he jumps, the shrill sound piercing the air and his thoughts.  With shaking hands, he pours the water into his tea, feeling every ripple and pulse of the liquid in his skin. The ability to control water certainly does interesting things to your senses.

The entrance to the kitchen, which can be closed by a sliding door, slides shut and Phil jumps, nearly dropping the kettle.  He manages to set it clumsily on the stove and turn, his eyes locking onto Jack's uncovered eye. The villain stands a few feet away, his back pressed against the closed door.

"I wanted to thank you," Jack says, his voice soft. "For... for sticking up for the villains."

"Oh. You're welcome," Phil replies, smiling weakly.

"You made it sound like you knew one of us personally."

The Brit's breath hitches in his throat and he clutches his mug in shaky hands. Was it that obvious? Did Jack really catch on that quickly?

"How did you know?" Phil asks softly. He knows the question is dumb, but he can't help himself. He needs to know what tipped the villain off.

"I dunno. You stood up for us, and I saw this pain in your eyes, and the more I thought about it the more I realized that you don't hate me like Felix and Matthias do," Jack explains. His lip trembles, but he manages to hold back the emotions that well up. "It was Dan, wasn't it?"

Phil inhales sharply. Hearing his name sends a sharp stab of pain through his chest and causes a deep ache in his bones. In his mind's eye, he can see Dan's smile. He can hear his voice and his laugh echoing in his ears like it was a moment ago, not months ago. He meets Jack's eyes again, their pools of blue reflecting the same grief.

"Why didn't he tell me?" Jack whispers, his voice breaking.

"He didn't tell anyone. He always told me that he wanted something to be purely his own, after so much had been taken," Phil replies, scrubbing the tears from his face. "He spoke so fondly of you, Jack."

"Were you two..." The Irishman hesitates for a moment and sniffles. "Like..."

"A thing...? Yeah."

Jack nods slightly, tears slipping down his cheeks. "God, I miss him so much."

"I do too," Phil whispers.

A moment of silence passes before Jack wipes the last of the moisture from his face and takes a deep breath. "Mark is probably wondering where I disappeared to. It was good talking with you, Phil, even if we both got all emotional."

The Brit chuckles breathlessly, and Jack waves a little as he slips out of the room. The moment he's gone, Phil crumbles. With his mug tightly grasped in his shaking hands, he sinks to the ground and shuts his eyes.

The moment Phil heard the door creak open, he knew who it was. He could feel his heart rate increase almost immediately as he set his laptop aside and scurried to the front door. The city was windy that day. He remembers because the light scarf and coat that Dan had worn made him look like a British icon. His super suit had been replaced by black skinny jeans and a regular t-shirt, and Phil thought it was easily the best looking thing he'd ever worn.

"Phil," Dan breathed, smiling brightly. A few new bruises peeked out from beneath his collar, breaking Phil's heart in one glance.

"Dan, come inside," Phil replied, taking his hand. The villain kicked off his shoes hastily and discarded his coat and scarf before following the hero into the house, his hand clenched in Phil's. "I'm guessing they didn't see you leave again."

"Yeah... I was going to tell Jack, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I just want to enjoy you whenever I can and not worry about anything else," Dan said. He sent that oh-so-familiar smirk in Phil's direction and the hero felt his heart do a somersault. His heart did strange things when he was around Dan. No matter what happened during the day, it always felt lighter when he was around.

Dan pulled him down onto the couch, successfully making Phil turn bright red. After agreeing to watch Doctor Who, the hero allowed himself to cuddle against the villain's chest. The TV show never seemed to be a big enough distraction, though. Gently, he traced a finger along the bruises on Dan's collarbone and frowned when he felt him flinch.

"There's more," he commented in a hushed voice. "Was it the boss again?"

"Yeah..." Dan sighed heavily and pressed a kiss to the top of the Brit's head. "It'll be better eventually. He just... gets mad when we don't do everything he wants."

Phil exhaled and tightened his arm around Dan's waist. "I'm sorry."

Dan caught the hero's chin between his fingers and smiled a little, his brown eyes shimmering. "It's okay, Phil. Don't worry about me. When this is all over, we can spend all the time in the world together."

They never got all the time in the world. A short time later, less than a month, Phil watched from a distance as a bullet tore through the villain's head. He knew he was dead the moment it happened, but that didn't stop him from trying to get over there and heal him. Felix had grabbed him and dragged him away, writing it off as shock. He didn't realize that in that moment, Phil's world fell apart.

Phil muffles his sob with his hand, keeping the other firmly clasped on the handle of his mug. His tea grows colder the longer he sits on the floor and cries, but he doesn't care. He misses Dan, and now Jack knows of the secret he's kept for so long.

At least someone knows.