The League [Phan AU]

Chapter 2

The morning dawned in its usual way, sunlight streaking through the crack in the curtains and warming Dan's face. He turned over to face Phil, whose face was relaxed and deep in sleep. Dan smiled to himself, content to just lay there for hours. Instead, he gently lifted the covers and went into the kitchen, deciding what he should make them for breakfast.
Dan had just finished making everything when Phil padded into the room, sleepy and cute the way Dan adored. They shared a quick kiss before sitting down to enjoy their food.
"Any plans today?" Phil asked his boyfriend, taking a bite of his toast.
"More meetings, and I have to train some newbies. You can come along if you want."
"Okay, Tyler should be here soon, right?"
Dan nodded. "He'll probably come as well."
"That's what she said," Phil mumbled. Dan laughed and rolled his eyes.
-
When Tyler arrived he set his suitcase in the guest bedroom and then left with the two for the Hideout. It was in desperate need of renovation, but no one thought it was a good idea to fix it at all. If they did it might blow their cover.
Inside there were people all over the room, hitting punching bags or other people. Some greeted them as they walked through, others looked in the other direction. Dan knew people either loved or hated him, it was a trait he had acquired from his father.
The three jogged up the steel staircase to their boss's office. Dan was not afraid of the pudgy man, he was merely a pawn in a bigger game. He probably had five bosses telling him what to do.
"Ah boys, good to see you, especially you Philip," he greeted. Phil only smiled in reply.
"Where are the newbies?" Dan asked, wanting to get to it.
"Gun range, doing nothing at the moment," he replied.
"Great. Come on, Phil."
The two left the office, nodding to Tyler as they went. They descended the stairs, scanning the room for his trainees. He found a group of seven teens right where the boss had said they would be. They looked frightened and well, emo. The only two girls in the group had hair dyed vibrant colors.
"I'm Dan Howell, I will be your instructor. This is my partner, Phil Lester."
The group stood up and got in a line, military like until you saw their posture. The League wasn't one for formalities though. They were assassins, not a militia.
"Tell me your names," Dan commanded, looking into the eyes of the first kid who had messy blonde hair and a lanky body. "Bryan Stars."
Dan continued on until the end of the line, making sure to remember the names of his trainees.
"We'll start with the basics, the guns," he explained, leading them over to the gun range. "You'll each start with a simple hand gun. Hold your gun like so, using your other hand as support. Keep your fingers off the trigger until you're ready to fire."
Phil watched Dan walk between them, helping them hold the guns right and improve their aim. He looked so much like his father when he taught, and sometimes it scared Phil. Dan's father was ruthless and cold hearted, the type of person Dan could easily be if he wanted.
The noises of gunfire filled the air, bringing Phil back to a time and place he didn't want to be in. He took a few steps forward and tapped Dan's shoulder, his boyfriend's eyes cold until they softened at the sight of him.
"I... I have to..."
Dan nodded, pulling Phil into his embrace. "I'll be up when we're done," Dan whispered in his ear. Phil left Dan's grip to go up the stairs, opening the door to a room he sat in way too often. It was the only room in the whole warehouse that cancelled out the noise of whatever was going on outside.
The flashbacks started, and Phil sat down quickly. He had only been fourteen... Too young to be there... Too unskilled... Too afraid...
He snapped his head up when he heard someone come through the door. There stood a scrawny girl with blue hair, looking at him with her soft, green eyes. Phil noticed his hands were shaking and he looked away.
"It's okay," she said, sitting on the worn out leather sofa beside him. "I get them too sometimes."
Phil looked at her, recognizing her as one of Dan's recruits. "How'd you get away from Dan?" Phil asked her.
"I'm sneaky," she shrugged. "It's why the League hired me."
They sat in silence for a moment, but it wasn't awkward. It was actually quite comfortable and calming, exactly what Phil needed. The door burst open, interrupting the quiet. Dan was there, wild eyes searching the room.
"Phil? Oh, there you are Alex," he said, surprisingly calm. He must have liked the girl.
"I should probably get back to my friends," Alex said, getting up with a quick smile at Phil. She slipped past Dan who then came into the room and sat beside his boyfriend, taking his hand.
"Sorry about that," Dan sighed, running his free hand through his hair.
"Don't be, it's no one's fault," Phil assured him.
"No... Everything is someone's fault. My dad's orders caused your anxiety around gunfire, it's his fault."
"You can't just blame everything on people, Dan. You have to learn to just let some things go."
Dan sighed in defeat, taking out his phone to check the time. "Almost time for the meeting, come on."
The two left the quiet room and went into the office again. A large map of London had been set up at the table in the center. Dan's eyes scanned the map, seeing several banks circled in red. Tyler was soon at Dan's side.
"This is big," Tyler said, just loud enough for Dan to hear.
"Yeah," Dan agreed. People starting filing into the room, standing around the table. Their boss came in finally, followed by a short, scrawny boy, and stood with him at the head of the table.
"I know we've been very secretive about this operation, but it's finally time for you all to be briefed on the plan," the boss began. "You will all be split into two teams, one for each bank on this street." He pointed to one of the roads on the map.
"Team 1 will be led by Howell. Lester, Oakley, Sugg, and Lee are on that one along with my son. This is his first mission, so I'm hoping he makes a good impression."
Dan nodded to the kid, who looked nervously around the room. He ran a hand through his messy, brown hair and kept his gaze on his shoes.
"Team 2 will be led by Chapman. Burr, Butler, Smart, Deyes, and the older Sugg will be on that team. The goal of your mission is to steal as much cash as possible. There's no limit and no goal, just as much as possible. Don't get caught and bring the cash to the docks, you'll see our ship and they'll take your load."
"When is it?" someone asked. Dan looked over and saw it was Marcus Butler who had spoken.
"Two weeks. You'll be told when to report here and your team will be given a truck and all the equipment you'll need. You're all dismissed."
The room erupted into chatter as the head left. His son stayed behind, and joined Dan with the rest of their team.
Tyler looked at the group and laughed. "Looks like they put all the gays on the same team," he chuckled. "Unless you're not..." He continued, looking to the boss's son.
"No... I am actually," he said, earning a chuckle all throughout the group.
"Your dad probably thought you'd fit best with us," Sugg, or Joe, said to him.
-
"Howell, Lester, wait up!" Someone called behind them. The boys had left after everyone else, ready to curl up in bed together and just relax. They turned around and saw the second in command jogging to them. He was only in his thirties, and of similar build and height as Dan.
"Boss has got a small mission for you two," he said, handing them a manila folder when he had caught up to them. "They want it done by next week."
"Alright, we'll take care of it," Dan said, turning away to leave, cursing under his breath. They couldn't go one week without a task to do for the League.
On the way home they caught up to Tyler and walked the rest of the way with him.
-
The sun had finally set below the horizon and Dan climbed under the covers next to Phil. Their body heat helped keep them extra warm as they drifted off to sleep.