DEADROSES | PHAN

-ˏˋ twenty three ˎˊ-

☾ ☽

almost an hour later, and dan had finally almost completely calmed down.

they were sitting on phil's bed, and they were supposed to be drinking tea, but the mugs had been long forgotten on phil's dark bedside table. and phil was staring at him intently as he spoke, in a soft but purposeful voice, telling his story up to the very last detail. it felt incredible to let it out, he had to admit.

"wait-" phil said, cutting him off and holding out a hand. "they just... disappeared?"

he was talking about dan's parents, which wasn't a sensitive topic anymore, despite how nervous phil seemed to be to mention it. it had stopped being one about a year ago.

dan nodded, pushing some curly brown hair out of his eyes.

"yeah," he snapped his fingers. "just like that. into thin air." he sighed, shrugging. "i mean- i was thirteen. i was terrified. i called the police when they weren't home by the morning, and..." dan frowned. "they found jarvis."

okay, maybe a little bit of a sensitive topic.

phil stared at him, shaking his head. "wow. wow. that's awful."

dan nodded. "it's okay," he said with a smile. "it was a long time ago."

"so you have no idea how you got these... powers?"

phil scooted closer, as if to hear him better. dan's skin tingled, his hair standing up straight even though phil wasn't touching him.

"no," dan confirmed, staring at his hands. "i've had them since i was really young. i always assumed it was a curse. and i could never do something like that before..." he said, referring to the vine incident.

"a curse?" phil sounded astonished, and dan looked up to blink his dark eyes as him, confused. "dan, what you can do is the farthest thing from a curse i've ever seen."

dan frowned, his head falling to the side in question. "what...?"

phil laughed, but in a surprised way, like he couldn't believe dan didn't understand. "it's amazing! you can grow flowers, dan, by walking! it's beautiful, you're beautiful."

his eyes went wide and he cleared his throat at that last part. dan's face went red, but he couldn't figure out whether phil had meant it or if it had just been an accident.

"it's not... beautiful," dan argued. "it's weird, and impossible. i'm a freak of nature."

"don't." phil interrupted, his voice surprisingly firm. "you are not a freak of nature. if anything, you're a miracle."

dan blinked at him, a little bit shocked. phil seemed so astonished by something that dan had merely learned to live with. he thought it was beautiful... it made dan's heart race. it made him want to show him every last flower, for every emotion he had ever experienced.

he was so caught up in his own thoughts that he didn't notice phil moving even closer, and then their knees were touching, even the slight contact making dan tense.

"it's amazing," phil said softly but firmly, searching dan's eyes as if he was trying to drill the knowledge into his head. it was so intense that dan felt dizzy.

phil's eyes flickered, his gaze flashing to dan's lips, and suddenly dan's heart rate was so much faster. it probably would have beaten right out of his chest if they hadn't been interrupted by a loud knock on the door.

➸

phil stood up quickly, smiling apologetically at dan. he was almost glad the knock had come when it did, as he was almost positive if it hadn't, he would have done something embarrassing.

he shook his head, hurrying to the door.

he hoped it was eliza; maybe he could convince dan to show her too. or maybe not. it was selfish, but he kind of wanted to be the only one to know about dan's abilities. it felt more special and sacred that way.

sadly, it wasn't eliza.

"hello," a cool voice said, and phil had to look up, literally, to see jarvis's pointed facial features.

he nearly slammed the door in his face, but instead, he stood up straighter.

"hey," he said, the same cold creeping into his tone that was already in the man's voice. jarvis flashed him an obviously faked smile, and cleared his throat.

"is dan here? i'm here to bring him home."

"no," phil said automatically. "he's not here." he said the last bit louder so dan could hear it, hoping desperately that he would stay in the room. jarvis raised his eyebrows.

"look, i know he lives here," he said slowly, as if he were talking to a small child. "so if you could tell him to come out, it'd be much appreciated."

phil scowled at him, protectiveness swelling in his chest. "i said, he's not here," he repeated, pointedly. "and he wouldn't go with you anyways. you kicked him out on the street, remember? kindly go away."

he started to close the door, but jarvis held out a hand to stop it, letting out an angry huff.

"that's too bad," he said, louder, using the same tactic phil had to make dan overhear. "because i have his piano and i figured he'd want it back."

"you what?"

phil sighed as dan ran out of the room, leaving a trail of thriving sunflowers behind him. jarvis smiled slyly, and nodded.

"all you have to do is come home," he said in dan's direction. he flashed phil a glare, before turning on his heel and leaving.

dan laughed in excitement, running to phil and grabbing his arm.

"you aren't going to fall for that, are you?" phil asked, a little defensively, crossing his arms.

"no, you don't understand-! it's my piano." he nearly squealed, rocking back and forth on his heels like a child. "i thought he got rid of it! i can't believe this!"

phil grumbled something under his breath, and the smile dropped from dan's face.

"hey, i encourage your art. why won't you do the same for me?" he asked sadly, and guilt pooled in phil's stomach.

"dan, that's not what i meant." phil shrugged, examining his face. "i just don't trust him."

i also don't trust you not to leave, right when i'm starting to figure you out, he thought, but didn't say. dan sighed.

"yeah... but he's the only parent i have," he said quietly, and phil felt even worse.

dan skipped off, clearly happy to have the shoes off, back to his room, and phil followed a bit slower.

"don't worry," dan said, looking up from the bed when phil walked in. "i'm not going anywhere just yet. cards?"

phil nodded, moving to sit next to the hyperactive boy.

i sure hope not.