Phan oneshots

A curious case (Part 3)

Warnings: Flinching from physical contact
————————————————————————

Dan's POV

I spent more time in the shower than was necessary, but you would too after years of never experiencing warm water. It was obvious I had forgotten how modern equipment works, as I couldn't figure out how to open the shower door for several moments. Once I did, I dried off and put on the clothes Phil had provided. It was just some black jeans, white short sleeved shirt, some boxer shorts, and a pair of mismatched socks. They all actually fit pretty perfectly, despite Phil's fuller build.

I rubbed the fogged mirror with a towel to look properly at myself. Having not showered in several weeks, I looked much different then when I had before. Though I couldn't remember the last time I was by a mirror, I'm pretty sure I didn't look as I do now. My hair was brown and staring to curl in scattered places. There were still marks from my bad living conditions, such as deep bags under my eyes, my emaciated frame, and cuts and scrapes over my body.

I was never one for looks, so I shrug, calling it good enough, and open the bathroom door. Unsure what to do with the orange jumper, I leave it crumpled on the floor. Walking out of the bathroom, I look around at Phil's apartment. It was a cozy place, decorated with all sorts of random zainy decorations. I recognized several as things from video games, having passed by lots of shop displays in my years of wandering.

I gently picked up a curious gold object. It looked like 3 triangles all joined together to make a bigger triangle with one missing in the middle. On the bookshelf there was many more other obscure objects.

"What do you think of the place?"

I flinch and whirl around, to find Phil standing there with a kind smile on his face. He looked much different now, without his police officer gear on. Like he had said, the padding he wore did a lot to increase his build. Now I could see he was similar to me, but healthier and not as painfully skinny.

"Oh! It's good.." I say, putting the gold triangle down sneakily. Many years of self survival had taught me how to replace things back without people noticing.

But many years of officer training had taught Phil how to read body language.

"It's alright," He says laughing. "You can inspect my stuff all you'd like." He places an arm onto my shoulder. My instincts make me flinch and dive away from the touch. I crash backwards into his bookshelf before quickly standing up.

"Oh!" Phil exclaims, looking worried. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you jump. Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm good.. And don't worry about it," I say, rubbing the back of my neck, embarrassed by my dramatic reaction. I took controlled breathes to calm my wild heart. "Sorry, I guess I'm not used to physical contact yet.."

"No no," Phil says hurriedly, "I understand, really. I'll make sure I at least ask before touching you."

"You'd do that?" I ask quietly, used to people laughing and saying to just deal with it.

Phil smiles and nods enthusiastically. "Why?" I ask, my eyebrows dipping in confusion. "Why are you so nice to me? I'm a criminal, you know," I say with a dry laugh. "I've murdered people Phil."

"Well, I think everyone deserves a second chance," Phil says, his cheery attitude never faltering. I stare into his eyes. The smallest of smiles twitches at my lips.

"Thanks Phil," I say, a sudden heat on my cheeks.

"Don't mention it!" He beams. "Now, you must be hungry. Jeez look at yourself, Dan! Skin and bones, that's all you are." He motions for me to follow him. I do, and he leads me through his apartment, all the rest of it having the same nerdy decorations. I also noted lots of houseplants, some looking very unhealthy.

Phil chuckles nervously as we get to the kitchen. "Now I'm not sure if I have anything good to eat, so we might end up ordering take out."

I shrug. "Phil after 15 years of eating by pretty much the grace of other people, do you really think I care about what I eat?"

Phil glances at me before walking back over to the fridge. "You're right, I'm sure we can find something."

I lean against the counter, feeling awkward. Was I supposed to help, go sit at the table, watch him.. Phil notices my distress and says, "You can help by getting out some plates and cups, they're in the cabinet over there." He points me in the right direction. I nod and go over to the cabinet, getting out 2 plates and cups. It was nice being tall, for they were on the top shelf. I set down the plates and as I reach up for the cups Phil comes up behind me. I tense up, hating having my back exposed to him.

"You've got a ball of fuzz on your shirt, can I get rid of it?"

I gulp and nod my head, trying not to drop the cups as I set them on the counter. I barely feel Phil's finger grab at my shirt, so gentle was it. I hear his footsteps walk away, and I release my breath. I try to go on like nothing happened, but I find myself watch him as he throws together some sandwiches.

He kept to his word.. he asked me before he did anything. Even though it was such a small and thoughtful thing as removing a fuzz wod, he made sure to ask.

I feel a smile creep onto my face.

~Time Skip~

I like Phil. A lot.

He's smart, considerate, caring, sweet, and bubbly all mixed together in just the right ways. He knows enough about the human body to not let me scarf down my food all down at once. He said that would result in a massive stomach ache, since I hadn't eaten properly in a long time. He let me pick exactly what I wanted on my sandwich, let me sit wherever I felt comfortable, and cleaned up after my mess in the bathroom. Sure, they might not seem like huge deals, but to me they were the best I had ever been treated. I think Phil knew this and went out of his way to be nice, but I also suspected he was in general just super nice to everyone.

I got to know him better, and as I did, I slowly felt my walls breaking down. I no longer watched his every move with fear, or waited for the moment when he would suddenly throw me back into jail. I don't know much about it, but I think that I was ever so slowly starting to trust Phil.

Earlier we had been sat at his table, talking over boring legal crap. ID's, who I belonged to, my rights, etc. I think that if any other person had taken me home they would've screamed and ripped their hair out from all the complications. But Phil knew exactly what he was talking about and hardly ever skipped a beat when going over everything with me. He said for awhile I would be under his care, but after I legally became a citizen of the UK I would be my own person.

I was completely confused to everything he was saying, but he patiently explained it to me until I pretty much got it. He told me that for my education there were classes for adults that had either been in jail all their lives or had come from from another country that didn't have schools. I fit into neither of those things, but I could attend anyway. The other option was me getting a private tutor. I didn't know which was worse: being with lots of people I don't know or with a single person in private. Both set alarms off inside of me. Thankfully Phil said I wouldn't start that until I had adapted to everything.

And speaking of adapting, I was also starting to get used to Phil's random touches. It was funny that someone with a career as a police office was as touchy feely as he is. He had been living alone up until I came, so now all his playful affection was going towards me. Which I didn't mind, usually. He made sure to ask every time he wanted to hug me or bump me with his elbow.

Now we were sat on the couch, watching some sort of comedy show. I didn't get much of the humor, but I just enjoyed watching Phil laugh. He had such a beautiful laugh. His eyes would crinkle up with joy and his tongue would poke out the side of his mouth. I was slightly transfixed as I stared at his pale skin and high cheekbones. He glanced over to me, catching me staring, and I turned away, my face heating my face up.

Way to be subtle Dan.

I touched my face, wondering why I felt the way I did. My stomach was clenched together, my face was hot, and it felt like butterflies were madly flying around in my belly.

What was this feeling?

————————————————————————
By popular demand, I'm adding more onto this series. Sorry for such a long wait :/