Found

I finally found you

"It... It's finally over?" Phil questioned, unsure of whether or not to believe anything anymore.

"Yeah... I think it is." Sam replied, smiling so big Phil was positive her cheeks hurt.

Phil and Sam had found each other barely a few days after it had happened.

All Phil remembers is being woken up by police sirens, and turning to his boyfriend of five years, Dan, who was sitting up and rubbing his eyes. They turned on the news in their bedroom, and heard what had happened. At first, they didn't believe it. I mean, the dead coming back to life? That only happens in Sci-Fi. But then they looked out the window, and saw for themselves. It was all so surreal, until they heard the pounding at their front door. They thought it might be someone who needed help, needed to escape the chaos outside, until they heard it. The low pained screams that weren't quite human or animal.

Phil came back to reality and turned to Samantha grinning along with her, pulling her in for a hug.

"It's over." He said, flashing back again. Dan and Phil had decided that their best option was to wait until whatever was out there had lost interest in their apartment and left, but that didn't exactly work out so well. The screams eventually stopped, and they walked into the hallway of their apartment building and saw nothing. They continued outside, and that's the last they saw of each other. There were people running in all different directions, and they were separated. Phil had spent hours searching for Dan and, when unable to find him, gave up, expecting the worst.

Phil pulled away from Sam, tears forming in his eyes at both the fact that it was finally over, and because he had lost the one true love of his life. It's been almost ten years since he last saw Dan, and there was still no sign that he was alive.

"Sam..." Phil looked her in the eyes, completely serious.

"Yeah? What is it?" Sam asked worriedly.

"I need to... I need to go back to my old apartment. I have to see if there's anything left in there of... his."

Sam nodded, understanding what Phil was saying. He had told her about Dan, and she understood, because she had lost her girlfriend around the same time.

"Would you like me to come with you?" She was worried about him, and didn't want him to have to do this by himself.

"No, I think I need to do this alone. I'll come back though. I promise, we'll see each other again."

"At least let me go back into the city with you. I want to see my old apartment too."

Phil nodded and they headed out. There was no point in waiting they decided. It's now or never.

Phil walked into his old apartment. The door was off it's hinges, and it looked as if somebody had ransacked the place for food and supplies, but all of the pictures and video games and movies were where they had been the last time Phil had been there. He walked into the lounge and ran his hands across the video games, remembering afternoons spent with Dan, cuddled up and playing on the consoles. He smiled slightly at the memory of the times when things would get heated between them and they almost ended up murdering each other.

Suddenly, Phil heard a noise from the bedroom, as if something had fallen. Fear made its' way to his heart as he considered the possibilities. What if it was another corpse? What if it's actually not over? Then he heard a soft curse from a slightly familiar voice. It couldn't be... Could it?

Trying not to get his hopes up, Phil walked warily to the bedroom. When he got to the door, he heard some shuffling as if someone was looking through papers.

Phil took a deep breath, reminding himself again to not get his hopes up. It could be anyone- or anything- in there. He peeked his head around the corner, and what he saw made all of those thoughts disappear immediately. He was older, and looked more worn-down, but it was undeniably him.

"Dan?" He asked, not believing his eyes.

Dan looked up, startled and defensive, but when he saw who was there, he dropped everything he was holding, also unable to believe what he was seeing.

"Ph- Phil? Is that really you?"

Phil moved so that he was standing completely in the doorway, and nodded. He wanted to run up and hug Dan, but his legs didn't seem to work.

"Oh my god, Phil!" Dan yelled as he rushed forward, wrapping his arms around Phil.

The feeling of Dan there, with his arms wrapped around him, brought back Phil's ability to move. He responded to Dan's embrace by snuggling his face into Dan's neck and holding him as tight as possible, tears beginning to run down his face, not sure if he could ever let go.

"Dan... I thought I lost you, I thought you were..."

"I know, Phil, me too... I- Oh my god, I missed you so much..." Phil heard Dan's voice crack, and he held Dan even tighter. After all this time, all these years of not knowing, Phil finally had the love of his life back in his arms, and all he knew was that he never wanted to let go again.