(A/N I seriously can not handle all the support this has been getting. I've never been noticed for anything and I just *chokes up* okay okay I'll stop I'm sorry. Point is, thanks so much for 1.7k and enjoy the new chapter, bunnies!)
Phil's POV
All of my worry and fear disappeared as soon as those gorgeous chocolate eyes met mine. After I had entered the apartment to find Dan was gone, I had a damn-near heart attack. But only a few minutes later, he came in wearing a mysterious rainbow scarf... Which I chose not to question. Instead, I threw my arms around him and breathed in his wonderful vanilla scent. I was just so happy to hold him close to me and love him and kiss him that it took me a bit to snap back into reality.
Finally pulling away from a kiss that had been nothing less than wonderful, I took his hand in mine and forced myself to stop smiling like an idiot. Rolling back his jacket sleeve, tears welled up in my eyes immediately. The sight of those ugly, deep cuts were too much for my heart to handle.
He shrunk back at first, but then let me look over his arms without more than a flinch or two. I tried to stop it, but a tear spilled down my face before I could wipe it away.
"Oh, no no no no no Phil, don't cry. It's okay. I'm fine, just a little... A little damaged is all."
He said quietly.
"Sorry."
I said, sniffing.
"Come on with me."
I grabbed his hand and began leading him down the hall to the bathroom. Once we were there, I opened up the cabinets and got out some bandages. I knew bandaids wouldn't help, so I got out two ace bandages to wrap around his wrists.
I slipped off his jacket. He didn't question me.
Wetting a washcloth with warm water, I cleaned his arms as best I could without hurting him. Then I dried them, and began to put the bandages on. But before I did, I paused and leaned down to kiss every horrible scar on his arms. Dan had a strange expression on his face. It was like he had a little smile, but he was still struggling not to cry.
Finally I bandaged both his wrists and put away all the supplies. Looking back up at him, I spoke.
"All better?"
He nodded.
"You're so damn cute."
I stood up to give him a quick peck on the cheek and began walking to my room, him trailing behind me.
Once we got there, we cuddled up and he explained everything that had happened while I was gone. I tried apologizing, saying I should never have left him home alone in the state he was in. But he insisted it wasn't my fault, I and I just chose not to argue. After a while, we grew silent, since I just couldn't stop staring at him and thinking about how much I loved him. It was a content silence. I was simply marveling about how I could possibly love someone so much. How I had never experienced something so powerful. So beautiful.
Finally, Dan sighed.
"God I hate the world. Why does it have to be so... So..."
"Ugly?"
He nodded.
After a minute or two, he smiled a bit and snuggled closer to me. I buried my face in his chest and closed my eyes.
He comfortingly stroked my hair, as he did often, and began to sing so softly I could barely hear.
"These are the eyes and the lies of the taken...
These are their hearts but their hearts don't beat like ours...
They burn cause they are all afraid...
For every one of us...
There's an army of them...
But you'll never fight alone...
Cause I wanted you to know...
That the world is ugly...
But you're beautiful to me..."
He eventually let his hand drop and began to snore softly... Like a kitten.
Even though I was scared and upset and traumatized in that moment, I knew I was truly happy. Despite all circumstances.
❤️❄️❤️❄️❤️❄️❤️❄️❤️❄️❤️❄️❤️❄️❤️
The next morning was a lazy one. We definitely needed time to regroup and recover. At least we were together. And nothing could change that. Not yet.
I think we were finally getting the feeling of normalcy back in our lives. There was no depression, or lack of sleep, or evil fathers, or mangled wrists. We could just breathe for a few minutes.
Dan and I decided to take a short walk down to the coffee shop that afternoon. It was nice. And brought back memories for sure. On our way back home, he held onto my hand tightly as we walked through the freezing air.
But then I spotted a dropped wallet on the other side of the pavement. I let go of Dan's hand to try and go grab it.
Big fucking mistake.
Being grabbed from behind and forcefully shoved into the back of a car isn't a pleasant sensation. Neither is being gagged. Nor handcuffed. Nor held at gunpoint.
Especially not all in just five short, unsuspecting minutes.
