I JUST HIT 100K DO NOT TOUCH ME THAT IS AMAZING I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!! EVEN IF YOU HAVEN'T BEEN READING THIS BOOK SINCE THE BEGINNING I STILL LOVE YOU. YOU ARE ALL LIKE MY BIG FAMILY, ALL 100K OF YOU <3 YOU ARE ALL AMAZING, EVEN IF YOU DO NOT THINK SO :) THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING, COMMENTING, VOTING AND JUST BEING THERE FOR ME. I APPRECIATE IT SO MUCH. I LOVE YOU GUYS ^-^

HERE IS MY CELEBRATORY ONE SHOT. SORRY IT'S SAD BUT IT'S ALMOST 5,000 WORDS LONG SO I HOPE IT IS OKAY!! (SPOILER *whispers* IT HAS A HAPPY ENDING)

Warnings: Abuse.

"Charlie, why haven't you edited the video?" Phil asked and Charlie lifted his head up, his eyes widening as Phil noticed his Tumblr open in the browser on his computer screen.

"Why do I have to do it? I don't have enough time with my new video and all-" Charlie responded, quickly closing Tumblr and opening up his editing software.

"Charlie, I saw that you were on Tumblr."

"Maybe I need to relax for five minutes! Can't I do that anymore?"

"You just can't make me edit all of the videos, Charlie. I need a life too!" Phil's voice was raising and he was getting closer and closer to Charlie after every word. Charlie took this to be the time to put his laptop on the sofa arm and stand up, preparing to further defend himself.

"I edit most of them now, what are you trying to say? I'm lazy?"

"Don't put words into my mouth!"

"I'm not! I'm just saying that you think I'm lazy! At least I take Dil to school, make him lunch and pick him up every day! It's like you don't care about him!"

"Of course I care about him! Don't say that! You're being absolutely ridiculous, Charlie."

"You're barely ever here anyway and you call me lazy?"

"I never called you that!"

"We both know you were implying that, Phil."

"I never said that, Charlie! Stop accusing me of saying things I didn't say!" Charlie stepped forward, rolling his eyes at the annoyed look on Phil's face.

"You were thinking it though, weren't you?" Charlie stepped so close to Phil that Phil could feel Charlie's breath on his neck, sending nervous shivers down his spine. "Weren't you?" Charlie repeated and suddenly before either of them could prevent it, Phil was against the wall.

"Dad? What are you doing?" Charlie's eyes widened as their son walked into the room, looking up at his parents with a terrified expression on his face.

"Nothing.. Dil, go to your room." Charlie muttered and Phil shook his head, mumbling something about Dil staying in the room. "Go to your room, now."

"No, Dil, don't leave." Dil stared at his dads with confused eyes, not sure which to listen to.

"Leave." Dil stayed frozen on the spot and he was petrified. Charlie's countenance had intimidation written all over it and that scared the small child so much that he was shaking all over. "Dil, don't you dare stay still."

"Dad?" Dil's voice sounded so upset and afraid that Phil just wanted to run towards him and wrap him in his embrace, telling him that it would be okay, he promised.

So that's what he did- it was one of the biggest mistake he ever made.

"Dil.." Phil turned to walk towards the boy but Charlie cut him off by pushing him back into the wall, making Dil cry out. Charlie's hand then connected with Phil's cheek and Dil's sob wasn't the only one that was heard.

Charlie jumped back once he realised what he had done. "I'm so sorry." Charlie whispered, reaching forward and grazing his hand across Phil's cheek, who flinched at his touch.

"Leave him alone!" A small voice yelled and Dil ran in between the two, trying his best to push Charlie away. "Leave him alone!"

"Dil, Dil, no, no.. I didn't mean to do that.. I love you both, really..." Charlie mumbled, speaking so fast that it seemed frantic. Dil just continued to try and push him away.

"Dil.. I think it's time you go to bed. I'll tuck you in." Phil swiftly picked Dil up from the floor and he headed upstairs, not giving Charlie another glance.

-

"Phil, we need to talk. We can't just avoid the subject forever.." Charlie said a couple of days later whilst they were both eating breakfast. Phil froze as Charlie spoke before dropping his spoon back into his cereal bowl, making a loud clang echo around the room.

"I would rather not talk about it. We can forget it and everything will be perfectly okay."

"It won't be okay for me, Phil. I can't stop thinking about it, I just got so angry-"

"It's okay," Phil said, cutting Charlie off and standing up. "As long as it doesn't happen again.." Phil grabbed Charlie's hand and attached their lips.

Charlie took that as an 'I forgive you'.

-

Sadly enough.. it did happen again.

This time, it wasn't even serious. Charlie had left out his plans for his new video on the kitchen table and Phil just wanted a drink, that's all. He poured some water into a glass and placed it on the table before spinning around and grabbing his plate of toast. He turned back and before he knew it, his elbow came in contact with the glass and water had spilt all over the table.

Phil wasn't one to use profanity but this case made him swear so loudly that Charlie heard it from the next room. He rushed in to find out what was wrong and immediately saw that his paper was ruined and drenched. "Phil, what have you done.." He mumbled, picking up his soggy plans and watching as excess water dripped from the papers. "I spent ages writing this.."

"I know and I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"Of course you didn't mean it, why would you?" Charlie stepped forward and Phil flinched back, scared that Charlie was going to hit him.

"I swear.. Charlie I'm sorry-"

"Sorry won't bring my planning back will it?" Charlie's hands were getting dangerously close to Phil's face as he waved them around during his wave of anger. "Will it?" He repeated and his hand came in contact with Phil's cheek.

This time Dil didn't see.

-

A couple of weeks later and Charlie's hits and slaps were so constant that it almost seemed like the norm. Dil had definitely seen the majority of them and he was petrified for his father. Charlie was no longer his idol but more the person he was truly afraid of. It shouldn't be that way but Dil was yet to understand that.

Dil was sitting in class one day when a certain subject came up. "Is it right to be scared of someone in a relationship? It doesn't matter whether it's your boyfriend, girlfriend or family. Is it right?" The teacher asked and a couple of hands shot up whilst others shook their head.

"No, it's not, miss!" Some eager kid yelled out and Dil's eyes widened. Suddenly he was listening intently.

"That is correct. Now.. is it right to hit or hurt people you love?" Dil's hand slowly raised as his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Maybe-" He started but the teacher immediately cut him off, shaking her head.

"Why would you think that?"

"Because sometimes it shows that they are yours and-"

"Dil, stop, stop, stop.. We need to speak after class. Dil is really really wrong because hurting someone is an extreme form of abuse. It is never an appropriate thing to do and if you ever think you or someone you know is being abused, you need to immediately tell an adult." Dil's hand raised again.

"May I be excused to go to the toilet?" The teacher nodded and Dil shot out of the room and to the bathrooms. He locked himself in before sliding his back down the wall, tears filling his eyes. Was his dad abusive towards his papa?

No, he couldn't be. His dad loved him and papa very much!

Dil wished he could believe that.

-

The bell rang for the end of class and Dil wiped his eyes, practically running back to class. It was the end of school so everyone was rushing out of class and pushing past him. He got back and the teacher was sitting at her desk, marking some random work. "Dil, are you okay? Have you been crying?" She asked and Dil shook his head, looking down at his cheap shoes.

"What did you want to speak about?" He asked and the teacher sighed, dropping her pen onto the table.

"Do you need to speak to me about anything?"

"No.. why?"

"Dil, you can speak to me about anything worrying you, you know..." The teacher put her hand on Dil's shoulder and he flinched away.

"I'm fine? Can I go now?"

"Yeah.. see you tomorrow." Dil didn't even say goodbye before running out into the playground towards his dad.

"Dad!" He cried, debating whether to hug him but then deciding not too in case he got annoyed. "They tried to tell me that-"

"What did they say, Dilly?" Charlie bent down so he was at Dil's height and Dil shrugged, looking down at his shoes again. "Come on.. you can tell me."

"They told me that what you do to papa is wrong." Before Charlie could even respond, Dil had shot off down the street. He was running so fast that his feet were barely visible and the scenery around him was nothing but a blur. His hair was going crazy due to the wind and his feet were on fire. He turned around a corner so his house was just about in sight.. if he could just make it-

"DIL! STOP! IT'S OKAY!" Charlie was calling from just metres behind him. Due to Charlie being a lot taller than him (he had longer legs) he was quickly catching up with the smaller boy.

"You're wrong! You hurt papa and that isn't right!" Dil yelled, just before tripping over his own feet and falling to the ground. As soon as he hit the floor, he started to wail loudly, wishing that his dad would leave him alone for a second.

"Oh, Dil.." Charlie muttered, walking towards the small boy and holding out his hand to help him up. Dil shook his head, looking away from his dad with an annoyed expression on his face.

"Excuse me?" Someone said, clearing their throat so both Charlie and Dil turned their heads to face him. They both saw the tall, brown-haired man towering over them with a kind smile on his face. The sun was shining in such a perfect direction because it appeared that he was standing in a spotlight like a hero about to save the day. "Is everything okay? Are you hurt?" He asked Dil, ignoring Charlie's presence for a moment as he saw the tears falling down Dil's cheeks.

"Don't speak to him. He could be dangerous." Charlie muttered and Dil's face hardened.

"He looks nice." Dil responded and Charlie dropped his hand, staring at Dil in awe.

"He isn't nice! He could be a murderer."

"Oh well." Dil pushed himself off the floor and his eyes met the stranger's for a moment.

"Are you both alright?" The stranger repeated, brushing his fringe away to reveal his eyes, sparkling with kindness.

"We're fine." Charlie practically snapped, grabbing Dil's hand and roughly pulling him away.

The stranger didn't call them back because it wasn't his business to get involved in.

-

"Papa!" Dil yelled once Charlie had pulled him home.

"You better not tell him anything." Charlie muttered, holding Dil's hand a little too tightly which made him squeal a little bit.

"Why not? You aren't nice to him and you probably make him sad." Charlie's mouth dropped open and suddenly he was infuriated. He lifted his hand and it came in contact with Dil's cheek, making him scream out in pain.

"Charlie? What are you doing?" Phil asked, standing in the doorway with tears in his eyes. Dil just pushed Charlie away with all his might and ran out through the front door.

"I didn't mean.. I love you both, you know that?" Charlie's eyes narrowed as he squinted to see Dil running down the path in the distance.

"Charlie.. I'm not sure you do anymore." Phil then raced out of the house after Dil, yelling for him to come back because everything was going to be okay.

He wasn't even sure it would be. With the way things were going, it would never be okay.

-

Dil wasn't sure where he was. He had been running for a long time and half way he had heard his papa's yells vanish. He knew he was alone and he knew for sure he was lost. It was getting dark as it got later in the evening and he was afraid of the dark. He carried on running but soon someone called the famous phrase.. "Excuse me!" It was in the same voice as the stranger from earlier which made Dil halt and look around for a moment. His eyes soon laid on the stranger, sitting on a nearby bench, another sympathetic smile on his face. Dil immediately headed towards him and sat by his side, finally letting more tears fall.

"I'm lost! Dad was angry and Papa was upset.. I want to go home!" Dil sobbed, burying his head into the stranger's shoulder.

"What's your name?" The stranger asked, feeling like he was getting just a little bit too involved since he didn't know the kid at all.

"Dil.."

"Well, I'm Dan. Do you happen to know any numbers I could contact?"

"No! I want to go home! Take me home!"

"Do you know your address?" Dil inaudibly mumbled the road he lived on. Papa had told him that it would be important and he should remember it because it could save his life one day. He was right... well papa was always right. "Okay, come on, I'll take you home."

"Will you protect me?" Dil's voice sounded so lost and desperate so all Dan could do was nod.

"Yes, I will."

-

"Why did you slap Dil? We have no idea where he is now! He's lost on his own in the dark! He could get hurt!" Phil yelled once he had got back to the house. He tried his best to sound intimidating or the slightest bit irritated but it just sounded so lost and broken.

"He deserved it! He told me that I make you sad which isn't the case is it?" Charlie snapped back, folding his arms and glaring at Phil.

"Maybe you do make me sad but you don't care, do you? You don't care about me or Dil! We're just your dolls which you play with and discard when necessary."

"Don't you dare-" Charlie was slowly raising his fist, his hands going pale with how much pressure he was putting on keeping his fist clenched- that only backed up Phil's point.

"See. You're doing it again. You get angry so you start to rip and break your dolls. You take the anger out on someone else who doesn't deserve it."

"Shut up, no I don't." With every step Charlie took towards Phil, the more frustrated he got. He was flaming with fury and he wanted to punch Phil as hard as he could- until the fire in his heart burnt to nothing.

"Yes. Yes, you do." That was when Charlie swung his fist towards his boyfriend, harder than ever before.

-

"Is this your street? Do you recognise it?" Dan asked, making sure his hand was gripping Dil's, just how a father should hold their son's. With any other child, he wouldn't really bother to go this far to help them but he felt strangely drawn to Dil. He didn't understand it either.

"Yeah! There's my house!" Dil started to run down the road and suddenly he was out of Dan's sight. It was pretty much pitch black and the streetlights were too dim for him to see Dil.

"Dil, wait!" He called and started to pick up his speed in the same direction Dil went in. Soon enough, he found the boy, eagerly waiting for him next to a house, a wide smile on his face.

"This is it!"

"I better knock. I want to speak to your parents, okay, Dil?"

"Dad might call you a murderer again though. You're not a murderer! You act like papa! Can you replace dad? I want you to be my dad! Please?" Dil jumped up and down in excitement and Dan sighed, ruffling his hair slightly.

"It doesn't work like that." He quickly responded, knocking on the door before Dil could push the subject any further.

"Dad.. I'm sorry." Dil wailed as soon as his dad appeared at the door, a frown on his face.

"Who's this?" His dad asked, glaring at Dan like he was a piece of dirt on the ground.

"I'm.. uh.. Dan. I found your son wandering around, lost so I brought him home."

"What did I tell you? You're lucky he isn't a murderer, Dil." Dil looked down at the floor before hiding behind Dan, holding onto him like his life depended on it.

"You can't speak to your son in that tone."

"I think I can, thank you very much."

"Who's at the door?" Another voice asked and a different man came into view. His eyes met Dan's and suddenly no one else was around them. Dan felt like his world had suddenly lit up slightly and his stomach was doing back flips. Phil just felt weird- he knew Charlie was there but he was kind of attracted to the stranger.

"Phil, leave us alone for a moment, will you?" Charlie turned and glanced at Phil for a moment before stepping outside and pushing past Dan. He forcefully grabbed Dil's hand, making him whimper before pulling him into the house.

"I want to stay with Dan! I want him to be my dad!"

"DIL!" Charlie grabbed the child's shoulders and Dil screamed. Things went in slow motion as Charlie just flipped out and suddenly everyone was crying except Charlie. Dil was sobbing in pain, Phil in desperation and just pure sadness and Dan in sympathy and sorrow for the family.

Dan swiftly took out his phone and the police were on the line.

-

"We need to take you to the hospital." The paramedic said, bending down so they met Dil's height. His eye was already bruised and there was a cut on his cheek which was bleeding pretty bad but he didn't care.

"I want dad and papa! Where is dad and papa?" Dil wailed, not paying attention to the physical pain he was feeling but more to the ache of loneliness and fear in his chest.

"Well which one is papa and which is dad?" The paramedic's voice was soft which came to a surprise to Dil because usually he would be yelled at for wailing 'like a baby'.

"Papa has kind blue eyes and great floppy hair which goes swoooosh!" Dil giggled to himself as he did an impression of how papa fixed his fringe all the time which the paramedic couldn't help but laugh at.

"Okay, well he is probably being spoken to by the police. They will be questioning him about what happened."

"Is papa going to jail? I don't want papa to go to jail!" Dil suddenly started wailing again so the paramedic just shook her head with a small smile.

"They are going to make sure you and him are safe from your dad, okay?"

"Where is dad?"

"He's going to be in jail for a long time.." Dil looked confused for a moment before shaking his head with a little giggle.

"No! He isn't my dad anymore. Dad is the one with the swooooshy hair like papa's!" Dil did his impression again and each time it made him look even more adorable and innocent. What did a boy like that do to get into such a bad situation?

"Oh! He's probably with papa being questioned."

"When can I see them?"

"They should be here soon. We need to take a quick trip to the hospital now to make sure you're okay."

"I don't like hospitals." Dil pulled a funny face, just as his papa walked over to them, grim looks on their faces.

"Are you okay, Dil? I'm so sorry I got you into this situation.. It's all my fault for dating Charlie, what have I done?!" Phil rambled and Dil began to get a little bit puzzled as to why his papa was crying.

"It's not your fault, papa!" Dil whispered, hugging Phil tightly.

"Hate to ruin the moment but we need to get you both to the hospital." The paramedic interrupted the father-son moment but they all understood that their happiness couldn't really last all that long.

"Can dad come?" Dil asked and Phil furrowed his eyebrows, confused.

"Why would you want-"

"Dad!" Dil yelled as his 'dad' walked over to the group, his hands in his pockets as he looked down at the ground. He wrapped his arms around his 'dad', making the whole group smile.

"He's not your-" Phil started but he stopped himself when he saw the sad look on Dil's face. "Come on then."

-

"Dil is perfectly fine other than a couple of bruises, same goes for you." The doctor said and Dil jumped down from the bed.

"Thank you." Phil responded, taking Dil's hand and walking out of the room.

"Can dad live with us?" Dil asked and Dan smiled, shaking his head slightly.

"No, I can't do that. I already have a house, Dil." Dan responded with a sad smile.

"Oh.. Papa and I will be okay on our own then!" Dil poked his tongue out and Phil suddenly questioned how a kid could be so happy in such a horrible situation.

"Maybe.. we should keep in contact though.. You are Dil's new 'dad' after all.."

"Yeah, I am." Dan and Phil exchanged numbers, making Dil jump up and down on the spot.

"Are you boyfriends now?" He eagerly asked, making the two adults laugh at him.

"No, we aren't. Now come on, we have to get home."

"I don't want to go back there, papa." Dil's sadness had returned at he was staring down at his feet, tears filling his eyes.

"Neither do I but we kind of have to. We have nowhere else to go."

"You.. You could stay with me for a couple of days until you sort something else out? I have a spare room." Dan offered, shrugging whilst Dil was going crazy jumping up and down and nodding his head.

"You've done so much for us though-"

"It's nothing."

"Then.. yeah.. okay."

-

"Welcome to your new home." Dan mumbled, unlocking the keys to his apartment and welcoming them all in. He showed them around the house rather quickly before letting Phil tuck Dil in bed. Once he was done with that, he sat in the living room with Dan, who was doing something on his laptop.

"I just realised that I don't know your name.." Phil mumbled after a moment of silence.

"Dan, Dan Howell."

"I'm Phil Lester... Why did you help us?" Phil didn't realise he had tears welling up in his eyes until they started to fall down his cheeks.

"Because.. I couldn't just leave you two, could I? Plus, I felt weirdly drawn to you, I felt like I needed to help."

"Why? I don't deserve this." The fact that Phil was crying was becoming evident in his voice and Dan quickly noticed. He placed his laptop beside him and moved closer to Phil. He wrapped his arms around Phil (in a friendly way) before mumbling how much he did deserve to be helped.

"It will be okay, Phil." Dan realised how tightly he was hugging Phil and jolted back, annoyed at himself for ruining the moment.

"No.. come back. You're warm." Phil forced a teary smile and Dan wrapped his arms around Phil yet again. "Thank you so much."

-

Phil woke up and he panicked for a moment, not understanding where he was. He was rather frightened as he didn't really recognise his surroundings until he noticed that he was leaning on something or someone. He jolted his head back to find out that he was leaning on Dan's shoulder and they were cuddling. Charlie would kill him if he found out-

Oh yeah. Charlie was going to jail.

Phil smiled to himself before he noticed that he couldn't really go home and that he kind of wanted to stay with Dan forever. Dan made him feel safe...

He hadn't even known Dan for a day- how could he think things like that?

"Phil, are you okay? You've been staring at the same spot for a while." Dan mumbled, placing his hand on Phil's shoulder, making him flinch slightly.

"Yeah.. but we have nowhere to go." Phil's voice cracked and he realised how hopeless he was. He had nowhere to go and absolutely nobody liked him.

"You can stay here however long you want, I told you that. I don't share this apartment with anyone else, you know? This can be your new home, I don't care as long as you're okay with it.. We are pretty much strangers so I don't mind if you think it's weird."

"No.. We'll stay. It kind of feels like I've known you longer than a day."

"Yeah, I know what you mean."

"DAD!" Dil screamed, running into the room and hugging his 'dad' as tight as possible, never wanting to let go. "I thought you weren't real and that I had dreamt you but you're real! YAY!"

"Good morning to you too." Dan chuckled, ruffling the little boy's hair.

"I think Dil feels the same way. He hasn't been this comfortable with someone for a long time.."

-

Phil may or may not have found himself sobbing in Dan's bathroom not long later because he felt so odd. He couldn't help but think that he had feelings for Dan but it was so soon that he didn't know. Charlie was still on his mind and it was driving him eccentric because he felt like he was trapped in some hypothetical cage and he couldn't escape. He couldn't have feelings for Dan because Charlie would find out and probably hurt both of them.

"Are you alright in there?" He heard Dan ask, quietly knocking on the door.

"Yeah," Phil sniffed. "Perfectly fine."

"You're not. Open up, I'm going to make you feel better." Phil reluctantly unlocked the door and Dan came in and immediately hugged him. "What are you thinking about?"

"You." It slipped out of Phil's mouth before he could stop himself, making him clasp a hand over his mouth, his eyes wide. Dan unwrapped his arms from Phil and stepped back, looking at Phil with an unreadable expression on his face.

"Me?" Dan pointed at himself, his eyes narrowing. "In what way?"

"We've known each other a day."

"I know.. and?"

"I think I might like you."

The sentence lingered in the air as neither of them did anything. Dan just froze on the spot, kind of unsure on how to react- did he like Phil back? He didn't know. "I don't-"

"Oh well." Phil mumbled to himself before grabbing Dan by the shoulders and pulling him in for a kiss.

-

Dil looked around the apartment, searching for his parents. He decided to walk down the hall and he really wasn't prepared for the sight.. His dad and papa were standing in the doorway of the bathroom and they were kissing each other! "DAD! PAPA!" He yelled, shielding his eyes with his hands and stepping back, trying to erase the picture from his mind.

"Oh, Dil. Hi.." Phil muttered, his face going bright red with a light blush.

"YOU'RE BOYFRIENDS!" Dil screamed, jumping up and down in excitement.

"No we're-" Phil was about to argue but Dan cut him off.

"We could be."

"Do you want to be?" Phil asked and Dan was the one to blush next because yes, yes he really did.

"Yeah.. I wouldn't mind it actually." Dil then ran down the corridor, screaming.

Once he was out of sight, Dan pulled Phil in for another kiss and it was even better that time. Phil felt so much safer with Dan by his side.

This is really long and it took me a long time to write so it better be good x3

Thanks again for 100k (it really does mean a lot <3)