☾ ☽

dan bit his lip, even though it was already so bitten down that the skin was ripped and painful. he glanced at phil, then back at the man in the doorway.

"what does that mean?"

jarvis sighed, as if this was boring for him.

"it means," he said slowly, as if they were small children, "that you each get one question. about dan, about where you are, anything. because it won't matter in the long run."

dan's breath caught. they could ask anything? dan had so many questions, he wasn't sure how he was supposed to narrow it down to one.

the room fell silent, and dan was sure the other two were trying to think as well. he pressed his lips together.

"why am i like this?" he blurted finally, cutting into the silence. jarvis raised an eyebrow and dan blushed, hugging himself tightly. "i mean, why can i do these things..."

another moment of tense silence.

"because your parents were stupid," he said finally, his voice harsh.

"what does that mean?"

he shrugged a bit. he moved like some kind of insect... like a praying mantis, really. long, spindly limbs; smooth but twitchy at the same time. dan was surprised he hadn't noticed it before now.

"i worked with them. they were always breaking the rules for their dumb experiments..." he paused. "and they wanted you to be just like them. they brought you in one day, so you could watch them and maybe learn something. you were so young..." his brow furrowed. "i don't know what they were thinking."

dan was listening with bated breath, soaking up every word slowly and timidly. the air was tense, and dan felt like he couldn't breathe.

"and...?"

"and..." he shook his head, as if a bit disgusted. "you got into one of their fantasies. some kind of formula they had figured out, to help any crops and gardens grow without the use of water or sunlight. i guess they thought it was harmless."

dan's eyes were trained on the wall as he listened. he wasn't in the same world as phil, or eliza, or jarvis right then. he was alone in a stone cold room, with his thoughts. lost.

it was their fault he was like this? dan had always figured it was some strange coincidence, and some days he even dared to hope that it was something passed down through the family. not that it was a case of carelessness, a baby getting into an unfinished science experiment.

"dan?"

somehow phil's voice broke through his consciousness, right before he collapsed. phil stepped over just in time to catch him, holding him up. just in time.

"so i'm an accident?" he asked after a moment, his voice weak and soft. he could feel tears stinging his eyes but he ignored them. he didn't care if they saw him cry.

jarvis nodded. "i guess you could put it that way."

"what about my parents? where are they?"

jarvis tutted, and dan had never hated him more.

"that's more than one question..."

"just answer it, asshole," eliza cut in, her voice sharp. dan could feel phil's fingers toying with his hair, and it soothed him a bit.

"they're gone."

dan's entire body jolted, and a choked noise escaped him, and it took him a bit too long to realize that it was a sob. jarvis seemed to enjoy his reaction.

"we had to get rid of them, of course," he continued. "we couldn't have them around after that. they would have surely protected you, and then i wouldn't be able to do anything. so we sent them away."

dan paused. "you m-mean they aren't dead?"

"of course not. we told you some story about them going missing so you wouldn't try to interfere. it was the same thing we did with lola, that little friend of yours."

a flame sparked in dan's stomach and he leaned back into phil's embrace, letting his touch calm him down.

"i hate you."

jarvis just laughed.

"i still have a question," phil said, cutting in. his voice was tense, and dan could feel his jaw tightening.

"yes, i suppose that's how this works."

"why did you have to do all this?" his voice broke. "i know dan... if you had told him to participate in your experiments or whatever once a week, he would have, in exchange for a normal life. he deserves a normal life."

while phil was talking, dan felt something behind him. he looked back, and eliza held her finger to her lips, kneeling by the chains. dan's eyes widened and he quickly looked away.

"because it would have gotten out." jarvis answered. "can you imagine how the public would react to something like this?"

phil scoffed. "what, to flowers?"

jarvis glared at him. "no, to someone who can control plants with their mind. is that not frightening?"

"maybe a little, at first, but they could get used to it! it's a boy with an amazing skill, i can't imagine that would be hated..."

"enough." jarvis's voice cut into his sentence. "i will not have this argument with you. you are all silly children, you couldn't possibly understand. you have no leverage."

"we might have a little," eliza said, speaking up. she stood, giving dan a look. "go."

dan did what she said immediately, scared to disobey. he fought the weakness in his bones, ran at jarvis, dodging under his arm towards the door.

he felt fingers in his hair, pulling him back roughly, but he managed to catch his balance. he stepped on jarvis's foot, hard, still wearing those damn metal shoes. at least they were good for something.

jarvis cursed, letting go of him, and dan dodged away again.

"you stupid bitch," jarvis muttered, his voice laced with pain. "you could have used it."

dan turned back to him, unable to help himself despite phil's noise of wary.

"i will never use it for violence," he said slowly, meeting his eyes. a sideways grin melted on his features. "i don't have to."

he moved as if to kick him just to see him flinch before leaning over, unstrapping his shoes for the last time. then he was running barefooted, through the warehouse-like area that he hadn't gotten to see when he had come here. however phil and eliza seemed to know what they were doing, and he felt phil taking his hand, intertwining their fingers.

they made it to a side door, that gratefully wasn't locked, and nearly spilled out into the open air.

dan fell to his knees and phil dropped down next to him, touching his back.

"are you okay? i-"

dan cut him off by grabbing his shirt and kissing him, a soft whimper escaping him. phil pulled him into his lap protectively, kissing him back immediately.

"gross," dan heard eliza mutter, but he could hear the smile in her voice.

"i love you," dan breathed when he finally pulled back, wrapping his arms around his waist. he heard phil's breath catch.

"god, i love you too... s-so much."

"did anyone see us?"

phil hummed. "i think a few people might have, but they didn't do anything about it as far as i know..."

dan nodded. "still, we should probably get out of here. they'll be doing something soon."

"i think you're right."

dan reached out, cupping phil's face. his skin was soft but ice cold, and dan leaned in to press soft kisses over every inch.

"talk to eliza."

he felt phil tense. "but-"

"she's your best friend, phil." dan tried to look stern. "and she loves you. she made a mistake, it happens. talk to her."

phil sighed, rolling his eyes a bit and standing. "for you, not her."

dan watched him turn towards the girl, sighing.

"eliza..."

she looked at him a bit fearfully when he began. "phil, i promise i never meant to hurt dan, or you... it was a mistake, i d-didn't think..."

"shut up for a second." phil sighed, running his fingers through his dark hair. "look, i still don't understand why you did what you did. i don't think i ever will. but..." he paused, pressing his lips together. "but i think i can forgive you, if dan can."

eliza wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him so tight it took the air out of him, making phil squeak in surprise. dan wondered when the last time they hugged was. after a moment, phil returned the embrace.

"thank you," eliza breathed, squeezing her eyes shut, her face pressed against his chest. "so much... i'll never do anything like that again."

she pulled back, and sniffed. was she... crying? "one more thing," she whispered, and phil watched her curiously. she met his eyes. "i'm sorry i said your art wasn't good enough."

phil blinked in surprise. "it's... it's okay..."

"no, it isn't." she took a shaky breath. "that wasn't cool, like, at all... i think your art is amazing, and you deserve an audience. i shouldn't have said that to you."

phil smiled, biting his lip. dan could tell he was grateful. "thank you... i forgive you."

she smiled at him, taking his hand momentarily and squeezing. phil reached out to help dan up, and he took it, standing carefully.

"hey eliza," dan asked as they started walking back towards the lights of the city, the temporarily calmed chaos. "how did you unlock me anyways?" he giggled. "bobby pin?"

she shook her head, smirking. "no." she reached into her pocket. "he dropped his key." she pulled the small object out, throwing it into the bushes on the side of the road.