☾ ☽

phil helped him all the way back to the flat.

at about the halfway point, the pain lessened, and dan knew that whatever had been happening had stopped. he told phil, but he still needed help for the lingering pain that felt like it resided in his bones.

by the time they got back, phil was fuming.

whoever had been there was gone, and as they had already figured out, the garden was destroyed. leaves and petals were scattered about, the flowers seemingly pulled up by their roots. but the rest of the apartment was ruined as well.

chairs were tipped over, the couch cushions had been taken out, drapes were ripped.

phil went around immediately, assessing the damage. dan sat on the torn apart couch, attempting to catch his breath.

"god damn it!" phil shouted from another room.

dan said nothing.

phil stormed back to the living room, huffing and tugging at his hair, clearly upset.

"they took my paintings."

dan said nothing. he just let his head fall into his hands, letting out a soft sob.

phil sat next to him, winding an arm around him, pulling him close.

"hey, it's okay," he muttered, kissing dan's head and resting his mouth against his curly hair. "it's okay, we'll clean it up. we can start the garden over, it'll be fine."

dan sniffed, shaking his head.

"it's not that."

"then what is it?" he tipped dan's head back with two fingers under his chin, making him look at him.

dan blinked, searching his eyes, biting his chapped lips. "i... i don't know... why does he hate me so much?"

phil looked confused. "what?"

"why does he hate me?" dan repeated, turning away. "i mean, he kicked me out. why is he so focused on ruining my life when i did nothing wrong?"

phil shook his head, staring into space, his brow furrowed.

"i don't know. he's an asshole, maybe?"

"yes, but..." dan pressed his lips together. "he's got to be being an asshole for a reason."

"not necessarily." phil pulled him closer, pressing his lips to dan's temple. "it's okay, yeah? it doesn't matter. we'll fix this."

dan nodded, even though he wasn't exactly content. he still felt weird. he felt uneasy. and phil didn't get it.

what game was jarvis playing?

➸

by the time they had finished most of the cleanup, it was getting dark. phil flopped onto the couch, sighing and stretching his arms out.

"wanna go somewhere?" he asked gently, searching dan's face where he sat, not looking at anything in particular. "you haven't eaten much today..."

dan shook his head mutely.

"no... no, it's okay."

phil frowned, worrying at his lower lip.

"dan..."

"i'm fine," dan said, before he could ask. "i'm okay, phil. i guess i'm just tired."

"okay..."

the silence overwhelmed them. phil moved closer on the couch, so he was sitting next to him. dan didn't say anything, didn't look. reality was slipping away from him, he felt like he was floating.

"hey," phil muttered, trying to get his attention. it didn't work, so he jabbed him in the stomach instead. dan jumped.

"what?" he asked, eyes wide. phil smiled.

"hi."

dan rolled his eyes, looking away again. "hi."

phil frowned, his fingertips trailing over dan's side, making him shiver.

"you're cute, y'know that?"

dan shook his head blankly. phil groaned, but didn't accept defeat. he tickled him, up and down his side.

dan squirmed, letting out a noise and shifting away, but phil didn't relent.

"phil, quit..."

phil pretended he hadn't heard him, moving up to his neck. dan gasped, going tense and trying to squirm away, which didn't work. a giggle escaped from his lips, unable to contain it.

"phil-!"

he stood, trying to leave the couch all together, but phil grabbed his waist. he pulled him into his lap, tickling him determinedly. dan laughed, unable to escape.

when dan was able to control himself he spun around, straddling him, grabbing phil's wrists and pushing them above his head so he couldn't tickle him anymore. the room was filled only with heavy breathing and beating hearts.

phil's expression melted into a crooked grin.

"i win."

dan guffawed at him in surprise, shaking his head.

"no, you didn't. i won, i'm on top of you."

phil laughed, grinning widely at him.

"yeah, but i got your attention, didn't i?"

dan groaned, leaning in and kissing him to shut him up.

➸

"there's no way you're telling the truth."

eliza peered at him suspiciously. they were off their shifts, and they were sitting in the back of the shop and drinking coffee. phil shrugged.

"i am," he said nonchalantly, taking another sip from his mug.

"you haven't been on a single date with him yet?"

phil shook his head, smirking a bit. the truth was, he and dan had been on three (very successful) dates since the destroyed apartment mess. they had just agreed that eliza would probably explode if she knew.

besides, it was fun to mess with her.

"i don't believe you."

phil shrugged, visibly brightening when he heard the bell on the front door jingle, indicating someone had entered. he looked around eliza to see dan, wearing a velvet sweater and jeans, as well as his shoes that eliza had given him. he was radiating.

he immediately made his way back to them, leaning over to kiss phil on the cheek.

"ready to go?"

eliza's eyes bulged as she looked back and forth between them.

"where? on a date?" she demanded. dan giggled.

"no, silly." he raised his eyebrows. "home."

"ah."

phil laughed, standing up and returning the kiss on dan's cheek. eliza groaned.

"at this rate, you won't even invite me to your wedding," she grumbled. dan's cheeks tinted a pretty shade of pink. phil rolled his eyes.

"don't be dramatic, liza."

he grabbed dan's hand, tugging him towards the door. he leaned over.

"movie date tonight, after working on the garden?"

dan beamed.

"that sounds perfect."