**a/n - last chapter, it's longer than usual for this story. (also unedited oops) please vote and comment if you enjoyed coming on this journey with me :)**

(phil)

it's only been three days without dan, but phil feels oddly empty. he knows this level of dependency would be considered unhealthy by any normal person, but dan is just so perfect for phil. the day they spent lying in bed together, holding hands and just talking was the best day of his entire life. why did pj have to come and ruin everything? phil wants to go lock himself in a dark cupboard and be sad about dan leaving, but he has faith in him.

and so phil's been living with pj. he never truly realised how annoying pj could be, and the thought makes him feel slightly guilty. pj is only trying to look out for him. he's always been protective and he really means well. and he's given phil a place to stay.

phil sighs. he wonders how dan is doing. isn't three days more than enough alone time?

after all, that was the only reason he left. because dan clearly needed to be alone. but he thought dan would've come around by now. he'd fantasised about dan coming over and begging for phil to come live with him once again. unfortunately, he knew the chances of that were quite slim.

that day, the doorbell rang at around seven o'clock, and it wasn't pj because he'd just left. thinking it was only the pizza he'd ordered, he runs over pulling a shirt over his chest on the way. when he opens the door, he freezes. it was dan, looking absolutely adorable and slightly apologetic.

"do you greet everyone half naked, or am i special?" dan asks smoothly.

unable to reply, phil only opens the door wider, letting dan step into the house, but dan gently shakes his head. "i want to take you somewhere, if you'll let me."

"what?" is all phil can say as he blinks at dan.

"i know you probably wouldn't want to go alone with me anywhere considering what pj told you about me, but i need you to give me a chance. i promise you'll be able to leave whenever you--"

"let me just get my coat."

"what- ok." phil has to force himself not to laugh out loud at dan's answer. "ok let's go."

dan leads phil past his car and to a trail near pj's house that phil didn't even know existed. the footpath wove between apartment blocks for around fifteen minutes, before they finally emerge into a couple of fields.

phil is starting to feel nervous, but he doesn't dare say a word.

they walk a little more before dan finally says, "if you look in that direction you can kind of see it."

phil follows dan's line of sight, but all he can see was a tiny speck of red on the horizon.

"what is it?"

dan's lips quirk up in an adorable smile. "you'll see," he says, tapping the side of his nose.

phil rolls his eyes, before going back to watching dan's footsteps as they trudge along the path for another five minutes. suddenly, dan stops and phil almost walks into him. he looks up from his feet, wondering why they aren't walking.

he sees it now, the red thing from before. it's a half deflated hot air balloon, lying on its side. his eyes move from the hot air balloon to dan and back again in clear confusion.

"what is this?"

"will you ride it with me?"

phil nods, letting dan lead him into the carriage, feeling like a princess.

dan uses his telekinesis to move about the ropes, and faster than phil can change his mind, the balloon is hovering a few centimetres off the ground.

"um, do you have a license for flying this?"

"i mean... kind of." 

"what does that mean?" phil has to raise his voice over the sounds of air swirling above their heads.

 "it's a long story," dan answers, and the whirring gets even louder.

it's a bit too much for phil. there's too much noise and he's starting to feel a bubbling in his stomach. he doesn't even want to risk looking over the side of the carriage. he can tell that they're going higher, but he squeezes his eyes shut, trying to block everything out. he always knew he was scared of heights, but he didn't think it was this bad.

suddenly, the whirring stops.

"phil," dan's voice is so gentle and the way he said his name makes something turn in phil's stomach. "phil, you can open your eyes, now."

"dan, i'm really scared."

"it's ok," dan whispers. suddenly, phil is aware how close he is to dan. he can feel his warm breath on his face. and then dan's hand in his. and then dan's hand on his cheeks. against his will, phil's eyes flutter open. "it's ok," dan repeats.

he squeezes dan's hand as he carefully looks over the edge. they're floating just above the clouds. it's completely silent. you can't hear the sounds of the city from so far up.

all he can hear is dan's soft breathing. all he can feel is dan's hand in his. all he can see is dan's concerned face watching him as he looks around. all he can smell is dan's warm smell of vanilla and soap. he's suddenly overcome by the urge to kiss dan, so he can taste him as well.

but he represses the thought. now isn't the time.

"are you ever going to explain?"

"i was liking being mysterious," dan pouts, and phil is happy that he's in a good mood. but after he understands what the hell is happening.

"dan we're in a fucking hot air balloon over london. don't make me jump out."

dan cracks a smile at that one, and god is it beautiful. "you do realise i could just catch you."

"dan, stop playing!" phil whines.

"okay, okay. ask away."

"we're in a hot air balloon."

"that's not a question," dan grins cheekily.

phil slaps him, soft enough not to be painful, but hard enough to get his point across.

"i'm sorry," dan laughs, holding his cheek. "i'm just so happy right now, i can feel it bubbling inside me, and i can't help letting it out a little." 

phil just rolls his eyes, but secretly he thinks it's endearing.

dan pauses, rethinking his next few words. "yes, we're in a hot air balloon. my uncle used to work in a fair, he'd take groups of people out on hot air balloons. once he went with me, it was just the two of us. he'd been up in the air for too long that day, and he started feeling really dizzy and passed out. i used my telekinesis to land the hot air balloon and they took him to the hospital. when i told him what happened, leaving out the part about telekinesis, he said i had a natural skill with flying and gave me this one that had broken controls. i fixed it up and now it's mine."

"you know hot air balloons run at around £20,000?"

"how do you-? the memory?"

"i read a book about hot air balloons when i was twelve."

"of course you did."

"and your partial license?"

"it's a long story, i'll tell you if you're desperate to hear it. but, my point is, phil, i will tell you anything you want to know. i tried to escape what happened with," he chokes to get the name out, "brian for years. it all came crashing back down when pj said his name. i know he probably told you what was in the article, but that's not what happened. i want to tell you things from my point of view."

"no," phil says, not even taking a moment to think. the pained look on dan's face makes all his decisions for him.

"what?"

"pj didn't tell me what was in the article. i didn't want to hear it then and i don't want to hear it from you now. i don't care, dan."

dan looks scrunches his brow in confusion. "why?"

"because i trust you. i'm in a hot air balloon with you, i thought it was pretty obvious."

"why does it matter that you trust me?"

"because you didn't choose to tell me before pj. i trust that you had a reason for that, and i trust that you made the right decision. and i trust that you will tell me when you need to."

"but don't you want to know now? aren't you scared of me?" dan smiles sadly.

phil squeezes dan's hand even tighter. "well if that tiny slap hurt you, i think getting away from you, if i needed to, would be fairly simple."

dan smiles so wide, and phil wants to press his mouth against his lips. dan puts his arm around phil, pulling him closer. "you forget that we're in a hot air balloon."

his lips are tantalisingly close. "you forget that i read a book about hot air balloons when i was twelve. i know what every single one of these indicators shows."

dan lets out a breath. "that's so sexy."

phil tries to punch him in the shoulder, but dan catches his hand and pulls him even closer. there's barely a centimetre of air between their lips.

"i need to tell you something."

"dan, shut up," phil answers. he just wants to kiss him.

"no, it's important." he lets out a breath, and phil can feel the warmth of it grazing his lips. "i think we're soulmates. i think i..." dan stops, biting his lip.

"dan--"

"i know, shut up."

"no, please say it." phil's voice is breathy and light, but he can't help it. his eyes involuntarily travel between dan's lips and his eyes.

dan takes another breath, shutting his eyes, before finally, "i think i love you."

"and i love you."phil wastes no time in pressing his lips as hard as he can against dan's. dan's thumb is running against his cheekbones and the wind is running through his hair and they're pressed together in a hot air balloon, hovering over london. 

everything is perfect.

until dan laughs. he laughs so hard that he has to pull away from the kiss.

"what?"

"i just told you i love you."

"yeah, about time."

dan laughs again, and phil stares in awe, because somehow the moment just became even more perfect.

THE END

**a/n - go to next page.**

🔮rachel