Phil stays right beside Dan, nodding on and off until the villain wakes up. When he's awake, the hero is playing gently with Dan's hair or indulging in the feeling of his warm breath against his skin. Sometimes the villain flinches in his sleep or his heart rate speeds up, soft, quiet whines escaping his lips, and Phil holds him just a little closer and peppers his skin with gentle kisses. His flesh is still littered with bruises, and as much as Phil wants to heal them he won't. Not yet. If he uses his power to the extent he's been using it every day, he'll burn out and could very likely die.

He falls asleep again, and when he wakes up Dan is sitting at the keyboard, the volume on low as he plays. Phil watches him for a minute, a smile tugging at his lips, before getting out of bed quietly and walking over to where he is. Dan glances back just as Phil wraps his arms around his waist from the back, pressing a quick kiss to his shoulder.

"Morning," Phil murmurs.

Dan's laugh is more of a breath than an actual sound. "Barely. It's eleven o'clock."

"Still morning!"

The villain lifts his hands from the keyboard and looks up, taking Phil by the chin and catching his lips in a short, gentle kiss. The hero smiles and straightens up, one hand staying on Dan's shoulder.

"I'm going to make tea. Do you want some?"

Dan nods and Phil leaves the room, the piano starting up again at a louder volume as he goes. He starts the water boiling and then stands in the kitchen, listening to the music streaming from the bedroom and smiling stupidly to himself. They've only known each other for a few months and they're already so domestic it hurts. It's not hard to imagine that years from now, they could be the same as they are now, but maybe it will be peaceful by then. Dan would still play piano and Phil would still make tea, and they'd enjoy their days together. They can go for walks and hold hands and live together without their individual institutes and teammates breathing down their necks.

The piano music slows to a stop and a few moments later, Dan rounds the corner and steps into the kitchen. The soft pink sweater and the cotton shorts he wears are Phil's, and the hero can't help the grin that tugs at his lips. It's more colour than he's ever seen the villain wear, and he honestly looks so soft and huggable that Phil wants to cuddle him. The bruises are the only thing really stopping him. His legs are still littered with them, and dark splotches poke out from beneath his collar. One of Dan's fists rests bashfully at his mouth, covered by the soft pink sleeve, while his other arm is curled around his waist. His eyes, haunted and timid, flit from Phil to the kettle and then back to his feet. The hero gestures him over and Dan moves to his side, smiling lightly when Phil puts his arm around his waist.

"What's up?" the hero asks. Dan shrugs a bit and watches the kettle, his brown eyes distant. Phil runs his thumb back and forth across the villain's hip, getting more and more worried as the silence drags on. "Dan? Are you okay?"

"I have to go back," Dan replies, his voice soft and even a little bit scared. "I can't stay here for much longer."

Phil's face falls. "You can't go back right now. You're covered in bruises and you need to let yourself recover."

"If I don't leave, it'll be worse for Steph and Matthew. The boss..." Dan shakes his head, returning his covered fist to his lips.

"Dan, please. Please just stay for today. Stay until this evening. I don't care. Just please, please don't go."

The villain's eyes flick over to him and then away as quickly as they came. However, in that split second where they locked eyes, Phil could see every shred of pain Dan carries with him in that deep brown. So much that Phil feels like crumbling, like staggering back, like holding Dan close until that hurt melts away. He doesn't do any of those things, even as his heart clenches and a weight settles on his chest that he can't seem to get rid of.

"Can you at least stay a few more hours?" he asks through a tight throat.

Dan nods and the kettle clicks off, leading the hero to lower his arm and pour their tea. The villain stands in the middle of the room, watching Phil while simultaneously looking completely lost. When Phil hands him a mug he gladly accepts it and then heads into the living room with the hero on his heels.

"Phil... I'm sorry," Dan utters after they've both sat down on the couch.

"You keep saying that."

"I know."

"What are you sorry for?"

"For always coming to your house broken. For never being okay. For hurting you when I leave." Dan shakes his head a bit and exhales, tracing a particularly large bruise on the lower half of his thigh. "For showing up wearing bruises instead of skin."

Phil sets his mug down and gently removes Dan's mug from his hands, setting it on the coffee table. Before the villain can say a word, the hero pulls him in and kisses him so deep that Dan's eyebrows raise slightly.

"You don't have to be sorry," Phil whispers against his lips. "I'll keep reminding you of that for as long as I need to."

Dan nods and lifts a tentative hand to Phil's jaw, tracing its curve with his thumb. A few shards of pain have melted away from his gaze, but not all of them. His hands falls away slowly and he lifts his mug of tea, sipping hesitantly. Phil does the same, his free hand resting on Dan's abused thigh. The hero does his best to engage Dan in distracting conversation, and with each bout of laughter more pain disappears from the villain's eyes. Phil makes a dumb pun and Dan groans, which makes the hero laugh, and in turn makes Dan laugh. Eventually, the pain behind his eyes is reduced to a mere hint, and it doesn't make Phil's chest hurt as badly when he looks at it.

Every good thing comes to an end, however, and before he knows it Dan is getting up and moving to Phil's bedroom. He emerges a few minutes later wearing his clothes from yesterday, which Phil graciously washed the blood off of. His bag hangs off his shoulder, and he looks so sad that Phil's heart breaks for what feels like the hundredth time today. He gets up and wraps Dan in a hug that the villain immediately reciprocates, his forehead resting against the hero's shoulder.

"Please come back soon," Phil murmurs.

"I'll try," Dan replies just as softly.

Dan lets him go and presses a quick kiss to Phil's cheek before pulling his shoes on and heading back to the institute with a wave. Phil watches him walk down the apartment hallway, his heart throbbing painfully in his chest.

Dan reaches the institute in record time and showers, the lukewarm water doing little to release the tension in his muscles. He can barely bring himself to look down at his body through his entire shower, and covering himself with clean clothes is a welcome change. He then makes his way to the living room, where Stephanie sits wrapped in a blanket. A large bruise lines her cheek and her eyes are reddened, a sure sign that she's been crying. From down the hallway he can hear muffled sobs and screams, which makes him bite his knuckle and shut his eyes. Without a word, he moves to Stephanie's side and she tucks her blanket around his shoulders as well.

"How long..." Dan chokes out.

"Twenty minutes already," she whispers as fresh tears well in her eyes. "Where have you been?"

"A friend's."

She nods, and in the conversation lapse the cries grow louder. Matthew stumbles into the living room moments later and Stephanie jumps to her feet, helping him over to the couch. Blood trickles from his split lip and hot tears leave streaks on his face, his hands shaking badly. Stephanie grabs a nearby rag (Dan suspects she planned for this) and presses it to his mouth, attempting to stem the flow of blood.

Dan heads off to get her an icepack and checks the doors both on his way to get it and on the way back. Both times, nobody is there. He tries to ignore the anxiety that blossoms in his chest, but it's hard. Where are Jack and Cry? What's happened to them? Are they okay?

He hands Stephanie the icepack and she lets Matthew guide her hand to where he needs it, all the while watching him carefully. Their free hands are clasped together, and Matthew's eyes never seem to stray from her face. Dan feels a small stab in his chest as he immediately pictures Phil in his mind, blue eyes filled with concern as he kneels over a broken, bruised Dan.

The Brit exits the living room with some weak excuse as his reason for taking leave. He pinches his nose as he walks, trying to think of anything other than Phil, and luckily it doesn't take long to find that distraction. The front door creaks and without a moment of thought he races towards the entrance. It has to be Jack and Cry. It has to be!

Dan rounds the corner and there stands Jack and Cry, looking better than he anticipated. Relief floods him and he nearly bursts into tears, leading him to engulf them both in a hug. The horrors of his beating and the ache in his ribs comes back full force as well, and before he knows it he's rambling.

"I heard the doors opening and I was hoping it was you two because I was so worried and I'm glad you're safe and I've been checking the doors all day and the boss is angry and he's been taking it out on us—"

Cry steps away from the hug and hushes him. "What did you just say?"

Jack's blue eyes sweep over Dan, and the Brit suddenly feels very self-conscious about the bruises poking up over the collar of his shirt or lining his face. However, he's so glad they're back that he could care less about the bruises. At Cry's question, he rubs the back of his neck and sighs.

"He's pissed that you two were even captured in the first place. He was blaming us, but I think in general he's angry about our lack of performance," Dan explains.

Cry shakes his head and heads off towards his father's office. "I'll talk to him."

The two Europeans watch him leave before Dan puts his hand on Jack's shoulder. His mind travels back to Stephanie and Matthew and he has to hide his grimace. "Come on, let's go see the others."

With that, they head down the hallway.