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corysmiles · 4 years ago

Note

IT'S HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRREEE!! The longest oneshot so far! XD Hope you like it

cw: general themes of hunger, blood, semi graphic description of violence. Be warned!

-----

Phil decided to visit early today, entering the cave and waving at Techno, who immediately recognized him. He moved closer and, while still hesitant, grabbed him and moved him at eye level. It was nice. A bit unnerving, but nice. Phil laughed and hugged two of techno’s fingers before he put him on the counter.

They spent most of the evening sharing stories and getting more comfortable with touch. They even made some progress, techno’s hand not shaking as much when he wrapped his fingers around Phil!

It would be an hour still before Wilbur and Tommy came. So Techno figured it was time to shrink to human size if he wanted to spend some time with them after dinner as a giant. He went and reached the shelf with the bottle. Phil simply whistled and looked around. He stopped and turned when he didn’t hear any drinking sound. Techno was frozen and he looked horrified.

“Are you alright, mate?”

“It’s empty.” Techno said.

“Oh. Well, looks like today is a stay-giant kind of day-”

“No.” Techno put the thing back. “How could I have missed it?? It’s not supposed to happen…” He swallowed and looked back at Phil, worry clear as day in his eyes.

They stared at each other, Phil trying to read the unspoken words of his friends, but nothing came. “What is it? You often stay at your real size during dinners, what’s up?”

“... I haven’t hunted in days.” He admitted after a couple more seconds of silence. “I don’t have any food for tonight.”

“Oh shoot.” Phil took a couple steps towards techno, reaching the end of the furniture. “That’s no good.”

“We’ll have to cancel the grouped dinner tonight.” The giant looked at his small friend. “I’m sorry, but I have to- I know we all usually look up to these gathering but I can’t- I”

“Hey, it’s okay, no need to panic, mate.” Phil tried to reassure. He only gained a loud whine from techno, that he could feel in his bones. (quite literally, the vibration almost made him shake.) “I’ll tell Wilbur and Tommy.”

Techno stared, unsure, before sighing and letting his arm fall. “Alright, go tell them.”

Phil pulled up his phone, sending a message to both his friends. As he pressed sent, he looked back at techno. He did say he used the potion for food, primarily, but surely he dealt with it before.

“Do you want to go now, or…?”

Techno shook his head. “No. Not right now. Plus you’re still here-”

“Oh that’s no problem” Phil waved off. “I can come hunt with you.”

At that, Techno made a…. cringed, sound? Embarrassed perhaps, Phil couldn’t quite name it, but he was definitely uncomfortable with the idea.

“I don’t… it’s quite… You don’t want to see it.” he put his hand on his face, covering his expression.

"It's alright, mate. You know I'm okay with you being a tall boy." He laughed

"No- I mean… I mean it, Phil. It's gross."

"Well then I'll stay here until you come back."

Techno lowered his hands to look at the human, almost annoyed. He groaned and hid his face once more before the sound became much louder, Phil stumbling a little. "There's no way you're giving up on this, is there?"

"Nope!" Phil said, jumping down and being caught by the giant in a panicked movement "Please learn to warn me when you do that, my heart can't take it" he laughed.

"Wilbur told me to do it like this. Says it's more fun."

"Of course he did."

They stayed in the abode a bit longer, watching the sun setting through the window. Techno at one point decided to try and play his violin again, trying to improve to play with Wilbur one day. And even though it was…. Improvable, to say the least, it wasn't terrible either.

Phil clapped at the end of each song, earning a small laugh from the giant every time. He even tried to dance to one. Fortunately, they were the only ones to witness the carnage that was Phil's stumbly move tied to Techno's cacophony. It ended in unstoppable laughter that shook Phil's entire body.

Phil paced around the table he was now on as the laughs died down. He toyed with what he assumed was a home-made pen, turning it around and moving it like it was a spear. He stopped dead in his tracks, shaken by a loud growl that resonated through the entire room.

He turned around and watched his friend put his hands on his stomach, face red, violin now on the floor.

Phil put on an amused smile. "I think now's a good time to go hunt."

"I-" Techno did not have time to object before another grumble was heard. He shut his eyes and opened them, surrender in his expression."Yeah. It- might be good."

He stood up and offered a hand to Phil. "The hunting area is quite far, though. You might wanna take the ride for this one."

The blond gladly hopped on the hand and Techno brought him next to his chest, fingers curling protectively around his friend who watched the road through the space between the fingers. And so he began to walk.

It was the first actual time he traveled with a giant like that. It was nice. And he was glad he took the offer when he realized how far from the abode it was.

The walk ended up being quite long, Techno's stomach growling a lot during it, seeming almost painful at times by the way his face twisted. And everytime, it felt like the giant wanted to just run away and hide from view.

"You don't have to be embarrassed because you're hungry, you know?"

"I- no, but it's- it's so loud and" another rumble cut him off "it's… a hungry giant is not a good sight. It's scary."

"I don't know about that." Phil replied "you're just Techno, who happens to need food. I don't see any problem with that." Techno snorted half in disbelief, at the naivety of his peer.

"You know my soft side too well. I should start to act scary around you more." Phil bursted out laughing at that.

"Yeah, I know you too well. You wouldn't hurt a fly even if you tried."

Techno hummed

"Except if one of us was in danger. I feel like that's the one scenario where you would go apeshit."

"Yeah. Yeah, probably."

The rest of the ride ended up in comfortable silence (apart from Techno's hunger manifesting in numerous loud gurgles). Techno took a breath of fresh air and looked at his friend. He finally lowered his hand and Phil hopped out, on the grass. He took the view around him. "So this is your hunting spot."

Techno nodded. "I'll need around 15-20 adult preys. Don't really care if it's a deer or a wolf or whatever. Once you're done, meet me here."

Phil nodded and took out his bow "alright. Be careful!" He waved goodbye and only heard his laugh as he dived deeper into the forest.

---

The hunt ended up being nearly two hours long. Phil was surprised by the amount of animals here. It made sense, though, since it was so far away from everything, and the only known hunter of the area only stepped by occasionally.

As he brought back the last body near the pile, he noted that it seemed quite little for his friend still. He frowned. Was his friend trying once again to limit himself, so that he doesn't scare Phil?

He visualised his friend, standing up, and then looked back at the pile.

Of course he was.

He groaned and pulled his hair "oh my god- I TOLD HIM IT WAS FINE- JESUS! What kind of tool do I need to use to hammer the idea down his head right?!?" He sighed. It's not like Techno had a small appetite. Everytime they gathered around, he was the one with the fullest plate. But he always was so much shiftier when at his real size. Even though Phil couldn't blame him, it pissed him off.

And so the hunt ended up being longer than anticipated. But he ended up gathering a pile he judged big enough for his friend. And so he headed back.

As he approached the meeting place, he called out "Techno? You ther-"

He stopped. Dead in his tracks. And watched his friend, sitting on the ground, rigid as a statue, hands placed on the ground, holding something he realized were different cows and sheeps and deer.

"What is he doing?" He murmured to himself, not taking a step closer. There was a few more minutes of silence, during which more creatures climbed on his hand, before the large body shifted.

Phil flinched at the sudden movement. The hand raised higher and higher, too quick to let the animals jump down before his mouth opened, jaw wide, and-

Crack.

In a single motion, all the bodies in his hands were chopped down, their other halves between the giant's teeth.

Phil's body was frozen, and he witnessed wide eyes, as Techno dived in and took the rest of his meal sitting in his hand. It was… animalistic, to say the least. After scratching for every little crumb, he lowered his hands, allowing his bloody jaw to be visible.

It was understandable he didn't want his friends to witness that, he realized.

But Phil blinked out of his trance and stepped in like nothing happened.

"Hey, mate." Techno flinched and snapped his head toward the human, who laughed. "Sorry, should've warned."

"It's... it's alright, Phil." Techno said, licking the blood off his face, trying to hide the previous instance. "Uhm, have you been here for a while?"

"Nah" Phil lied "I just came back."

"Good! Good." He stood up slowly "Can you bring me to the ones you hunted down?"

Phil nodded and turned back, getting to said spot. It was almost comical to see Techno taking a small step everytime Phil made ten long ones, but they arrived quickly.

Techno sat down and his eyes widened when he looked at the pile.

"... that's more than 20." He pointed out. The pile was 3 times Phil's size. There were at least double the amount.

“Yeah.” Phil admitted. “You seemed rather hungry so I thought you might have needed more.”

“I mean, you were not the only one hunting,” Techno laughed. “But I appreciate the sentiment.”

Phil smiled, but it died down a little when Techno shifted, apprehensive. He turned to the blond, a nervous look on his face.

“Mh… Can you- perhaps…. uh… Turn around, maybe?”

Phil gave him a sympathetic smile, before closing his eyes and turning around, sitting legs crossed.

He could only hear the giant, but by the sounds of it, the poor boy was actually famished. He stuffed as much food as he could and chewed fast, and the heavy swallowing sounds made him twitch. Bones were crushed and flesh was torn apart like his life depended on it. Maybe it was morbid curiosity. He did see what it was like earlier after all, but he couldn’t help the silent temptation to turn around and look at the giant in such an intricate, taboo moment.

But Techno trusted him to not do it. Trusted him in this vulnerable moment. One he felt shameful and embarrassed about, and only time could ease this silent pain inside the giant. So, with quite the self control, he kept his eyes shut.

He wasn’t sure how much time had passed when the frantic sounds came to a stop. He furrowed his brows. Still nothing.

Suddenly, he felt a pressure on his head, ruffling his hair. A surprised sound escaped his lips and he laughed as he tentatively opened an eye.

“You good, mate?”

“Yeah” Techno said. “It’s good now.”

Phil turned around and took a small step back when he realized the giant was closer than he thought, hands making a barrier around him, which would be cute if it wasn’t for the crimson red tainting them up until above his wrists. And his face was also covered with blood. He had an almost panicked look as he moved his hands closer. He was panting.

“Hey.” Techno said and gulped, his hands even shaking slightly. Phil could read his thoughts clear as day.

‘Is he scared?’ ‘My hands are so bloody’ ‘Is he gonna run away?’ ‘I probably look like a mess-’ ‘He asked for it, but is he still okay with it?’

‘Is he still okay with me acting like myself?’

Techno was scared. So scared that showing more of him would push him away… But Phil knew better.

And so, to this new side techno showed him, Phil said.

“Hello, mate.”

----

They ended up going back not too long after that, Phil sitting on Techno’s shoulder to avoid the disturbing smell his hands bore. On the way back, Techno let it slip that he hadn’t eaten at all the whole day, hence his need to hunt. Phil scolded him for a good part of the ride about that. But eventually, it ended with smiles and laughs (and a promise to be more careful about techno’s diet. “Well, it’s been in shambles for quite a while” “You are not helping your case here, mate.”)

They entered techno’s abode and next thing Phil knew, he was grabbed gently and placed on the counter. He blinked and saw his friend grabbing a towel and a water bucket.

He chuckled, watching his friends wash away the blood he almost forgot about.

Once clean, techno sighed and turned to Phil. “I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted.”

He laughed. “I mean, it’s the middle of the night. Kind of late for me to go back. Mind if I sleep here for the night?”

They stared at each other for a while before techno hummed and opened his palm in front of Phil, who hopped into it easily.

He was grabbed and held onto a bit of a squeeze, not sure why until he felt techno falling straight on his bed, not controlling the arm holding phil that much. He screamed at the sudden sensation of falling, but noticed he was fine once the movement stopped. He sighed. “You could warn me about that next time.”

a rumbly “mmhhsorry” was the only answer he got. He laughed as he watched the exhaustion hit his friend. The grip lessened and, slowly, he allowed himself to relax, the heartbeat and deep breathing of the giant soothing him into a good night of sleep.

No, techno was not always soft. Technoblade was not a man of manners. Technoblade could be harsh. He could be intimidating, violent and raw…

Technoblade was kind as much as he could be cruel. Philza was aware of that reality more than anyone else.

And he would not have it any other way.

You’ve done it again, please send love to @melissa-s23 for this awesome fic 💛💛💛💛💛💛💛

Cant wait for more of the potion au :]

#melissas writing #mcyt g/t #mcyt gt #submission #fic #techno potion au #angst #hurt/comfort #g!techno #t!philza #💛💛💛💛

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aressss1 · 4 years ago

Text

Through Fire and Ice Chapter 4

(Technoblade x Reader)

Chapter 4

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Note: the amount of support I have gotten on this is amazing! You guys are awesome! <3 The newest chapter is going to be out soon! :D

~~~~~~

You woke up hazily, an unfriendly boot nudging your shoulder. Your vision was blurry, and to make things worse you were lightheaded. You buried your face into the mattress further making a whine of protest at who you thought was Techno’s boot. You felt the boot nudge you again even harder this time. You let out another whine.

“Gods, why are you such a dick this morning?” You questioned, craning your neck to look at the man who loomed above you. When your eyes focused on the man, you felt your eyes widening, and you tried pushing yourself up. Fatigue had gotten the best of your body, and you couldn’t find the strength to push yourself up into a standing position. So, your only option that was left, was scooting yourself away from the man, until your back was pressed firmly against the wall next to the fireplace. Nowhere else to go…

“What are you doing here?” The blonde man rested his hand on the end of his sword. You let your eyes dart around the room, looking for anything that might help you. “Eyes on me,” The man’s words were dangerous, and his hand tightened on the handle of the sword. “I won’t ask you again.”

“I could ask the same of you then.” You shot back, your eyes narrowing at him. Your vision still blurry, the sickness was still getting the best of you.

“No, you can’t.” He simply said, “Answer me.” You ground your teeth, looking for any way to get out of this situation.

“I was… Resting.” You eyed the man, memorizing his face. He didn’t seem to believe you. His mouth twisted into a frown, and his eyes scanned the house.

“This your house?” He asked kneeling next to his sword which was still digging into the floorboards. You glared at him through the haze of your mind. This was not the best situation.

“No.” Your voice was laced with acid. “I just happened upon it in the fog.” You hissed through your teeth. You watched his fingers tap at the hilt absentmindedly. He didn’t question further on that topic.

“Are you alone?” You felt your breath catch in your throat. You didn’t know if you should tell this man the answer. Either way didn’t seem like it would end in good consequences, no matter how you looked at it. You didn’t have strength to walk, let alone fight… You didn’t know where Techno was, and when he was coming back… The dread started spreading through your chest. You were probably going to die here, and if you told him you weren’t alone, he may just wait for Techno and ambush him… The other option wasn’t so good either… But if he believed you that you were alone, he may just move on…

“Yes.” You breathed out, you found you couldn’t read his expression. He still was tapping away at the hilt of the sword.

“Uh huh,” He didn’t sound convinced. Your heart rate rose, and out of the corner of your eye you could see the poker Techno had used to stir the fire, hung up neatly in its holder. Your focus was brought back to the man when he put his sword up to your throat. “I don’t recommend lying to me again. You thought I was someone else when I woke you up.” The sword at your throat, was enough to get your adrenaline pumping. You cursed at yourself for your screw up.

“What do you want?” You glared up at him, your nails digging into the wood of the floorboards. At the question he lowered his sword. He was silent for a moment in thought.

“Information.” He simply stated, “Things don’t have to go sideways, we can talk like normal adults.”

“I’m not one for talking.” You wrinkled your nose at him. He breaks in here and expects you to just comply with everything he wanted? No, not going to happen. “Put your sword away.” You may be more willing to talk then.

“You’re not in the position to just be making demands.” His eyes leveled with you. “Even if you weren’t sick, you would still be in the same position.” He leaned toward you. “Now… You’re going to tell me what I want to know.” As you saw him lean you took your chance and you bent your knee toward your chest and propelled your foot toward his face, he dodged the kick, and you took that chance to start grasping for the poker hanging near you. His eyes snapped to your hand grabbing for the poker. He was faster than you and he lunged forward with his sword.

In a matter of seconds, his sword had impaled your shoulder. Your voice was weak, and you cry out, hoping anyone could hear you. You felt tears start to prick at your eyes. The pain was immense. You grit your teeth, groaning in pain.

“Okay… That wasn’t how I wanted it to go.” The man muttered and in one stroke pulled the sword out of your flesh. You rolled on your side cradling the wound in your shoulder. The pain was unbearable, and your vision started to blur, you couldn’t focus on his face anymore. The man let out an exhausted sigh and brought his hand up to cover his eyes for a second, as he processed what he was going to do next.

Well… He wasn’t given more than a second, before a loud bang could be heard at the door. The sudden sound startling you. You watched as another bang had landed on the door not a second later. The man wasn’t facing you; he was watching the door. And with a small pause a third and final bang came from the door, but this time, the door flew off its hinges and landed straight onto the man, winding him, and making him fall to the floor.

Losing your grip on consciousness, your eyes skimmed the wound the sword had made. The sight of the blood making you sick. You weren’t necessarily squeamish… but the concept that an immense amount of your blood was now pooling onto the ground beneath you, made your stomach turn. Bile rose in your throat. The world around you blurred and it sounded as if you were submerged in water, accompanied by a ringing in your ears. You felt a pair of cool hands touch your face trying to get you to focus. You willed your eyes to stay open, your eyes meeting Techno’s gaze.

You couldn’t hear what he was saying, but that didn’t matter to you… You got lost in the golden eyes behind the mask. He looked like he was begging you to stay awake, promising you that he would get you help. Your focus stayed on the rough hand cupping your face, and before you knew it… Your eyes slowly closed, and you were gone to the world.

Techno was relieved to see his cottage in the distance, the smoke still pluming out of the chimney, he breathed a sigh of relief, ‘Good, at least she’s warm.’ He thought to himself.

‘Wouldn’t you like to warm her up yourself?’ A voice taunted, causing Techno to tense up.

“Mark her up. Spill her blood.” More whispers of the same caliber stayed in his head. The voices demanding that he protect you or kill you. He could handle it, he wouldn’t lose his grip on reality, that, he would make sure of. Shaking his head, trying to clear the voices away, he trudged further on through the snow.

When he was just a few steps away from the porch, he froze, his eyes lingering over the track marks leading to the stairs. Someone had gone to the door… But… there wasn’t tracks leading away from the house.

‘Danger.’

‘Blood.’

‘They have her,’ The whispers in his mind drowned everything else out. Overstimulated from the voices, telling him to find you, he tried looking for his keys. His hands shook and he fumbled when he found them. But the one thing that he could hear… Was the familiar sound of flesh being torn, and your cries of pain.

That was it, he was done. In one swift movement he had kicked the door. His blood ringing in his ears, the voices spurring him on. When it didn’t budge, he kicked it again. When that didn’t work his boot for a third time landed on the door, causing the door to splinter from the frame and fly off and hit whoever was behind the door. His eyes scanned the room and he dashed to you. His hands cupping your cheeks.

“Hey, stay with me… I’m going to get you out of here.” His words hung in the air. His gaze kept yours, and he felt your hand gently grasp at his shirt before your eyes slowly closed. He swallowed down his sadness, and his eyes scan over the door still lying on the man.

‘He should die for touching her.’

‘Blood for the blood god.’

He sneers, at the parts of the man he can see underneath the door, and he rises to his feet. Summoning an axe forth, he steps toward the man. His steps ringing out on the floorboards. Raising his axe, he stops just short of the door. Using his foot, he kicks the door away all the while ready to swing the axe. When he could see the blues of his eyes, he swings for blood.

An arrow narrowly misses Techno, just inches from his face, making him stop mid swing. Techno cranes his neck at the new threats standing in the doorway. The one who had the bow in their hands… Was Sapnap.

“Stand down Techno.” Sapnap warned, grabbing, and loading the arrow into the bow.

“Or what?” Techno spat out his eyes briefly looking down at the downed man in front of him. His heart sunk when he realized just who the man was… Phil… The axe clatters to the ground, and Techno takes a step back.

“Hey mate.” Phil says awkwardly waving to him from the ground. Techno felt winded, he had almost… Killed Philza… His best friend…

“Who’s this?” A familiar and irritating voice asked from behind him from where you were lying. He turned and saw Dream crouching over you. Techno hesitated, swallowing his irritation.

“Just some rando.” He stated, turning to help Philza up off the ground. “I need to brew some potions; she’s lost a lot of blood already, from when I found her in the fog.” Dream didn’t hesitate, and he scooped up your body into his arms.

“We can take her from here.” Dream simply said strolling out with you in his arms, George followed him. The urge was strong to stop Dream from taking you. He stopped himself, ridiculing himself of his urges and actions to protect you. He had met you yesterday…

“Get your anger in control Techno, Phil might put up with it, but we won’t.” Sapnap lingered by the door, his eyes boring into Techno. “We need people who are level-headed and what you just showed us… Is not level-headed…” Sapnap disappeared down the stairs. Techno kept his eyes glued to the place where Sapnap was standing.

“It was the voices again wasn’t it?” Phil asked. He was cradling his right arm; it was definitely broken. Techno felt the guilt, and he slowly looked over at Phil and nodded. “I haven’t seen you like that since-”

“I know.” Techno interjected, as he looked away in shame. “I-I’m sorry Phil.”

“It’s okay Techno, I know how it is… I’m just glad those guys came when they did!” Phil flashed a smile at Techno, but Techno could hear the shakiness to Phil’s voice. He knew he was feared. Most of the time it didn’t bother him. But there was something that made him scared that you or Phil were going to fear him…

“Why were they even out here?” Techno asked.

“They’re the rescue team. They probably were just checking the house out and found us.” Phil explained. “We got an operation going, back at the community mine.”

“Hey guys?” George popped his head into the doorway, “We need to get back, your friend isn’t doing too well, she’s riding with Dream. He’s going on ahead, so she can get the care she needs. I would suggest bringing anything that might help. We have a caravan for supplies we happen across.” George, just as fast as he appeared, he disappeared.

“Let’s go home, Techno,” Phil said weakly smiling at him. Techno didn’t get how Phil could still smile at him like that… He had almost killed him and here he was… Just smiling. Phil helped to gather everything that would be useful, after wrapping his arm in a sling, and Techno hauled it out to the caravan.

When he stepped outside his eyes scanned for any sign of you or Dream… But the two of you were already gone. He didn’t let his disappointment show, but Sapnap caught him looking for you and let out a breathy laugh.

“Lookin’ for something?” Sapnap taunted. Techno’s glare fueled the amusement in Sapnap’s eyes. Sapnap crossed his arms in a smug manner, and he leaned against Techno’s house. Techno rolled his eyes and shook his head. There wasn’t time for any of this. He wanted to be there for you when you woke up, so that you would have at least one familiar face around. Techno sighed turning and went to go pack the rest of his house.

You felt like you were hit by a train, and each movement of the horse you were on sent another jolt through your body. Opening your eyes, you look up from the arms of the man cradling your body on the horse. He wore a white mask with a happy face on it. You were only conscious for a second, but you hid your face into his chest to hide from the harsh winds whipping around the two of you. His arms tightened around you and that was the last thing you felt before you slipped into unconsciousness again.

#technoblade x reader #technoblade/reader #c!techno x reader #techno fanfic #c!techno #angst #Through Fire and Ice #mcyt x reader

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kikis-writing-world · 4 years ago

Text

Whiskey Straight - The Foil (4)

Jack Daniels x F!Reader

The masked men, who still haven't identified themselves, have you. They have questions and you're forced to admit things out loud that you hadn't been wanting to even admit to yourself.

Word Count: 5.3k

Warnings: Light kidnapping vibes (reader is blindfolded and tied to a chair at one point,) interrogation setting, SMUT: unprotected p in v, memories of unwanted sexual advances (if you made it through the last chapter, it's just reader trying to get over/deal with it.) If I've missed anything, please let me know. I care about you all and want you mentally safe <3

Series Masterlist - Prologue - One - Two - Three - Four - Five - Six - Seven

via GIPHY (Credit to Artsplained on GIPHY)

The thick, dark hood over your head kept you from seeing anything as you were led forward by a strong hand on your arm. It muffled the sounds around you but the echo of footsteps bounced around in the small space. You could only guess you were being led down twisting, barren hallways as two sets of shoes clacked against the floor.

You had tried asking questions when you woke, the hood already placed over your face. Your head felt heavy and lethargic, your chin rested against your chest. As you remembered everything that led to your situation, specifically the hard hit to your head, you were surprised to not be in any pain. You tried to lift your hands to remove the fabric covering your face, but they were tied down. It took you a moment to take stock of your body: You were sitting in a chair and some kind of straps held your arms in place. They were pliable, so likely made of fabric or leather as opposed to metal. Your feet weren’t secured, but as you shuffled them around, you could feel nothing but the legs of your chair and the floor beneath you.

You started to shout, asking where you were, demanding to be let go, but all your pleas were met with silence. By the time you heard a door open and footsteps approach you, your voice was hoarse. Still, none of your questions were answered as you were released from the chair and led from the room.

You were halted, the hand on your arm tightening as you stopped. You heard a door open in front of you and the hood was pulled from your head. You couldn’t adjust to the brightness of the halfway before , you were pushed forward into the darkened room.

“No, no, no!” You panicked, turning to find the door slamming shut behind you. There was no handle. You started to press your palms along the seam of the door, frantically searching for a way to open it. You whimpered, scratching at the door, when the lights behind you clicked on with a loud pop. You turned, backing yourself against the wall to take in the room.

Large and empty aside from the metal stool placed in the middle, the room appeared to be made of concrete. The lights came from the corners of the ceiling, pointing down on the stool like spotlights. One of the far walls housed a large mirror. You didn’t need to check it to figure it was a two-way mirror and you were being watched. Still, you approached the mirror cautiously, hoping to see through to the other side. You wanted a hint as to where you were and who was holding you here.

“Sit down.” A loud, robotic voice echoed through the room, making you jump. You hadn’t even made it to the mirror, and you scurried to back yourself against the wall once more. You leaned against it trying to be as small as possible.

“I said sit down.” The voice returned. You stared at the stool, taking slow steps towards it.A plain metal stool, it reminded you of the kind from science labs back in high school, or maybe in a doctor’s office. You touched it gently, making sure it wasn’t boobytrapped in any way before sitting down, facing the mirror.

You waited for further instruction, your breath coming in short, panicked pants. You blocked the bright lights from your eyes with a shaking hand.

“Who do you work for?”

“U-uh,” you stuttered out of fear. “It’s a sm-small office downtown.”

“Who do you work for?” The voice repeated.

“Stern and Carpenter.” You answered, giving the name of the company this time.

“Who do you work for?” You were asked a third time.

“I don’t know what you want!” You wailed. “I work an office job, data entry! I’m just a secretary!”

“Sure, Mrs. Daniels.”

You froze, breath catching in your chest as they used your real name. They knew who you were. Not Trisha Strickland, no code name or cover story. They knew you.

“What was a secretary doing in the woods with an international terrorist? Taking dictation?” The voice questioned. “How long have you been part of The Vulture’s faction?”

“F-faction?! I don’t know anything about a faction!” You gasped, shaking your head. “I-I’ve only known Phil for a few weeks, maybe a month and a half. I don’t know any Jackal.”

“Phil,” the voice pronounced the name slowly, dragging it out as if it was testing the way it sounded. “Is that who he said he was?”

“Y-yes. Phil Strickland. I barely know him!” You explained, unable to stop the hysterical tone to your voice.

“That’s not what it looked like when we found you.” You could hear the mocking tone of the voice, even through the robotic crackles.

You bit back a sob, hanging your head as you remembered Phil forcing himself onto you just before the men in masks had appeared.

“How did you meet him?”

You took a deep breath, closing your eyes as you thought back over the past month. You explained the first time meeting him. How he had dropped the briefcase at your table and rushed off almost immediately afterwards. You explained not wanting anything to do with him - you left out how that had changed over the past month. You told them how you broke open the briefcase, finding the gun and the documents and cash, how you wanted to get rid of it but didn’t want anything falling into the hands of someone on the streets.

You were interrupted, the voice asking why you continued to see him after you realized he was dangerous.

“He said he needed my help.” You sighed with a small shrug.

“Not because you were attracted to him?” The voice accused.

Your jaw dropped, insulted and shocked. “No!”

“You weren’t attracted to him at all?”

“No!” You repeated, shaking your head emphatically. “He’s not my type, and I’m happily married!” The words rolled off your tongue easily, you’d been telling them to yourself long enough now. Your hands fidgeted in your lap as you thought about the way working with Phil had made you feel. You felt important, you felt seen.

“Maybe a little.” You admitted sadly, your stomach churning at the admission. It wasn’t Phil’s looks or his charm or even his car that attracted you to him, it was the way he treated you. That he would compliment you easily and often, constantly thanking you for your help. You grew attracted to the attention he gave you. “B-but it wasn’t like that-”

“Is cheating on your husband common for you?” The voice accused.

“What?!” You gasped. “No! I’d never!”

“So this was the first time then?”

“I wasn’t cheating!” You wailed, wanting them to believe you desperately. You may have done bad things, but you hadn’t cheated on Jack. Phil had forced himself onto you, and you had tried to stop it. The memory made the stomach bile creep up your throat.

“Tell me about your husband, Mrs. Daniels.” They demanded.

Your brow furrowed in confusion as you stared at your own greening reflection in the mirror. “Jack? What do you want to know about Jack?” You waited, but they didn’t clarify. “What can I say about him?” You wondered aloud with a shrug. “He works for Statesman Distillery, runs the division...”

“So sex with him isn’t doing it for you anymore?”

Your jaw dropped once more. “That’s none of your fucking business!” You hissed. “What kind of question is that?!”

“You’re in a lot of trouble, Mrs. Daniels. I suggest you cooperate.” The voice glowered. “If we want to know about the most intimate details of your life, you had better tell us if you want to get out of here.”

You choked back another sob at the threat. The thought of never leaving this facility, of never seeing Jack again - you’d never get to make up for the month of bad decisions, never get to hold him or kiss him again. Would they tell him what happened, or would he go on never knowing what happened to you? You fought back the tears, not wanting whoever this bastard was to see you cry.

“Jack is a good man.” You whispered, closing your eyes. It was true, and you felt like you were reminding yourself just as much as you were telling them.

“But he doesn’t exactly ‘take you to church’ anymore-” The voice cut off abruptly. You were glad for it, the guilt and anger bubbling within you.

“Why did you go to Francis’ hideout.” They asked.

“Francis?”

“Francis Steinruck, legal name of The Vulture. Also goes by Phil Strickland.”

“Francis Steinruck.” You repeated quietly to yourself, the name tasting bitter on your tongue. You’d been so stupid to believe him. “He wanted me to go with him to Paris. For a mission. He needed a cover and he wanted me to… pose as his wife.”

The silence was deafening. Saying it out loud, you felt like an absolute moron, falling for all of his attention and flattery.

“And you agreed?” The flat voice nearly sounded in disbelief, not that you could blame it.

You nodded pathetically, unable to look up and face your reflection.

“Why?”

You shrugged before dropping your hands back into your lap. “I don’t know.” You admitted, nearly laughing at yourself. “I… I guess I just needed something. Something... more?”

“What did you need, Mrs. Daniels?”

You shook your head, giving another small shrug. “To feel alive? I just wanted to do... something outrageous. Something that was just for me… And it felt really good to be needed. Wanted.” You admitted with a sigh, looking up at the ceiling and blinking back the tears. These were all the thoughts you’d had since meeting Phil, but saying them outloud was just tearing open wounds you’d been ignoring in your life.

“He trusted me. When I talked, it felt like he was listening. He noticed things… He made me feel special.” You paused, taking a steadying breath. “I-I’m not getting any younger, you know?” You laughed bitterly, looking at yourself in the mirror. The tears threatening to break, the dark shadows under your eyes. It was all too apparent as you looked at yourself.

“There’s so much more out there in this life and I didn’t want to miss it. I wanted to be able to look back one day and say ‘yeah, I lived that life. I was wild once! I was reckless and did something exciting!’” You sniffled, not able to stop a few tears from spilling over, letting some of your deepest insecurities come to light.

They said nothing. You didn’t know if they were judging you or felt sorry for you. Both options made anger flare up inside you.

“I don’t give a shit,” you mumbled, wiping your face before feeling more confident as you defended yourself. “I don’t care if you understand or not, okay? I made a decision for myself, and maybe it wasn’t a good decision, and maybe I’ll regret it for the rest of my life. I don’t know. The point is I made it for myself, and you don’t have to understand that. I have to answer to myself, and to my husband, but certainly not to you.”

“This Phil… did you sleep with him?”

You sighed, feeling defeat spread through your body. You were exhausted and scared and wanted to go home. You didn’t think you could argue with the faceless voice anymore. “No.”

“You mean you did not have sexual relations with him?”

You huffed, halfway to a laugh as you shook your head. “If you’re going to ask me every goddamn question twice, this is going to take a really long time and I have to get home.” You snarled, standing from the stool.

“You’re not going anywhere.” The voice scolded you as you started to approach the door.

“Just get me out of here!” You screamed, hands flailing at your sides helplessly as the rawness in your throat flared up once more.

“Answer the question.”

“I already answered your fucking question!” You snapped. You couldn’t handle it anymore. The judgement from the people watching and questioning you, your own guilt and anger inside you. You grabbed the stool, swinging it with all your strength into the mirror. It barely cracked, a small spider web pattern spreading from where you connected.

“I did. Not. Sleep. With. Phil!” You screamed, bashing the stool into the mirror with every syllable. “I did not plan to sleep with Phil, I did not want to sleep with Phil!” You shrieked, nearly hysterical as you kept swinging the stool. The mirror broke more and more, your own reflection morphing into a jaded puzzle of yourself, but the mirror never shattered completely.

“Calm down!” The voice demanded, but you ignored it. They called for you to calm down over and over, but you swung the stool until your arms hurt. You swung and swung, screaming until you felt the last ounce of energy you had leave your body.

You stared at the cracks in the mirror, realizing it was never going to break. You panted, chest heaving as you caught your breath from the break down, stumbling back a few steps.

“One more question, Mrs. Daniels.” The voice prompted, sounding as calm as ever. “Do you still love your husband?”

The question made you drop the stool from your hold, clattering loudly to the floor. You smiled sadly as you thought of Jack, sitting at home with his newspaper or watching a football game while he sipped from his favorite tumbler, having no idea what you had been doing or where you were now.

“Yes. I love him.” Your voice cracked, both from emotions and all the screaming you’d been doing.

The room was silent once more. You didn’t care what they thought anymore. You were just tired and wanted to go home. Curl up next to Jack and start to make your amends for your foolishness. You bent over, fixing the stool and sitting back on it, waiting for the voices to tell you what was happening next. You prayed silently to whatever power might be listening that they would let you go, that you’d get that chance to make your amends.

“There’s only one way to fix all this, Mrs. Daniels.”

You looked back at the broken mirror, the lines and shatter patterns too many to even make out your reflection anymore.

“You will work for us.”

You laughed pitifully, rubbing your forehead as you fought off the headache that was starting to form behind your eyes.

“I am offering you a choice. If you work for us, we will drop the charges and you can go back to your normal life. If not, you will go to federal prison and your husband will be left humiliated and alone. Your life as you know it will be destroyed.”

Your jaw dropped as you listened to the ultimatum. “Gee, what a choice.” You deadpanned.

“Yes or no?”

“Yes, of course I’ll do it.” You huffed in defeat, nearly wanting to laugh. It wasn’t a choice at all. “What do I have to do?”

“You will be contacted with the assignment. The code name of your contact will be Whiskey, and your code name will be Bourbon.”

You huffed, unable to stop yourself from rolling your eyes as you heard Jack’s voice in your head. “Bourbon is a whiskey, dumbass. You remember the part when I told you my husband runs a distillery, right?”

The lights clicked out suddenly, making you jump. Sassing them when they had started to show mercy may have been a bad idea.

“You’ll receive our call.” The voice echoed in the darkness. “Goodbye Mrs. Daniels.”

The door behind you opened, and you spun to see a man silhouetted against the light of the hallway. The door stayed open as he stalked towards you.

“Please, I didn’t mean it!” You defended, holding your hands up in front of you in surrender.

The man said nothing. He placed the dark sack over your head and grabbed you once again by the arm, pulling you out of the room.

You weren’t led back to the room you’d been in before, taking different twists and turns through the facility. You weren’t sure if that was a good thing or not. They had said they would let you go, to have you work for them, but that was before you mouthed off.

A door ahead of you opened and you could tell you were outside. Gone was the echoing of shoes, clicking off the pristine floors and bouncing off the walls. The crunch of gravel was under your feet, the sound of trees rustling in the breeze. Out was good… right?

A new sound just in front of you made you jump and as you were pushed forward to climb into a vehicle, you realized it had been a van door sliding open. The moment it closed, the van was moving. You fell to your side, catching yourself with your elbow against the scratchy carpeted flooring. With no one holding you and nothing binding your hands, you were tempted to remove the hood but you didn’t want to know what would happen if you saw something you weren’t supposed to. You stayed quiet and still, mentally pleading for them to let you go.

You weren’t sure how long you drove before the van screeched to a halt - literally screeched, throwing you forward with the momentum. Before you could even think to right yourself, you were grabbed and pulled out of the van. The hood was ripped off and something shoved in your hands.

Your purse.

You were next to your car, where you had parked it when Phil- or Francis, or whoever he was - had picked you up that night. Oh god, was it even the same night?

The van was gone before you even had your bearings about you, no chance at trying to catch the license plate or any distinguishing features. You stood in the deserted street, almost not believing that they’d let you go.

With shaky hands, you opened your purse and dug out your car keys. You dropped them twice while trying to unlock the door. When you finally did, you climbed inside and locked the door right behind you. Feeling even the tiniest amount of safety, locked inside your car, you finally cried. You wrapped your arms around yourself, sobbing as all the emotions from the night hit you. The terror, the disgust, the guilt- it all hit you like a tsunami as you finally broke.

You wailed, angry with Phil, angry with yourself, gripping at the steering wheel as your knuckles turned white. Pulling at your hair until it hurt. Part of you wanted to hurt, you deserved it after everything you’d done.

You weren’t sure how long you sat in your car, under the overpass, crying, screaming, cursing - eventually you felt numb. Sore, exhausted and numb. It started to feel like the last day had been a movie, something you’d watched someone else live out, not lived it for yourself. You wiped your eyes, seeing it was a little after 11 at night. The last time you’d looked at the clock, it had been around 4 when Phil had picked you up from this very spot. Was it really only 7 hours later? It felt like a lifetime.

You took several long breaths, trying to calm yourself as you started the car. You felt in no way like you were up to driving but you had to get home somehow. You took your time, driving slowly and taking side roads to avoid having to navigate too much traffic.

The porch light was still on when you pulled up to the house, Jack’s Bronco parked in the driveway. A dim light was on in the den, the colours of the TV shining onto the curtains. You parked, wondering if he was awake, waiting and worried, or if he had dozed off.

You took a moment to try to make yourself look semi-presentable. Your red rimmed eyes and heavy bags were a lost cause, but you smoothed down your hair to look somewhat decent, straightening your clothes. There was no way he wouldn’t know something had happened. You thought of the threat that robotic voice had uttered - you will go to federal prison and your husband will be left humiliated and alone - and you knew you had to lie yet again.

You swallowed around the lump in your throat as you unlocked the front door, trying to calm the shaking of your hands as you entered your own home. It was quiet inside, the noise from the TV turned down low. You cleared your throat, wincing at the pain shooting through it before you called out to Jack, your voice as level as you could force it.

There was no answer as you kicked off your shoes, not bothering to right them from wherever they fell. You dragged your hand along the wall for balance as you made your way to the den, your legs shaky after everything you’d been through.

Lit by the lamp to his side and the flashes from the TV, Jack sat in his favorite armchair fast asleep. His head was flopped back against the chair, mouth open as he snored softly. The sight sent waves of regret through you. You might have cried if there were any tears left in you. You crossed the room, crawling into Jack’s lap.

Jack woke with a start as you curled up on his lap, grumbling to himself as he slowly figured out what was going on. You buried your head in his shoulder, curling your fists into his shirt as his arms came up to wrap around you.

“Hey there, darlin’.” He greeted happily, his voice slow and sweet like honey as he woke, his accent thick with sleep. “To what do I owe this pleasure?” He chuckled.

You didn’t answer, clinging to him as you tried to find it in you to beg for forgiveness for something you couldn’t even begin to explain to him.

“Sweetheart?” Jack asked, giving your arm a slight shake when you didn’t answer. “What’s wrong?”

“I-I’m sorry.” You stuttered, whispering to hide the strain in your voice.

“For what? What happened?” Jack shifted under you, sitting upright as his tone flooded with concern. “Are you okay?”

You nodded, face still hidden in the crook of his neck.

“Darlin’ look at me, please?” He asked, cupping your cheek as he tried to coax you out of hiding. You took a deep breath and let him pull your face into his view.

“What happened?” He asked calmly, but you could see the concern swirling in his amber eyes. He stroked your cheek as he waited for you to answer.

“Nothing,” you lied, shaking your head.

“Don’t look like nothin’. Talk to me?” The sweeter he was with you, the worse you felt.

“It’s stupid.” You denied once more.

“Rough day?” He guessed, and you were relieved for the out. You nodded as he brushed a large hand over your hair, smoothing it down. “I’m sorry.”

He pulled you into a soft kiss. It felt so different from the last set of lips that had been on yours. Welcome, warm, soft. You melted into the kiss, relishing the love and care behind it. You held him close as he tried to pull away, chasing his lips with your own. He let you lead the kiss, let you take what you needed in your emotional state. The more you kissed him, the more his mustache tickled your lip and his hands massaged your back and shoulders, the more you realized you needed him.

You adjusted yourself in his lap until you were straddling him, your thighs pressed tight to his in the chair. He hummed happily, his hand sliding down your back to rest on your waist. You licked the seam of his lips, pressing your chest to his as he opened his mouth.

He moaned softly as your tongues danced, cupping your cheek as his other hand teased along the hem of your shirt. You wanted to feel him, skin on skin, and you started unbuttoning his shirt. He took the cue to slip his fingers up the back of your shirt, callused fingers dragging over you. It made you gasp, the warm loving touch helping to erase the past several hours. You splayed your hands over his chest, feeling his warmth, the way his chest rose and fell as his breath sped up. It wasn’t enough.

“Need you, Jack.” You whimpered, foregoing the remaining buttons of his shirt to focus on the button of his jeans instead.

“You have me.” He promised, his voice low and husky as he pulled your shirt up. You didn’t lift your arms until his jeans were undone, sitting loose on his hips. Your shirt was discarded carelessly on the floor before Jack surged forward, kissing between your breasts as he palmed them through your bra. You tangled your hands in his hair, letting your head fall back as he focused on you, arching into his touch as your breathing sped up.

“Tell me what you need, baby.” He prompted before closing his teeth over the fabric of your bra, pulling it away before letting it snap back into place.

“Upstairs. Need you to fuck me.” You told him, nearly begging. “Need you inside of me.”

Jack groaned, long and low as he took in your request. His hands scooped under your ass, the only warning you had before he stood. You locked your legs around him, one arm around his shoulders as the other stayed in his hair.

He carried you into your bedroom with ease, despite your lips along his collarbone and you writhing in his arms. He set you on the bed, kissing you passionately as his hands slid up your back to unclasp your bra. You pulled at his shirt, not caring if the buttons opened or broke off. You needed it gone. Your breaths mingled in the space between your lips, panting as the heat grew between you.

He pulled your bra down your arms, dropping it to the floor before sliding his shirt off to join it. You pushed his jeans down his hips, pulling his briefs with them. He helped you, pushing them until they were too low, kicking them off his calves. He removed his lips from yours, kissing down your chest as he worked on your pants.

“Please,” you mewled, gripping his shoulders as you lifted your hips.

“I got you.” He responded, breath ragged as he pulled the last pieces of fabric out of the way.

He wrapped his arms around you, lifting you without warning to set you in the middle of the bed. You gasped, caught off guard, and tried to pull him up to kiss you again. The more he kissed you, the more you forgot about Phil. About feeling alone and unseen. The more you could think about nothing but Jack Daniels, the man you should have been thinking about this whole time.

You felt his thick fingers slide along the crease of your hip before dipping into your folds. You moaned, shaking your head.

“Need you now.” You urged against his lips.

“Okay. Okay.” He panted his understanding as his hand left you. You felt him adjust himself, the blunt head of his cock replacing his fingers at your core. You shuddered, dropping your legs open further for him.

“Please, Jack please.” You babbled, letting your head fall back into the mattress.

He shushed you, positioning himself at your entrance. “You sure you’re ready?”

“Yes, god please, Jack.” You nearly sobbed, canting your hips against him.

You gasped as he finally pushed forward, your breath catching as he stretched you. He groaned, letting his head fall against your shoulder as he entered you slowly. You felt his whole body shudder against you as he bottomed out, his short, quick breaths flitting across your skin as he struggled to control himself.

You gripped at his back, feeling the muscles taut under his skin, pleading with him to move. He obliged with a grunt, pulling out before snapping his hips against you. You cried out, back arching up off the mattress as he set a rapid pace, pumping into you steadily.

“Yes, yes, yes,” you sighed, repeating it like a mantra as your nails dug into the skin of his shoulder.

“Like that? That what you need?” He panted, lifting his head to stare down at you. His eyes were black with lust, hair matted to his forehead with sweat, jaw clenched.

You continued your mantra as his answer, wrapping your legs around him to push him deeper with your heels against his thighs.

He cursed under his breath, nose nudging against your before he took your lips again. All teeth and tongue as he fucked into you. The kiss didn’t last long, both of you struggling for breath.

“M-more.” You stuttered. You wanted him to fuck you. Hard and fast. Use you.

He grunted, increasing his pace. He choked on his words, losing his wits as he cursed, panted your name, ranted how good you felt. You were no better off, only able to ask him for more, more, more as he pounded into you.

He pulled you upwards suddenly, making you gasp in surprise as he sat back on his haunches with you in his lap. He wrapped his arms around your back, using his hands on your shoulders to push you down onto him as he thrust upwards. The new angle made your head spin, his pubic bone grinding against your clit as you cried out for him.

“Wha’d’ya need?” He demanded through clenched teeth. “Need’ya to cum. So fuckin’ close.”

“Don’t stop, god don’t stop.” You plead, wrapping your arms around him and holding him as close as physically possible. Your sweat-slicked chests rubbed together, your nipples hardening at the friction.

You felt Jack’s pace stutter as he got closer and closer to his orgasm. He snaked a hand between you, pinching your clit. Your whole body seized up, a gut-wrenching moan ripping itself from your chest as you came around him. His body shook under you as he rutted into you, your walls holding him tight. You heard him growl as the warmth of his seed filled you.

You collapsed into him, body turning boneless as you came down from your peak, your walls still fluttering around him, throbbing with every beat of your heart as you shakily gulped down all the air you could.

You felt the tremors shaking Jack’s body as his pleasure faded. He carefully lowered you back to the bed, cradling you in his arms before pulling out of you with a drawn-out grunt. He rolled to the side, falling onto his back as he caught his breath. You felt his cum leaking out of you, dripping down onto the blanket beneath you.

Neither of you spoke or moved, simply trying to catch your breaths as your bodies hit you with faint aftershocks of your orgasms. Your mind was finally quiet - the guilt, the anger, the stress all replaced with the only thing you could think of: Jack.

You jumped when his hand caressed your cheek, not having realized your eyes had drifted closed.

“Y’Okay?” He asked, his eyes sparkling with love and care even in the dim room. You nodded, resting your hand on top of his.

“Feelin’ better?”

You nodded again.

“Good.” He smiled tiredly before leaning over you, kissing you so gently you almost questioned if his lips were even touching yours. “Stay here.” He ordered once his lips left yours.

He got out of bed, grousing quietly as he moved. You didn’t think you could disobey him even if you wanted to. There was no way you could move.

He returned with a washcloth, gently parting your legs to clean you. You moaned softly as your muscles protested the movement. The cloth was warm and his touch gentle and soothing to your aching, swollen flesh. When he was satisfied, he tossed the cloth in the direction of the various discarded clothes littering the floor to be dealt with in the morning. Climbing back up the bed, he carefully pulled you to him, holding you close with your head nestled on his chest.

His heartbeat, slowly returning to a normal pace, beat steadily in your ear. His smell was all around you, he was all you could feel. His voice rumbled through his chest, speaking a soft good night as he pressed a kiss to the top of your head. You mumbled your response, too tired, too spent to articulate. You were passed out mere moments later.

Tagging @wickedfrsgrl @din-damn-djarin @dinthisisthe-wayson @seasonschange-butpeopledont @vonschweetz @insideafictionaluniverse @driedgreentomatoes @computeringturtle @thottiewinemom @phoenixhalliwell @sheerfreesia007 @and-claudia @weirdowithnobeardo @massivecolorspygiant @mrstaekim @chibi-liz05 @adrieunor @ilikechocolatemilkh @thirstworldproblemss @dynishot @diamond-doritos @o-sacra-virgo-laudes-tibi

#Agent Whiskey #Agent Whiskey x Reader #Agent Whiskey x F!Reader #Agent Whiskey x You #Agent Whiskey fanfic #Agent Whiskey imagine #Agent Jack Daniels #Agent Jack Daniels x Reader #Agent Jack Daniels x You #Agent Jack Daniels imagine #Pedro Pascal Character Fanfiction #WookieTales #AU: Whiskey Straight

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phantasticworks · 3 years ago

Text

If You Don't Love Me, Pretend - Epilogue

Well. So here we are. it's been a long time (about three years actually) since I started writing this fic and it's grown significantly out of my control since then :') if you've been along since the start, or if you've just found this fic today, thank you for coming along this journey with me. It's been incredible and I'm forever grateful for all the support this fic has gotten <3 thank you so much for reading. keep your eyes peeled for bonus content!

read on ao3

Words: 3.9k

Summary: Three years later

Warnings for this chapter: none

It’s nearly six in the evening and there’s a chiming noise coming from the laptop in the lounge. Dan curses under his breath as he makes his way from the kitchen, hoping and praying the volume isn’t loud enough to wake a certain someone.

He gets there just as the Skype call is about to end, and is quick to press the “accept” button as he scoops the laptop up, retreating back to the kitchen with it. “Hi,” he whispers.

“Hey,” Phil says from the screen, a little smile on his face. “I thought you forgot about me.”

Dan rolls his eyes, setting the laptop on the island countertop and settling on a barstool. “Right. God forbid I’m two seconds late to our Skype call.”

Phil does an adorable pout. “I’ve been gone a week, I miss your face. Is that a crime?”

Dan smirks. “Yep. I’m gonna call the police, have them arrest you on the spot.”

“Hm.” Phil considers it for a moment. “I don’t think I like handcuffs enough for that.” He’s got this smug little look on his face, like he knows a secret.

Annoyingly, Dan blushes at that. “Shut up. You don’t get to flirt when you’re, like, on the other side of the freaking planet.”

Phil gives him an apologetic smile. “Sorry, hon. I’ll be back home in a couple days, though.”

Dan nods, propping an elbow up and resting his chin in his hand. “I know. I just miss you.”

“I miss you too,” Phil replies easily. Dan loves that even now, after all this time, they’re still this disgustingly obsessed with each other.

“How’s work been?” Dan asks, changing the subject before he gets sad. He hates it when he gets sad during their Skype calls, especially when he starts crying.

Phil sighs, shrugging. “It’s been alright. I’m exhausted, though. You’d think I’d stop offering to go to these sorts of things for the BBC, but apparently I can’t help myself.”

Dan smiles at him. “You’re a dedicated worker. It’s a good thing.”

“Not when it takes me away from you guys for weeks at a time,” Phil mumbles petulantly. Dan has to agree there. “Speaking of, where are our kids?”

Nearly three years since the adoption was finalized and Dan still adores the sound of that. “The twins are upstairs, I think doing homework. I was starting dinner when you called.”

“Oh, sorry,” Phil says, smiling sheepishly.

Dan waves him off. “It’s fine. I’m doing stir-fry tonight, it won’t take long anyway.”

Phil nods at this, then asks, “Levi out with Charlotte?”

Dan smiles and nods. “Yeah. They went to see a movie, I think.”

“Did you make sure he had enough money?” Phil asks. He’s always got this perpetual fear that their son will be stranded somewhere with no money and no way home, so Dan’s gotten good at reassuring him.

“Yes,” he says patiently. “I let him borrow the car, and I told him that there’s some in the console if they need it.”

Phil nods, but his face is stricken with another worried look. Dan knows what’s coming before he says it. “Did they wear seatbelts? Are you sure he’s ready to drive on his own? I mean-“

“Babe,” Dan interrupts. “He’s nearly eighteen. He’s passed all his tests, gotten his license, and he’s practiced a lot. He’s earned a little bit of trust, yeah?”

He can tell Phil is still a little nervous and weary, but he nods in agreement. “Okay,” he says with a breath. “I just worry about him.”

Dan looks down, hiding his smile. His husband could be such an anxious mess when his kids were involved. “I know. But he��s fine. They’re fine. Charlotte’s aunt said she could stay the night, so they’ll be back soon, I’m sure.”

“Oh, make sure you make her a separate serving of the stir-fry. She’s still doing the vegetarian thing, and I don’t want her to go hungry,” Phil says.

Dan’s heart clenches. He’s so full of love and that ooey-gooey affection that hasn’t dulled at all over the years.

“Sure,” he agrees with a smile.

“How’s-“ Phil begins to speak, but before he can, a piercing cry comes from the lounge. Dan jumps, and Phil laughs. “Speak of the devil,” he grins.

Dan makes a protesting noise. “Don’t you dare call our daughter a devil,” he chastises playfully.

Phil rolls his eyes. “Go get her, I’ll wait.”

Dan nods and quickly makes his way to the lounge, straight over to where the crying noise is coming from the bassinet in the corner. “Oh, dear,” Dan tuts in a high-pitch voice. Phil makes fun of him when he does that, calling him Winnie the Pooh every time. Dan leans down, smiling at the little bundle resting there, the crying softening to a sniffle when Dan scoops the baby up.

“Shh,” he whispers. “There we go. Daddy’s here, love.” He strokes her little fingers, grinning wetly when she clutches onto his pinky. “Aww, what a sweet thing. Do you wanna see your other Dad? Yes! Let’s go see Dada.”

He’s careful as he makes his way back to the kitchen, and he glances up at the laptop, smiling when he sees the way Phil is beaming at him through the screen. “Hello there,” he coos softly. “Oh, sweet angel. How’s she been today?” His tone shifts when he speaks to Dan, and Dan glances up at him again, having gotten lost in staring at her cute little face.

“She’s been a lot better today. I think Kath was right about the colic,” Dan says, absently stroking her little hand as he rocks her gently.

Phil nods. “So it was probably just gas?” He asks.

“I think so. I gave her a warm bath and did the bicycle thing with her legs earlier and she seems to be loads better now,” Dan replies.

“Good,” Phil says with a smile. “I read somewhere that if they’re still having trouble you can have them lay on their tummies and that might help.”

Dan nods. “I’ll try that if she gets fussy again. But the crying finally stopped, thank god.” He’s not religious but he’s not kidding in his thanks. The crying was literally about to drive him insane.

“I know, babe. I’m sorry I haven’t been there this week,” Phil says, his eyes dropping with something like shame.

Dan wishes he could kiss him right now. “It’s fine, Phil. We’ve been fine.”

“Still...” Phil shrugs. “I wish I would’ve been there.”

Dan smiles. “I know. But next time you will be, yeah? At least the BBC isn’t sending you out all the time these days.”

Phil nods. “Thank god. And thank god that Bryony lets you work from home.”

“I know, right?” Dan grins. He’s still a little over the moon about his career shift, even though he does find himself struggling to do both jobs part-time. But that’s something he won’t let himself worry about now.

The baby gurgles in his arms, and Dan coos at her. “What? Is our baby girl hungry? Hm? Time for din-din?”

“I guess I should probably let you go,” Phil says, sounding sad.

Dan glances up at him, frowning at the thought. He really does miss him a lot. “You don’t have to. Do you want to talk to the kids before you go?”

Phil smiles and nods. “Yeah, I’d love that.”

“Let me go grab them. Hang on,” Dan gently bounces the baby as he goes to the end of the stairs, covering her little ears gently before calling out, “Mia! Jai! Come here for a second!”

There’s some shouts of agreement and then Dan listens to the stampede of little feet as they race down the stairs. Thank god they’d finally moved into a house that they actually own, with neighbors far enough away that they can’t complain about the sounds that fill a house full of children.

Still, old habits die hard, and Dan gives them a look when they reach the bottom. “What did we say about running?” He asks.

The nine-year-olds at least have the decency to look ashamed. “Sorry,” Jaiden says, stepping closer and stroking his baby sister’s cheek with a gentle finger. “Hi, Nat-Nat,” he coos.

Dan smiles at that. “Dad’s on Skype, he wants to talk to you guys,” Dan says, and the words are barely out of his mouth when the twins are barreling off towards the kitchen. He rolls his eyes as he follows after them, mumbling to the baby all the while. “Sure, Daddy’s been feeding them and keeping them alive this week, but as soon as Dada is mentioned, it’s like I’m chopped liver,” he complains with the same baby-voice he always uses when talking to her.

She gurgles and Dan sighs. “You’re right. Dada is the best.”

When he reaches the kitchen again, both kids are hovered by the laptop, rambling about their day. They’re interrupting each other more often than not, but Phil seems to be getting the gist of everything regardless. Dan busies himself with preparing a bottle for Natalie, humming to her as he heats up the water. He smiles and makes faces at her to keep her occupied, and his heart leaps when her lip curls just a little.

“Aren’t you Daddy’s little angel? Hm? Our precious girl?” He says in a sweet voice, smiling when she smacks her lips. “Oh, someone is hungry, huh?”

Apparently Amelia is listening to him, because she pipes up from across the room. “I’m hungry,” she says loudly.

“I know, love, I’m going to start dinner as soon as I feed Nat and put her down for another nap,” Dan replies.

Amelia huffs. She mutters something, and Dan tenses. Things had been a little tense since they brought Natalie home over a month ago, and Amelia was not shy about telling them how much she didn’t want a little sister for the months leading up to Natalie’s birth. Dan hates to think that this is their reality for the rest of forever, Amelia disliking her little sister to the point of contempt, but at this point, he wasn’t sure.

“Amelia,” Dan hears Phil say over the Skype call. He’s using his fatherly warning tone, and Dan is partially relieved. This week has been hell trying to balance four kids and a job (thank god it’s summer and his school counselor tasks were more sparse this time of year) as well as the weird energy Amelia has towards the baby, so it’s a relief for Phil to finally step in.

“I know,” Amelia says with an irritated sigh, rolling her eyes. Dan gives her a look, and she looks down.

“Honey, I know you don’t like this change in our family, but that’s just the way things are now, okay? Natalie is here to stay, and sooner or later you need to figure out how to live with that,” Phil tells her firmly.

Dan’s careful not to say anything. There’s been many times, over the years, where he’s been inclined to argue with Phil over their parenting methods, and there’s been times when those arguments have become proper fights. But they’re working on communication, both with each other and their kids, so this time, he keeps his mouth shut. Honestly, there’s not anything Phil said that he doesn’t agree with, so it’s not a hardship to let him take the lead on this one.

Amelia rubs at her eyes. “Fine,” she says tersely.

Dan’s heart clenches. He hates to see any of his children in pain, and he knows that Amelia isn’t wrong to be upset. A new sibling is an upending of her life, and especially since she’s gone from being the only daughter to just the oldest. He thinks about how he felt, at seven years old, when Adrian was born. He gets it.

“Mia, do you want to help me cook dinner tonight?” Dan asks.

Amelia brightens a little at that. “Can I chop peppers?”

Dan smiles. “You sure can. I need my favorite sous chef if I’m going to feed the masses in an orderly time,” he says with a wink.

She giggles, and he relaxes. Amelia starts to tell Phil about something that had happened earlier that day when Dan took them to the park, and Dan hurries about finishing Natalie’s bottle so he can feed her. She’s starting to get fussy, and he’s bouncing her carefully as he readies the bottle, checking the temperature on his wrist.

“Here we go,” he says softly, tucking the bottle nipple in her mouth. “Good stuff, huh?” He smiles down at her, stroking her soft little cheek. Her eyes drift shut and he allows himself to relax, wandering back over to the laptop and standing behind the kids so he can see Phil again.

“And Daddy said that tomorrow we’re gonna go to the zoo,” Amelia announces proudly.

“Might,” Dan says, emphasizing the word strongly. “I said we might go to the zoo.” He rolls his eyes at Phil, shaking his head in exasperation.

“But Daddy-“ Amelia whines.

Dan’s already shaking his head at her. “Nope, don’t start. I said we might go. Honestly, I don’t know if I can handle toting all three of you around by myself.”

“Toting all three of them around where?” A voice says, interrupting Amelia’s next complaint.

Dan turns around where Levi and Charlotte are walking into the kitchen and smiles at them. “The zoo. Possibly. Hi, Lottie. How was the movie?”

Charlotte shrugs, going to settle on the barstool closest to Amelia, accepting the hug Amelia gives her with a smile. “It was alright. The special effects were horrible. You’re going to hate the ending.”

“No spoilers!” He protests, shaking his head adamantly since he doesn’t have an empty hand to gesture with.

She grins and pretends to zip her lips before turning to the laptop, the Skype call still open. Phil is smiling at them, that goofy kind that Dan knows well. It usually means Phil is thinking about how lucky they are to have this life. Dan understands the feeling.

“Hi, Phil,” Charlotte greets with a little wave.

“Hi,” he waves back with a smile. “Did you guys wear your seatbelts?”

Charlotte nods, but Dan notices her give Levi a pointed look and Levi sighs, pulling out his wallet. Dan watches in amusement as he takes out a couple pounds, handing them to her with a roll of his eyes. When she notices Dan looking at her, Charlotte shrugs, looking only a little bit sheepish. “We had a bet on whether or not one of you would ask us about that,” she explains.

Dan snorts. He turns to Levi, giving him a fake disappointed look. “Probably should’ve seen that one coming, Levi.”

Levi sighs. “I knew that you probably wouldn’t, and I wasn’t counting on Dad being here when we got home.”

“Sorry,” Phil says with a grin.

“Are we ever gonna have dinner?” Amelia wails, interrupting whatever it was Phil was going to say next.

“I’m starving,” Jaiden agrees from beside her. He turns to look at Dan, pouting. “Wouldn’t it be easier to just order pizza?”

Dan looks straight at Phil, giving him a very pointed look. “That one is all yours,” he says, nodding to Jaiden.

Phil at least has the decency to look almost embarrassed. “I mean... he’s got a fair point, babe,” Phil says with a little grin.

Dan sighs. Natalie’s bottle makes a snapping noise and Dan looks down to find she’s only got a couple swallows left in the nipple. He’s careful to watch and pull it out of her mouth before she can start swallowing any air, placing it on the counter to be washed later as he grins at her. “Well done Nat-Nat! You finished all your din-din.”

The baby gurgles at him and Dan smiles as he takes her up to his shoulder, burping her gently. The kids are still talking amongst themselves, but Dan catches Phil watching him through the screen. He smiles helplessly, shrugging at his husband, and Phil grins back.

“I guess I should let you go so you can put her down and start dinner,” Phil says, a resigned sigh in his voice.

Dan hates it, but he’s right. Dan could sit here talking to Phil all evening instead of ever bothering to cook dinner, and with a houseful of hungry children, that’s hardly an option. “Yeah, I guess so,” Dan agrees. “Everyone, say goodnight to Dad, he’s gotta go eat some dinner and get to bed, and so do we.”

The kids all make their noises of complaint but he watches, rocking the baby with a smile, as each of the kids tell Phil goodnight. Dan shoos them all out of the kitchen with Levi’s help, and then it’s just Phil and Dan and the baby.

“I miss you,” Dan says.

Phil smiles. “I miss you more.”

Dan shakes his head, resting his cheek gently against Natalie’s little head. “I seriously doubt that,” he says softly.

“It’s true,” Phil replies, dropping his chin to rest in his hand. “But I’ll be home soon, okay?”

Dan nods. “Right,” he agrees. “I love you.”

Phil blows him a kiss, their usual parting on these calls. “I love you too, bub. I’ll text you later, yeah?”

“Okay. Goodnight. Love you.”

Phil grins when Dan repeats himself. “Goodnight, Dan. I love you. Tell the kids I’ll be home soon.”

“Of course. Bye,” he says, waving for a second before the screen goes black. He sighs, looking down at Natalie’s sweet, sleepy little face. “I can’t wait for your other Dad to come home, munchkin. This one needs a break and a good snuggle.”

She smacks her lips and closes her eyes and Dan smiles, rolling his eyes. “I know, your life is so hard, being a baby. Let’s get you down for another nap, love.”

~~~

The next night, Dan wakes up from a deep sleep to warm breath on his neck. At first he’s confused, grunting as he tries to roll over, but a heavy weight around his waist stops him. “What the...”

“Shh,” a deep and unmistakable voice murmurs in his ear. “‘M tryin’ sleep.”

Suddenly, Dan is wide awake, rolling over quickly despite the protests from his husband. “Phil,” he breathes, warm and happy.

Phil blinks at him, a goofy, exhausted smile on his face. “Hi,” he says sheepishly.

Dan wraps himself around Phil immediately, peppering kisses to everywhere he can reach. “I missed you,” he kisses across Phil’s brow bone, feeling Phil’s breath on his collarbones. “So much.”

“I missed you too,” Phil replies with a little laugh, kissing at Dan’s throat.

Something occurs to Dan then and he pulls away, staring at Phil with a furrowed brow. “I thought you weren’t coming home until tomorrow.” He doesn’t mean to, but he can’t help but be a little accusatory. He wanted to make sure the house was clean, maybe do some laundry. Just the sort of husband things one did when they were in the best relationship of their life.

Phil gives him a sheepish smile. “I changed my flight so I could come home early and surprise you.”

Dan feels so much all at once, it reminds him of how it was in the early days, before the kids, before the fostering, before they even knew that they had feelings for each other. It’s overwhelming for a moment, and then Phil is tilting his chin, guiding their mouths together in a perfect kiss.

“Mm,” Dan hums against his lips. “I love you.”

Phil laughs. “Love you more.” His hand slips down Dan’s waist, his fingertips dipping just under the hand of Dan’s pants. Dan is hit with a wave of arousal so strong, and it’s not lost on him that it’s been more than a month since they had proper sex. He loved Natalie more than life itself, but raising a baby on top of the three children they already had was proving to be much more difficult than they’d anticipated. But after all they’d been through, the strain of no sex was nothing they couldn’t handle. After all, they’d gone ten years without it before.

Still, he’s only human, and when his husband is petting the soft skin at his hip, he can only react like any mortal man would. “Baby,” he sighs.

“Hm?”

It hits Dan what he’d just said, and he quickly remembers the other inhabitant of this room. “Phil. Phil, the baby,” he mumbles, tapping Phil’s arm.

“Already took care of her,” Phil replies back, kissing at Dan’s jaw.

“What? When?” Dan asks, pushing him back a bit.

Phil smiles. “When I got home. You were already asleep so I checked on the kids and then took Nat downstairs for a bottle and some cuddles.”

“Oh.” The image of that, of Phil coming in late and taking their baby down for her midnight bottle, is nearly enough to make Dan cry and definitely enough to turn him off. “Well, thank you for that, but I don’t think I feel like fooling around tonight, if that’s okay.”

Phil pecks him on the cheek with a little giggle. “Of course that’s okay, you idiot. I didn’t just come home early for that, you know. I mostly missed having my little space heater,” he says with a grin.

Dan rolls his eyes, but can’t help the way he smiles and leans in for another kiss. “Sometimes I think you only married me for my good looks and my stupidly hot body temperature.”

Phil kisses him back, but he’s smiling so hard that it’s sloppy. “Oh for sure. Those were my top two requirements for a husband. Is hot, runs hot.”

Dan snorts. “Right. So, father of your children was somewhere further down that list, I’m assuming?”

“Something like that,” Phil teases.

“You’re such an idiot,” Dan smiles, kissing Phil’s cheek before snuggling in for the night.

“But I’m your idiot,” Phil says in a stupid, sleepy voice.

Dan smiles, pressing one last kiss to Phil’s chest. “Always.”

#phan #phanfiction #parent!au #foster parent au #parent!phan #foster parent #bbc producer!phil #school counselor!dan #fake relationship #friends to lovers #best friends #if you don't love me pretend #iydlmp epilogue #epilogue #my fic

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desthesleepdeprivedwriter · 4 years ago

Text

Fishing in the rain

Fundy hated fishing.

Something about sitting still, eyes locked in one place, and how slow it was… It just keep up his nerves.

It didn’t help that Fundy was also catching nothing.

Maybe it was because Fundy was unlucky as fuck.

Maybe it was because of the thunderstorm that was happening for around an hour.

Who knows?

The fox was sitting still, trembling slightly from the cold water soaking his fur and his clothes. His eyes were locked on the bopping white spot that was being tossed around by the angry waves. He waited, paws holding the fishing rod so tight he couldn’t even feel them anymore.

How long has he been there? Fundy decided to fish in order to clean his mind from his problems, and only tripped into a rabbit hole of memories and loss.

Wilbur used to take him fishing, but they were so bad at it. Fundy was never patient, and Wilbur was always scaring the fish by moving his feet underwater.

They would come home with an empty basket, but they always had so much fun that it didn’t even matter.

The water falling down from Fundy’s face was just raindrops.

Philza and Fundy fishing during the day Eret should appear. The fox was so happy and hopeful, just to be heartbroken once more.

Phil was a good grandfather, but, when needed, dissapeared to be with Techno on the montains.

Fundy’s shaking body was just because of the cold.

He was sitting on the edge of a pond, near his wedding venue. Fundy tried to run after Dream, but the blond was already gone. Dream left behind a broken heart, and didn’t even look back to see whose heart was it.

Fundy moved his feet underwater, holding a self made rod and pretending he was catching something. Sometimes, he didn’t even know how he could handle so much.

His grip on the rod only got stronger. He couldn’t let it go. Even with his breakdown, crying pathetically in the rain, he couldn’t handle fail something as simple as fishing.

Fundy sat on that pier trying to feel better, and he only managed to get even more miserable.

The sea was too aggressive and the rain was too loud, he didn’t noticed the soft steps behind him, not until the rain stopped falling on him, and Fundy looked up to see Ranboo.

The enderman was holding a big umbrella, also wearing a black and white raincoat, long enough to cover all of of his legs and arms. The hoodie covered Ranboo’s face in shadows and, if Fundy didn’t know the dumbass that Ranboo was, looked like ready to kill the fox.

Ranboo crotched right next to Fundy, compressing himself under the umbrella in order to not get wet.

“What are you doing here?”

Fundy shrugged, not even trying to look better.

“Pitying myself and feeling like shit.”

“Mood.”

Both of them chuckled, eyes back on the sea.

“Why under the rain, tho? You can feel like that while cozy back into our house.”

Since Eret finally managed to adopt both Fundy and Ranboo, the youngest called his house “their house”, somewhere Fundy could stay while visiting from Dry Waters. Fundy tried to brush it off, because, you know, they also had the big as fuck castle where they could live. But Ranboo wasn’t going to give up on his house, so now Fundy had 3 beds to sleep. It was nice.

“Yeeah… But I really wanna feel miserable, you know?” Fundy softly laughed again, grip strong again so he couldn’t lose his rod.

“That’s sad, Fundy.” There was concern in Ranboo’s voice. Lot’s of it.

“Tell me about it, man…” Fundy smiled.

He liked to talk to Ranboo. It was a nice kid, mostly a yes-man, but with a really fast mind and so fuckin smart, it was almost unbelievable. Fundy also liked that Ranboo never actually judged him for his terrible choices, like smoking or fishing during a thunderstorm, but instead just tried to talk him out from it without being too harsh. It was a good kid.

“You know, Ranboo… The thing is…”

Fundy turned his face too fast, tail wiggling happily with the company, and water drops hit Ranboo’s little spots of uncovered skin.

Hssss. Fundy’s ears immediately perked up, worry in his face when he finally noticed that his stupid half enderman brother was standing in the middle of the pouring rain.

“RANBOO!” Fundy let the rod go, getting up surprisingly quickly. “Get up! We need to go!”

Ranboo kinda freezed, surprised with the sudden explosion of energy. He quickly obeyed Fundy, getting up and being immediately pushed in order to walk.

“Why are you so dumb? The sky is basically flooding everything!” Fundy was almost running, not noticing when Ranboo inclined in order to not let Fundy get even more wet. “Why?!” Ranboo just laughed at Fundy’s voice crack, fixing his rain coat in order to get more safe from the water.

“I saw you standing there, so I went there trying to know what you were doing!”

“You are an idiot.” Fundy groaned in annoyance, not believing that Ranboo was so careless like that. “Be normal and try not to fucking die!”

Ranboo laughed louder, opening the door and letting Fundy enter first. “Okay, I’ll do my best”

“Grow some fuckin braincells!” Fundy said from the top floor, getting a towel and drying himself. Ranboo spied a little and saw Fundy shaking his body like a wet dog, his fur going all puffy and taking giggles from the half enderman. Fundy’s fur was bigger due to the winter, and Ranboo knew that Fundy really cared for it.

“Leave your jacket up there, we can eat something down here” Ranboo said, smiling when Fundy plopped himself on the couch, stretching next to the fireplace. “Take of this stupid raincoat, its still wet.” Fundy mumbled, lazily looking at Ranboo.

“Oh yeah, I forgot about my shiny armor to save you from the rain”

“Save me?? You were so fuckin stupid! Knights are not that stupid!!!” Fundy sat up, raising his voice and making Ranboo start laughing again.

“Dude, what happened?” They jumped on spot as Niki and Eret suddenly entered the house, both of them under the same umbrella, the other half enderman wearing a pastel yellow colored raincoat and Eret without his crown, sunglasses nowhere to be seen, making the white glow shine in the slightly dark room.

“We could hear Fundy from L'manburg’s entrance.” Niki chuckled, closing the umbrella and taking out her raincoat.

Fundy got up, looking annoyed as hell to an outsider, but his family could see the hidden smile in his face.

“Wanna know what happened? Ranboob, like an idiot….”

“Stop calling me that!”

“I’ll call you how I want!”

“Boooooys, stop fighting!!” Niki tried to intervene, but just got softly pushed away to the couch when Fundy and Ranboo started a pillow fight.

Eret smiled at their kids, walking to the kitchen in order to make some hot chocolate.

Somewhere, at the sea, a fishing rod was being taken away by the waves.

Support/Commission me here!

#repost #fundy #ranboo #nihachu #eret #dream smp #not a commission

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mihidecet · 4 years ago

Text

Sbi&co d&d AU: Cxlvxn

AKA Tibi’s MCYT WritingTober, day 25!

This chapter was prompted by @awebo ‘s lovely ask! They were wondering where Calvin would fit in the Au, and it spawned this! I do hope you’ll like it!

This is also a fill for @the-only-gamer-gost ‘s list of prompts :3

"So this is the infamous Technoblade."

If anyone had told Tommy that he'd one day see Techno pale, recoil and stand up straight immediately just by hearing some random dude call out his name, he would have called them fools.

And yet.

Here they were, all sitting at a tavern, having lunch after they'd finally arrived in a town with actual living people in it - ones that didn't want to kill them, hurray! - just talking amongst themselves, hanging out.

And then a random dude dressed like a random forest scout just appeared behind Techno, thinly insulted him and that was enough to make the rogue seemingly scared for his own life.

What the hell was happening.

Techno had been worried.

Ever since they'd entered the town.

He knew that village, he'd spent a lot of time there, training, with one of the most relentless fighters he knows.

Techno had hoped, hell, he'd prayed that he wouldn't be found, but … there was little he could do to hide, despite the fact that his identity was usually mostly unknown.

And he knows that voice. He knows it because he can still remember it yelling at him to get back up, you dumbass, it's not sleeping time yet!

Techno squeezes into his own shoulders and turns on his chair, ignoring the worried looks of his teammates.

He stands up, eyes trained to the floor, and then gives a bow so deep he's afraid he's going to fall over.

"Master Calvin."

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Wilbur and Fundy's voice yelp out from his right, as if Techno wasn't already regretting everything that had ever led him to that moment.

And then Tommy bursts out laughing, because Techno's life is an endless array of increasingly unsurprising nightmares.

As expected, there's a quick pat on his head - followed instantly by Tommy's chocked out wheeze - and by now Techno is starting to consider the benefits of bailing out on them all.

The only reason he won't is because he knows who's standing in front of him, and he knows very well that he's either not going to make it out of the door, or he's going to be found later. Either way, he's going to have a bad time if he tries to leave. Techno bites his tongue and stands back up.

As soon as he meets Calvin's eyes, the elf bursts out laughing: first a snort, then a hand flies to his mouth to keep in hiccupping giggles, then the utter traitor lets go and soon after his loud guffaws are resounding in the mostly empty tavern.

"Oh, oh by the gods, Techno, you look like you swallowed a lemon whole. Cheer up, man, you're not my student anymore!" He exclaims between one chuckle and the other, punching his arm lightly - not that lightly though, he's not able to not be strong and it is honestly so unfair - before moving a chair from another table and joining them.

"You guys mind? I'd love a chance to catch up with little old T." He asks as he sits down, Niki currently the only one able to answer with a silent nod as the others are all red faced, looking at Techno who's not so subtly rubbing at the newly sore spot on his arm.

Wilbur has actual tears on his face.

Techno is so not ready for this.

"And that's how I found him the next morning, hanging by a foot, tied to the pole, swinging lightly- actually sleeping!"

Techno has stopped regretting his existence two stories ago, and is currently just trying not to see the expressions on his friend's faces as Calvin mercilessly destroys the image of a powerful and skilled combatant that Techno has spent so much time creating.

At least it's just them in the tavern.

That, and Calvin still hasn't proposed a sparring session "for old times' sake".

He counts his wins on the fingers of a single hand.

Techno had figured that after the first story of how they'd met - he'd stumbled into a guard while trying to steal some food, and therefore gotten himself thrown in jail for a week while Calvin was working for the town's guard - he'd be satisfied with the embarrassment caused but no. He should have known the elf would have thrived off of this.

An elbow hits him lightly as he's hiding his face in his crossed arms, half lying on the table, having given up on groaning his way out of the situation. When he turns his face, there's a slightly pinched look on Niki's face, her brow furrowed as her eyes move from him to a spot behind him - right where Calvin is.

Techno gives a quick, tight lipped smile.

Yes, he's suffering, but no, he doesn't need Niki to kill him.

Her eyes soften and Techno sees her hand move towards the side - to tap on Phil's arm, who shoots the both of them a reassuring smile.

"But still- Alright, I'm done torturing him-" Calvin starts a moment later, prompting Techno's shoulders to relax an inch and several protesting groans from people that will perish by his swords before the next morning.

"Nah, nah. Storytime over. I have to go in a while too. Are you guys stopping in town or do you have somewhere else to be?"

"We're not working on anything at the moment." Phil answers shrugging lightly, then taking a sip from his by now rather warm ale.

"Why? Do you have a super difficult task to give us?" Tommy asks immediately after, leaning over the table - his face is still red and he still has watery eyes from laughing too much, he will be the first to go.

But Calvin on the other side of the table shakes his head and looks down at Techno.

"Not a task per se. But a friend is holding a tournament, and I already sent one of my students there to compete, so …"

Techno's back snaps straight immediately, almost flipping his chair backwards.

"How big of a tournament are we talking."

Calvin bursts out laughing immediately - one time, what seems like ages ago, Calvin had taken him aside and explained him that he'd broken his "no favourites" rule for him, only because nobody had ever been able to match his enthusiasm and sheer need to be good.

"Very big. There will be many people, and many important ones. It's organized by this friend of mine and Noxite-"

A sudden shrill sound interrupts Calvin as Fundy seems to explode and implode at the same time, jumping in his chair as his tail starts thumping loudly against the floor; he's clutching Wil's arm too, in what seems to be a rather painful way.

"You mean the best magic users in this whole plane?!" Fundy asks, tone a couple of octaves higher than usual and loud enough to cover Wil's tentative plea of "can I please have my arm back".

Calvin's got a Cheshire smile on his face as he nods - once is enough for Fundy to turn, dead serious, towards the rest of the group.

"We gotta go. You guys don't even understand, we're going. We are so going."

About ten minutes later, after getting all the informations they need for this fabled tournament, Calvin stands up - and by force of habit Techno does too, he doesn't want to talk about it - and says goodbye to all.

"It was lovely to meet all of you, and I'm glad you're taking care of him. The gods know he won't do it himself." He quips, giving him a light nudge which awakens Techno from his awkwardly stunned state - he's still reeling from the fact that he stood up when Calvin did.

"Accompany this old man outside, will you?" With a small nod towards him and one towards his team, Techno follows his former teacher outside.

It's almost midday, so the streets are now much more full of people than they were the previous night when they arrived.

Still, since it's chilly outside, not many stop or care about the two of them. The fresh air is also a good thing.

When Calvin turns to him, it's with an earnest expression on his face that makes a small part of Techno ache with nostalgia.

"I'm glad to see you're doing well. When you disappeared, I knew you'd be onto great things, but it's nice to see you got yourself some great friends too."

I missed you too seems both too little and too personal.

They're my family now feels like too much to admit.

Unable to answer in a way that seems appropriate, Techno simply nods.

"You know, if the embarassement didn't murder you, Fruit opened a monastery that is conveniently on the way to the tournament."

Techno rubs a hand over his face, feeling extremely tired but also knowing that he is surely going to stop by. Still, he gives a small smile.

"I'm glad to hear. Sensei did always talk about wanting to do that. I assume TapL is with him."

Calvin answers with a small chuckle and a nod:

"Of course, of course. So, am I going to see you at least once before tbe next century?" Techno scoffs, aware that the quip is perfectly reasonable and mostly deserved. He did bail on him without even saying goodbye.

"You'll see me in a couple of months after I've won the tournament." This prompts Calvin to burst out laughing, despite Techno's unimpressed stare.

"You say this now, but I do have another student fighting there."

"Do they know about me? Or have you got yourself a new favourite?" Techno asks, crossing his arms over his chest with a daring tone - which is mostly pretend, but still.

"Well, it depends on who wins. But he does know about you." Calvin answers, starting to move away, walking backwards.

"I see, I see. How do I recognise him, so that I know who to crush instantly?" Techno asks, having to raise his voice a bit in order to be heard. Once again, Calvin is laughing as he answers.

"Just look for the cockiest half orc with an axe! Good luck, Techno!"

#mcyt writingtober #dnd au #sbi dnd au #now sbi&co #technoblade #cxlvxn #philza #ph1lza #tommyinnit #nihachu #fundy #wilbur soot #tubbo #oh god this list keeps getting longer #i am experiencing a slight bit of regret #i also wanna see if any of you guesses who's getting hinted at

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inkribbon796 · 3 years ago

Text

What a Beautiful Wedding Ch. 6: The Wings of the Antarctic Empire

Summary: Tommy is desperate to convince Phil and Techno they’re in some kind of trap and he’d like to be taken seriously just once.

Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

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Channel 6

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Tommy found himself at the foot of the long, tall black stone staircase. Philza was looking down at him.

When he set his foot on the first step, Techno drew his sword and stepped in front of Phil. “I don’t think so.”

“Phil!” Tommy yelled up. “Yer[1] both in some kinda[2] illusion. Wake up.”

About five guards appeared from almost nowhere and aimed their arrows at him, Tommy recognized the pink of Niki’s hair among them. Techno took two steps down from the altar.

“Take ‘em ta the holdin’ room,”[3] Phil ordered, spreading his wings and he held the baby close to him as he flew off.

“Let’s go,” Techno ordered as he walked down the steps, Tommy found himself at the dangerous end of Techno’s sword. “Come on.”

Tommy held his hands up and turned, which resulted in Techno pushing Tommy forward.

“Don’t fuckin’[4] shove me!” Tommy shouted, but Techno and Niki lead them to the palace.

Tommy sat down in some uncomfortable chair as Techno and Niki stared at him. Ghostbur looked at Niki nervously.

“H-Hey,” Ghostbur smiled at Niki.

“Stay back,” Niki told him, bow and arrow pointed down, but not notched or ready to fire yet.

“The two of you are waiting until the old man gets back,” Techno told him.

“Techno, come on, man, you have ta[5] know this is Dream’s doin’[6],” Tommy groaned.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but if you’re not careful you will get yourself shot,” Techno warned.

The heavy doors of the room were pushed open and Phil walked in. The lack of snow or distance gave Tommy a good look at the man. Little things about Philza were different. His eye color for one. The Phil that Tommy had always known had blue eyes but now he had more of blue-green color. He was maybe an inch or two taller. Not any taller than the other people in the room but it was noticeable enough to Tommy. His blond hair had a slightly dustier tint to it.

Phil paused when he looked at Tommy. “Stand down.”

Niki took her arrow away from her bow, “If you’re sure.”

“Yeah, wouldn’t be the first time we’ve had a visitor like this,” Phil told them. “You two are from the future aren’tcha[7]?”

“Uh, yeah?” Tommy said. “We’re in an illusion. It’s Dream, he’s done somethin’[8].”

Philza just started staring at Ghostbur as a look of realization dawned on him. “I . . . Wilbur?”

“My name is Ghostbur,” Ghostbur corrected nervously, ducking behind Tommy a bit.

Niki seemed to recoil and Techno began slowly coming back to himself, clutching his head as he began grunting in pain and his knees crashed to the ground.

“Techno!” Phil rushed over.

“They’re too loud,” Techno grunted.

Tommy began stomping over, “What’s that green bastard doin’ ta yeh?”[9]

Phil used a wing to knock Tommy away before Techno was able to stab Tommy with a sword, his eyes a blood red and a frenzied look in his eyes.

“Tech, Tech, follow my voice, yeh[10] don’t need ta[5] fight here,” Phil told Techno as the warrior thrashed his head back and forth.

Niki inched closer and passed Phil a vial, he placed it under Techno’s nose and he began calming down.

“Thanks,” Phil said and inched closer. “Techno, yeh[10] need me ta[5] clear the room?”

“No, I,” Techno paused, swallowing. “I’ve got it.”

“What did that fucker do ta[5] you?” Tommy demanded. “It’s bad enough he’s got us trapped in here.”

“Dream’s not powerful enough for that,” Techno had a slight chuckle to his voice as he stood up.

“We still need ta[5] get out,” Tommy reminded him. “Tubbo an’[11] Ranboo are still trapped.”

Philza sighed, rather dramatically before he held his hand up and magic covered his hand before there was what felt like an earthquake and then a crash of some kind. Tommy, Shroud, and Ghostbur’s outfits changed into something that matched Phil and Techno’s. Tommy realized he was wearing a circlet, perched on his head and when he went to take it off to look at it he saw that it was studded with green and blue stones, and etched with perfect craftsmanship.

Tommy immediately rushed to the nearest window and saw at the foot of the palace, right outside the ground, an inn. And Tubbo stumbled out of it, looking around wildly. He was in an outfit that almost matched Tommy’s, but without the circlet and he was wearing thick gloves.

Ranboo followed after him, he was wearing a long purple cloak. But behind him, Michael was peeking his head out from behind Ranboo’s cloak.

Tommy immediately raced out of the palace, shoulding past guards and palace servants as he tried to get to Tubbo.

“Tubbo!” Tommy raced over but Tubbo glared at him, his false eye’s iris glowed with its radioactive symbol right before he punched Tommy in the gut.

“The fuck!” Tommy shouted angrily.

“I was safe!” Tubbo shouted in a fury. “Me an’[11] Ranboo an’[11] Michael were safe. What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“I didn’t do anythin’[12],” Tommy shouted back in anger.

“T-Tubbo,” Ranboo warned, and tried to hide Michael in his cloak.

Tubbo stopped and looked past Tommy to see, to his horror, that Techno was watching them as Michael peeked his head around Ranboo’s cape, holding his larger hand in his much smaller one.

Techno’s eyes narrowed and Tubbo moved, scooping Michael up and glaring at Techno.

“Stay back!” Tubbo ordered Techno with an angry snarl. “Get away!”

Techno looked between the three of them, Michael just staring at Techno with huge, wide dark eyes, the gears clearly starting to turn in his head.

The warrior took a step forward and Ranboo took a step forward. “Techno! Techno! Wait please, don’t hurt them.”

“Are you with them?” Techno demanded.

“I, uh,” Ranboo clearly had a look of panic on his face. “Yeah, but look I just want you to know—”

“I don’t care what you spend your time with but did it have to be with the government?” Techno spat at Ranboo.

“He’s my husband, of course I spend time with him,” Ranboo told him.

“Ehhh!” Techno sputtered. “When did you get married?!”

“Almost a year ago?” Ranboo asked.

“A year? Why am I just learning now?” Techno told him. “I’m like your mentor, I should have been the first person you told.”

“You don’t like Tubbo,” Ranboo reminded.

“Because he and Quackity tried to kill me with axes, why would I like the guy?” Techno snapped.

“Well, yeah, that makes sense,” Ranboo admitted.

“Take the kid, we’ll go inside to Phil,” Techno jabbed his thumb at the palace. “And don’t worry, not killin’[13] the kid. He’s Ranboo’s too after all, right?”

“Yeah,” Ranboo answered.

“Good,” Techno told him but Tubbo still glared at Techno suspiciously. He followed at the back of the group, always braced to dump Michael into Tommy’s arms and pull out the first weapon he could get his hands on.

He only marginally calmed down when he saw Phil and Techno started complaining to Phil about Ranboo, and then balked when he found out Philza was already aware of the boy.

The little meet-up was interrupted when Jack Manifold raced in, in uniform after getting pulled in from the bubble Tubbo and Ranboo had been trapped in.

“Emperor! Enemy soldiers were spotted at the gate!” Jack yelled, the trio of teens and Niki stared at Phil in surprise.

“Where from?” Phil called out.

“From the Errin Empire,” Jack reported. “They were dressed like they were in the royal guard. We were able to apprehend them.”

“Shit,” Phil spat. “I want three guards in front ‘a[14] the nursery. Ranboo, take Michael an’[11] go with them. Niki, make sure no one gets in.”

“O-Okay,” Ranboo stammered nervously, grabbing Michael, and standing in front of Tommy expectantly. It took Tommy a bit to realize he was quietly asking Tommy to take Shroud. Tommy nodded and passed him over, Shroud became very upset to leave Tommy’s arms.

“On it!” Niki pushed Ranboo after the soldiers the instant he had both young boys in his arms.

“Tommy, Tubbo, behind me,” Philza ordered.

“Hold up, why are you the Emperor, yer[1] an anarchist?” Tubbo asked.

“We’ll talk about it later,” Techno interrupted as Puffy, Jack, and a couple soldiers dragged Chase and Jackie in.

“That’s new,” Techno hummed.

“We spotted an enemy force, we think it’s Lord Phantom,” Puffy announced.

Jackie turned to look out the window, seeing a wall of darkness in the sky, coming for them. “Storm’s comin’[15] in,” Jackie commented.

“That’s the Entity,” Phil corrected.

“What? Dark?” Chase perked up, starting to try and twist himself out of the rope tying his wrists behind his back.

Puffy kicked him down, so that he was face-down on the ground and placed a foot on his wrists. “Not so fast, buddy.”

“Puffy, let him up,” Phil ordered, “cut ‘em[16] both from their bonds.”

“You sure?” Puffy asked, taking her foot off.

“Yes,” Phil ruffled out his wings. “Battle stations! Average, can you talk Ent down?”

“I think so?” Chase said, rubbing at his wrists as he wisely kept his distance from Phil. “I just need ta[5] reach him, I didn’t forget so I imagine he’s still good too.”

The storm reached them and Phil started to hear the screams.

“How’d they sneak up that quickly?!” Jack yelled.

“Because none ‘a[14] this is real,” Phil told him.

The door was thrown open and Phantom was standing there in royal purple. “Phil, Techno, long time no see. It’s just like old times.”

“So yer[1] awake, then,” Phil sighed.

“Where’s Dark?” Chase demanded.

Phantom motioned with his head back, “Dealing with the town.”

“Then move outta[17] the fookin’[4] way,” Chase snarled.

“Aww, he’s having fun out there,” Phantom smiled.

“Here I’d hoped he wouldn’t work with yeh[10] again, yeh[10] always have been a shite[18] friend,” Phil glared at him.

“Ehh, we were both standing on the cliff, and he wanted to blow off some steam,” Phantom shrugged. “You know empaths, they get a little needy when they’re emotional so I just let him go off.”

“Fook[19] off,” Chase spat at him. “Jackie!”

Jackie grabbed Chase and they blitzed past Phantom, who rolled his eyes.

“Don’t blame me when he starts getting snippy,” Phantom scoffed, bracing as he smiled at Phil and Techno. “Let’s tango, boys.”

As Phantom braced for a fight, Chase raced out into the storm.

“Dark!” Chase screamed over the whirlwind of snow. Chase was racing towards the darkest part of the storm. “Dark!”

The darkness seemed to evaporate and Dark had some soldier by the throat, when he looked at Chase he paused. “Chase?”

“There yeh[10] are,” Chase felt relief, walking over, a rumbling passing through the bubble as it began weakening from outside attacks. “We’re goin’ home. Yer okay. I’m takin’ yeh home an’ yeh can relax.”[20]

Dark blinked in disorientation, he felt drained. Phantom must have snagged some of his aura when he wasn’t looking, or the anomaly was taking more from him than he realized. “Yeah, I think that’s for the best.”

Chase was almost within arms reach and Dark realized his body needed a nap because it was getting harder to focus on things.

“Hey, yeh[10] look tired,” Chase smiled as Jackie noticed something shooting towards them, but because of the coloration of the smoke he thought it a part of Dark’s aura.

At least until it hit Chase.

Something stabbed Chase right through the heart and the marksman knew he should be dead. But he felt something in his very soul snap. Dark flinched, his eyes widening in horror.

Chase knew should be dead, the human heart was a fragile organ, but as he was tossed to the side, he felt weak and was losing blood but his heart was too stubborn to stop beating and blood was still coming from somewhere. As his soul cracked in two before snapping back together, good as new.

“Hey, Dames,” Marc spat as he grabbed Dark and pulled him closer. “Let’s try this again.”

“How dare you? What did you do?” Dark spat at Marc as he looked at Chase in horror. He was only slightly calmed when he saw Chase starting to try and pick himself up, glaring murderously at Marc. But the Actor burst into smoke and ripped a portal open, dragging Dark with him.

When the portal snapped closed, it destroyed the bubble with it. Barely a second’s warning as it shattered and violently dropped all its inhabitants onto the floor.

The bubble the Actor disappeared into snagged the Sanders bubble and seemed to violently tear it in half as it pulled it inside.

Phil screamed in agony as his bad wing returned and reminded the avian demon that he’d been grounded for years now.

“Phil!” Techno rushed over to him in concern.

Chase looked around, becoming furious when he couldn’t see Dark. “Fooker! That fooker! I’m gonna kill him.”[21]

“Average stop movin’[22]!” Jackie yelled and raced over. “Henrik! Chase needs attention, now!”

“Let me go!” Chase snapped at Jackie who was looking at him like Chase had flesh hanging off his bones. “I’m fine.”

“Yeh[10] were stabbed in the fookin’[4] heart! Stop movin’[22]!” Jackie yelled and that made people stare at Chase and Henrik who was at a brisk walk was now suddenly racing over as fast as he could. Marvin followed suit.

“Average! Lay down now!” Henrik yelled, forcing the marksman to a halt.

While the chaos of trying to get medical care and everyone just tried to figure out what was going on, Techno took a look around as Phil seemed to regain his strength and stood up.

“You okay?” Techno looked around as Ranboo was starting to get frantic.

“Where’s Tubbo?” Ranboo asked, an acute sense of panic growing within him. He scooped Michael and Shroud into his arms.

“He was right next ta[5] me, did that fucker grab him?” Tommy yelled as he looked around, his eyes locking onto Quackity who was just staring at Ranboo. Or more importantly, at Michael and Shroud, who were both crying. The screams only made Tommy even more agitated.

“What do you mean he’s just gone!” Ranboo yeled.

“Okay, give ‘em[16] here,” Philza swept in and just scooped the two toddlers into his arms, his aura soothing them and they stopped crying.

Techno took out his axe and walked closer to the remaining bubble that hadn’t been consumed by the Actor’s. His other hand summoned something that looked like a fishing pole with a small hand-sized grappling hook on the end of it and reeled it back before aiming it at the bubble and dragging it closer to him.

“Hey, let’s think about this,” Quackity urged.

But Techno slammed his axe into the bubble the instant he could and it cracked before shattering. Antfrost, George, Skeppy, and Bad all dropped to the ground but Dream rolled into a kneeling position and looked around. He almost stabbed Techno but the warrior easily used his weapons to deflect the blow.

“Hey man, chill out for five seconds, okay?” Techno chuckled.

Dream got up and looked around. He helped pull George up to his feet.

“Thanks, Techno,” Dream told him.

“That clear the books?” Techno smiled.

“Fuck no,” Dream chuckled. “You did that on your own, I didn’t ask you to do anything.”

“Ehh, it was worth a shot,” Techno shrugged, a smile still on his face.

Skeppy looked up from where he’d been laying on the ground next to Bad and when he looked up at Ponk he surged up.

“Give it,” Skeppy took the tome from Ponk, and checked it over. His eyes began to glow blue as parts of his skin began to crystallize. Magic fluttered around him. “Thank you, Ponk.”

“I was doing my best,” Ponk told him, emphatically throwing their arms up. “Took you long enough.”

“I was a bit busy,” Skeppy shot back.

Chase, once Henrik deemed him impossibly still alive and despite the blood he wasn’t dying, he looked up at the final bubble. Illinois gave Eric a kiss before he walked over to Chase.

“Actor’s up there?” Illinois glared at it.

“Yeah,” Chase said. “Fooker’s[23] a demon so snappin’[24] his neck’s so isn’t a crime.”

“Not a punishable one, and he’d only come back to life in a week,” Illinois agreed.

“Hey, the two of you are not going alone,” Silver said, in the middle of orchestrating ways to get people home. Dream ordering most of the Server group back home. Silver and Jackie quickly agreed to go with Chase and Illinois.

Philza was staring at Shroud before smiling at him. “I’ll take these two back home.”

“Deal,” Ranboo said without thinking, racing over to Chase. “Is Bomble okay in there?”

“We don’t know, but we’ll get him back home, the Sides seem to be in there as well,” Silver told him.

“No, I’m coming with,” Ranboo insisted. “I can open up a portal right into the bubble.”

“Count me in too,” Tommy rushed over.

“Absolutely not,” Silver told him.

“Let me rephrase that,” Tommy told Silver in his usual loud volume. “I am goin’[25] in there. With or without yer[26] fuckin’[4] permission.”

Silver sighed in frustration. “You two don’t take chances, and if you see Bomble, you two need to bail immediately.”

“Deal,” Ranboo spoke over Tommy and his eyes turned purple as he opened up a portal right over the group and took them right into the bubble.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Accessibility Translations:

1. You’re

2. kind of

3. Take them to the holding room

4. fucking

5. to

6. doing

7. aren’t you

8. something

9. What’s that green bastard doing to you?

10. you

11. and

12. anything

13. killing

14. of

15. coming

16. them

17. out of

18. shit

19. Fuck

20. We’re going home. You’re okay. I’m taking you home and you can relax.

21. Fucker! That fucker! I’m going to kill him.

22. moving

23. Fucker’s

24. snapping

25. going

26. your

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pbandjesse · 3 years ago

Text

Today's was a really nice day but man. I hit a wall this afternoon and was so stupid tired. I didn't sleep bad last night, falling asleep was easier again. But I wish I got more of it. Waking up at 7 to go to work with James was a little tough. And I was a little in edge. I was a little crabby last night because I was so tired. And that continued on for most of my morning. I would be okay. But it was hard.

We left hee to be at the museum at 8. James packed me a thermos of milk and some cereal so I could eat when we got here. I did not want McDonald's. I wanted pops.

Stanley and Phil asked if I was okay. And I was like. I just sleepy. I hung out in the office for an hour until everyone else got in. And jumped into a good and full day.

The group was 6th and 7th graders and it was fun. I like having older kids. And these ones were good kids. I had a tour first. They had great questions and I was very pleased with everything I showed them. I had to make my garment talk short. But that was okay.

We had assembly line next. Which I was worried about because it can go so fast with big kids. I did everything I knew how to do to make it longer. But there is only so much I have to say. So once all the cars were done I let them go explore the car exhibit. And while they were loud, they were good and soon it was time for lunch.

I took them to go wash hands and turned out I had a non-binary child. And so we got their teacher and I would go show them where the other bathrooms were. I got to have a nice conversation about James with them. And they had a very cute frog hat. Sweet child.

I had my little break. And then it was cannery time. I had a good time talking to Kristen and Becca. About how the media tried to trick us. Told stories about work. I got to be a little excited about the workshop I have coming up. And then the kids were there again.

The cannery went well. I have some timing issues. What else is new. But I did get to lead a store and the kids were a lot of fun and really got into character. Which I love. Mike had to be an educator today and it was nice hearing a different person doing A. I am going to learn that soon. It was supposed to be today but that didn't work out. Ah well.

After the cannery we did some cleaning and I got into working on oysters. Just pulling apart the old glue and putting them all back together. It's always nice hanging out with coworkers doing this work.

I started getting really tired though. At 3 I grabbed my stuff and went to sit at the front desk. James was in a meeting so I just sat there and worked on my laptop. I am glad I brought it with me. I got a good chunk of my PowerPoint completed for my workshop. I was hungry but James had some brownies I could snack on. And soon enough it was time to go home.

I was real sleepy. James drove us home and I got changed when we got back. And laid down.

I would fall asleep eventually. I took a crazy hard nap. I was out out. James would wake me up for pasta. But it took me a while to actually get up.

The pasta was good. And I did my knitting. And we watched some videos. Eventually I would go and do my embroidery. Only one day left on that project!! I'm excited to have this one done and on the books.

Me and James hung out for a while after I was done my work. And eventually took a shower. Feeling clean. My skin is doing pretty well. Not perfect but I am trying very hard not to pick and I think the new lotion is helping.

Now I am going to get ready for bed. I have the next two days to myself. And I hope to work on cleaning the studio. And doing some organizing. I hope it just feels calm and nice. I hope you all have a great night and a fun day. Sleep well everyone! Take care!

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innittowinit · 4 years ago

Text

Can you pick me up? my uni burnt down (Chapt. 2)

Relationships: Sleepy bois inc (all fics i write are platonic)

Summary:

In which Techno goes to England for University, his building catches fire in the night, and he isn't prepared for the difference in climate between England and California. SBI fluff ensues

Chapter summary:

After waking up, Wilbur has the great idea that they should do a sleepy boys stream. Tommy doesn't get told about this id

Words: 1785

Language: English

AO3 Chapt. 1

Listen, waking up on a sofa, with a thin blanket shared with 3 men was never going to be the best morning. His back hurt and his legs were numb from Wilbur having sprawled out over the three of them as he slept.

Stretching his arms back, he recounted the events of last night. God, it really was only a few hours ago, he was so tired. Had this been last year, he would have been able to stay up for days on end and then just crash for an entire weekend. It wasn’t last year though and Techno had gotten himself into a fairly healthy routine, he couldn’t exactly be sleeping through his uni classes anyway.

“Alright you two” Hearing Philza’s voice, he propped his head up, “Get up, you can’t lay around all day”

A groan came from the mass of blankets and cushions that happened to be Wilbur, who was curled up in the centre of it,

“Phil it's so early and we went to bed so late. It’s fine to sleep in”

“Okay” he chuckled, humouring his tired friend “It’s midday Wil, im taking the blankets away now”

Techno thought it was much too early too, as he tugged the sleeves of Wilbur’s hoodie down a little further so they could act like gloves.

“Do you mind if I use your PC to try and find out what’s going on with my classes at some point? They'll probably send me an email or something” He grumbled, standing up so he could stretch his back out properly, following Phil slowly to the kitchen.

“That’s fine, it's up in my room, do what you need”

Breakfast was nice, it had been a while since Techno had had time for it honestly, and even longer since he had been able to eat with people he cared about. He had a couple slices of buttered toast and a bowl of some british cereal which he didn’t really like but he didn’t want to be rude so he ate it anyway.

“You wanna stream together later?” Wil asked through a mouth full of food, earning a snort from Phil. This was nice.

“Yeah maybe, you use face cam though, I’m not like against showing them my face but y'know, it is what it is” he shrugged, spooning another mouthful of his breakfast into his mouth, he had to admit it was very bland, he much preferred the sweeter ones that were more popular in America.

“Well think about it, if you decide you don't want them to see you, you can always just sit off to the side and I'll turn my monitor so you can still see it. My office is big enough for it anyway, it’ll be like where Niki was during that one MCC remember?”

Techno nodded and carried on eating, they really were 3 very sleepy boys right now. Maybe he’d take a nap once he found out what was going on with his classes.

------------------

Streaming without any gameplay to comment about and with facecam on? Techno wasn’t exactly looking forward to it. That just didn’t really sound like something he was going to enjoy.

It was nerve wracking and he always seemed to glance at the camera too much when it was pointed at him. He knew the fans would be disappointed if he didn’t do it though, When Wilbur tweeted out saying that he and Phil would join him in a ‘you laugh you lose’ he watched as the replies freaked out.

You could say he was just a bit camera shy, he wasn’t incredibly insecure, sure there were things he didn’t like that much but everyone had things like that, it just made him nervous to know that people were looking at him.

He’d be okay with his friend’s though, he trusted that they’d never put him in an uncomfortable situation. He knew if he got overwhelmed he could sit outside the frame.

It would be okay.

“Hey hey chat” Wilbur mumbled into the mic, making it loud enough so that everyone could hear but it still sounded like he was whispering.

“We’ve got the blade here, bet you weren’t expecting that huh chat? Or maybe you were, maybe you read the title of the stream, bet there’s someone watching who didn't think he’d be here though” he finally turned the music off and switched from his ‘starting soon’ screen to his regular camera.

Wil went through the rules, it was the normal stuff, he added in some jokes here and there, prodding Techno and Phil to talk at times. They’d already agreed that this wouldn’t be for youtube, since that seemed to add a bit too much pressure for Techno, but hey, he still had to welcome his chat.

“Okay!! First media share! Lets go”

After a series of videos, some funnier than others, Techno had started to loosen up a bit. He was getting more comfortable with the camera and while he’d probably cringe while looking back at the footage, at least he was having fun right now.

He had a warm feeling in his chest that wasn’t usually there when he was streaming alone, sure it was usually fun but nothing was better than being with his friends while doing it, there was really only one person who was missing.

As if on queue, chat started spamming Tommy’s name, for a moment Techno thought he had been mumbling his thoughts out loud, before he looked between Phil and Wilbur, who both seemed equally confused. Moving Wilbur’s mouse over the chat to pause it, Techno tried to read some of the messages.

“Oh he tweeted something” he mumbled, pulling his phone out of his pocket without a care. Maybe some irl streamers would have used the computer but knowing Wilbur’s history, he doubted it could run Chrome and streamlabs at the same time.

Looking at the tweet he felt a little pang of guilt. It was lighthearted and jokey but he knew there’d be a little truth to it. He nudged the other two and read it aloud to them.

‘Damn guess I’m not a sleepy boy after all’

The air felt a little thick after that, they hadn’t meant to exclude Tommy; all of the excitement of Techno coming to stay had just made it a little hard to arrange to have Tommy here after all.

Still, they probably should have still told him though. They were supposed to be each other's family.

“Hey chat I think we’re gonna have to end stream early.” Wilbur finally piped up, deciding it wouldn't be right to carry on when they had hurt their friend, not that chat needed to know that though, he didn’t want to embarrass Tommy.

“I feel kinda sick and I don't think you all wanna watch me vomit right? Yeah so it’s best we end it now”

Techno sniggered to himself at that, in games Wilbur always seemed to be very cunning but he supposed he wasn’t very good at lying when it was about something he actually cared about. Said something being Tommy.

After raiding Fundy, the trio hopped straight onto discord.

Tommy didn't answer the first time he was called.

Or the second.

Finally, after three calls, Tommy decided he’d talk to them.

“You are all a bunch of dick heads, you know that? What the hell! Why wasn’t I invited to the sleepy boy’s stream! Wilbur you bitch!” Through all the vulgar language and the constant yelling, it was clear that Tommy was genuinely upset.

He had every right to be, as far as Techno was concerned. From his point of view his friend’s had just gone off and hung out without him. He just hoped he’d calm down once they explained everything.

“You know I thought we were friends! I thought we were brothers! But if you don’t wanna hang out with a ‘kid’ you can just tell me and i’ll- i'll go!” He was still yelling, as usual, it was clear he was trying to make this into a joke where he could overreact but Techno noticed the small sniffles and the quiver in his voice.

By the looks on Phil’s and Wilbur��s faces, they recognised it too.

“Listen, Tommy”

Wil was the first to talk, it made sense, it seemed that Tommy trusted him the most at times. Sometimes Techno could be a bit too cold and sometimes Phil could get a bit too overbearing.

Techno understood this, he didn’t take it personally, he knew it was only natural that you have people you trust with your emotions more than others. It didn’t mean Tommy didn’t love them just as much, just that they weren’t his ‘go-to’ when he felt down.

Techno felt the same way sometimes. Feeling’s got complicated and personally he thought Phil was the best to talk to about that, the fact that he was older and had his life sorted out gave him a sense of comfort, like he could trust him because he knew what he was talking about.

“We didn’t plan a meetup, it just sorta happened. Phil was at my place, helping me record, and then Techno’s Uni had a fire and he needed a place to stay while they’re making it safe again” Wilbur sighed as he heard Tommy moving on the other side of his mic. Techno wondered what he was doing.

“We would have invited you, had we known that we’d all be in the same place Toms”

Phil took over, giving Wilbur a little sympathetic smile. The brunette so obviously felt guilty about the situation.

“But when we got the call from Tech’ it was past 3 in the morning and it was tipping it down with snow, as soon as we got home we all slept. We decided to do a stream this morning but never once did we intend to try and make you feel like you aren’t welcome with us”

Finally it was Techno’s turn to talk...Fuck.

He wasn’t exactly the most sentimental guy, he struggled to show his emotions and he just assumed everyone he cared for just knew that he cared for them. He rarely had to say it out loud. God okay. He just had to swallow his pride and go for it.

“Tommy you are a sleepy boy and you are our brother. We did kind of a dick move today and if I was you I’d probably be upset too. I know I didn't like seeing you guys playing without me during MCC and that wasn’t even any of our decisions. We should have called you or something. I know I kinda tease you a lot but that’s just how I show I like people. Listen Tommy if I didn’t care about you I wouldn’t be comfortable enough to make those kinds of jokes with you. It’s not funny if it’s hurting you though..”

Techno bit his lip, this wasn’t as hard as he had anticipated but it was coming out like word vomit.

“You’re young Tommy but you’re so talented. We love you”

There was some more rustling, it sounded like Tommy was wiping his eyes. Maybe the boy had expected a yelling match, only for it to turn out to be very emotional.

“I love you guys too.. If you ever exclude me ever again though I’m getting my vlog knife out”

#hurt/ comfort #sbi #sleepy boys inc #wilbur soot #tommy innit #tommyinnit #technoblade #philza #fanfic

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theonlygamergost · 5 years ago

Text

Inside the locker (part 3/3)- fd!au

This fanfiction is based on the Family Dynamic au made by @antarctic-bay, if you would like to know more, go check them out!!!

Also please bear in mind that the things written in this might not be canon!

(Also English is not my main language! So sorry for any grammatical error UwU)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Techno’s good grades are the pride of every teacher, yet some students can get jelous...and take it too far...

(Had to devide this fanfiction on more parts to avoid having a very long post!)

Warnings!: Angst, bullying, swearing, fluff

Hope you enjoy! :3

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

<--Previous // First part!

Skeppy was running as fast as he could, he needed to get to the school before them.

Maybe arriving one hour before school opened up was a tad excessive, but he needed to find Techno, and, if he was where he thought he was, he needed to get him out of there, now.

"Skeppy! what are you doing here so early? You know students can enter school at seven-"

"P-professor Pete!" He had run for a long while now, he placed his hands on his knees to recover his breath. "I-I think Techno is trapped in the school!"

His eyes widened, he didn't believe him... but what if he was telling the truth? Pete didn't like having favourites...but Techno held a special place in his heart.

"Don't be absurd young man, no one can get trapped in the school" He patted Skeppy's shoulder and started heading in the school.

"Professor wait! I heard in the halls yesterday that-... someone got annoyed at how good Techno was doing and-... he beat his best score so he wanted to-... get revenge" Still recovering his breath, Skeppy spat it out as fast as possible to stop the professor from leaving.

"I-I didn't think it was true but... The Pandel brothers-... they called me yesterday night saying that Techno couldn't be reached via phone and they had no idea of where he was!" Skeppy was very close to start shouting at a professor to save Techno. He was one of his best friends and he was going to make sure he was ok.

But there was no need to since Pete, hearing that his brothers were worried... that Phil, who was like a son to him, was worried, he had to make sure Skeppy wasn't lying... because if he wasn't...

"Ok then, I trust you, lets' go find Techno then"

Skeppy ran as fast as he could in the hallway, leaving professor Pete behind shouting "Don't run in the hallway!!!", he knew where Techno's locker was, and he knew the lock combination as well due to a lost bet... But then again, Techno knew Skeppy's combination as well so...

"TECHNO!" he shouted, he hoped he was right, he hoped Techno was actually in that locker, because if he wasn't...

"skeppy? Skeppy is that really you?" a muffled sleepy voice came from inside the locker. "Techno! Thank god you are actually there! I was scared I had lost you..." He messed up the combination two times due to the adrenaline from all the running. But as soon as he opened the locker, the sight of Techno crammed in that small space... the sight of Techno...

Techno stumbled outside of the locker, Skeppy kneeled down and hugged him as tight as he could.

At this point, they were both crying and laughing at the same time.

After a bit of silence, Skeppy whispered: "I was so scared they hurt you... " Pete had cached up to them, the sight of the two good friends hugged was one of the most wholesome things he had ever seen.

"Oh my Techno! You were really all night in there?! Y-you must be dehydrated! Skeppy take him to the bathroom, ill go fetch a water bottle and something to eat" Techno used Skeppy as support to walk since his legs and back were hurting from the uncomfortable positions he had slept in. Slowly, they headed for the bathroom.

As Pete was heading to the cafeteria, he pulled out his phone and called a number.

"Pete? Hello?"

"Hello, Phil, a friend of Techno came to school running saying that you didn't know where he was... we found him, he's safe and sound, if you would like to come here to pick him up there should be no problems. The principal will likely give him a day off"

"Oh thank god he's ok! Thank you Pete for telling me, ill be there as soon as I can"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"They stole my backpack and locked me in there..." Techno was sitting in the principal office explaining what had happened the night before while eating, Skeppy refused to leave his side. "How did the janitor not see you?"

"...She had headphones and loud music on, I could hear it from inside the locker" he kept munching on his second sandwich, Pete was looking out of the window.

"Ok... the second those punks come to school will get called here and suspended. We will give you your backpack back and then your family will get you home, you have two days off including today." Techo nodded, "Can I accompany him as well? Please?" Skeppy wanted to make sure he got home safe and sound, the principal sighed and shook his head.

"I know you care about your friend but he will be with his family, you also have your first lesson in half an hour" Skeppy looked over at Techno who gave him a reassuring smile.

"Techno your brothers are here, let's meet them halfway" He nodded and stood up, following Pete outside of the office.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The three brothers were talking to each other when Techno spotted them in the crowded halls, but as soon as Tommy spotted him back, they all ran towards him.

So did he

They all hugged Techno immediately, separating him from the outside world, Tommy and Wilbur were on the verge of tears... Techno and Phil were already crying.

"I'm sorry we couldn't do anything"Phil felt like a bad brother... he didn't do anything to help him... just like it happened with their parents...

"You told Skeppy and that was enough, I'm sorry I couldn't do anything either...but I didn't have my phone..."

"IT DOESN'T MATTER WHO DID WHAT!" Tommy yelled while clinging onto Techno's sweater "ALL IT MATTERS IS THAT BIG BRO IS SAFE!!!"

Pete awed at the family reunion, he was a good friend of their parents and he remembers seeing Techno and Tommy in their cribs... seeing them now...all grown up as the happy family they were.... it really melted his heart.

#i finally finished it #yo I almost cried during this #wholesome food #I'm very proud of this story #sadly its the end #technoblade #ph1lza #wilbur soot #tommyinnit #voiceoverpete #skeppy #fanfiction #fd!au

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thefanficdude · 3 years ago

Text

The Winter Months: OCTOBER, Part 3

3 days passed. 2 more until the snow came. Wilbur was making his rounds with Phil to check up on the progress everyone had made. Nobody yet knew about the letter they received nor the information on George. They’d all asked, for sure, but Wilbur was waiting for the right time to bring it up.

As for the fight Wilbur and Phil had, they didn’t apologize to each other yet, or even talk about it. Again, Wilbur was looking for the right time. He had been all over the place the last few days checking on everyone and making rushed preparations, so he didn’t have any time to sit down and properly discuss it. There would be much time to do that during the winter when there wasn’t much else to do. But right now, he needed to be a leader rather than a son.

Wilbur went to the Community House and stood in front of the door, a silver bell hanging quietly beside it. The day before, Tommy went to Wilbur.

“I think it would make sense to have a bell to ring when you call meetings instead of someone running around the whole village.” Tommy had said. Wilbur agreed it was a good idea, so made the bell himself using the metal from a broken sword. He looked at the bell now and took hold of the string that hung just below it. It didn’t take much force at all to make a sound loud enough that the whole village would hear.

The ringing was soft like the sound of a fairy yet just as loud as a man yelling into the wind. It worked quite well, but Tommy would never shut up about how it was his idea in the first place.

Eventually, doors started opening and people started walking towards the Community House. Wilbur walked in and took his regular seat, adjusting his hat while doing so. This wouldn’t be the same as other meetings. He knew as soon as he rang the bell.

One by one they came in and took their seats, yet not a single word was spoken. The rushing of preparations had not only made everyone exhausted, but also made dread and worry a constant feeling. So no one spoke, for nobody even had the energy to sit up straight on the benches they sat on. But even though no words were whispered, everyone understood the silence and accepted it. They knew the exhaustion everyone was feeling because they felt the same, even Wilbur.

Once everyone had arrived and sat down, Wilbur didn’t speak for another two minutes. He was silently thinking, calculating, and planning all at the same time while staring into the flames of the large fire in the center of the room.

“Will,” Phil put a hand on Wilbur’s shoulder. Wilbur looked up at his father. “Everyone’s here. You should start now.” Wilbur sighed as he looked at the ground and closed his eyes for a moment, but a voice made him look back up.

“It’s been getting more and more cloudy, Wilbur,” Eret said. “I don’t know about you, but I think it might snow a little earlier than you thought.”

“We have two days left until it snows. I know that to be true, you have my word,” Wilbur said. “But because you’ve started the conversation, let’s start off with you.” He put his hands on his knees and stood. “Eret, Tubbo. Update on your tests.” Eret cleared his throat and stood as well.

“Tubbo and I have made amazing discoveries and have successfully found a way to make plants grow the same amount in a single night that would normally take half a week.” Eret looked down at Tubbo. “We’re in the process of moving our current plants to the new soil.” He looked back at Wilbur. “They’ll be ready in exactly 2 days, right in time for the snow.” Wilbur nodded.

“Perfect,” His gaze shifted to the other side of the room. “Tommy, Niki. I hope you also have good news.” Niki and Tommy looked at each other. Niki was the first to look away as she stood. Tommy crossed his arms and stared at the ground.

“I’m sorry,” Niki started. “We didn’t find much.” Wilbur took a breath as his thoughts scattered. Their job was the most important and without their success… Wilbur put Tommy in charge of that because Tommy always got everything done, no matter what. He was surprised about the outcome.

He looked at Tommy and noticed something wasn’t right. Wilbur stared at him.

He’s going to hate me, I failed him, we’re going to starve, it’s my fault, why can’t I breathe, don’t cry, don't cry, don’t cry.

Tommy’s thoughts were more scattered than Wilbur’s.

“Tommy,” Wilbur said his name softly, yet Tommy looked up like a child who’d just gotten in trouble at school. “You did the best you could and I’m proud of you for that. I don’t hate you.” Tommy’s eyes widened, but his expression soon turned sour.

“Were you in my fuckin brain!?” Tommy accused. Wilbur stuttered.

“Well- maybe, but i noticed something was wrong so I-”

“Fuckin hell man, I can’t even have some privacy in my own goddamn head!?” Tommy looked away. He was more than pissed in an angry way. Somehow, there was the smallest bit of sadness. He was pissed off in a sad way, if it’s even possible.

“Sorry Tommy,” Wilbur apologized. “I just wanted to help.”

“Yeah well, you didn’t.” Tommy responded. Everyone went silent. Wilbur took a quick breath.

“I was looking for a good time to tell you all this, but I guess that time will never come.” Everyone looked at Wilbur. He took another breath. “You’ve all been wondering where George has been. Phil received a letter not too long ago stating he had left us… and joined Dream.” Everyone was shocked. After a moment of silence, whispers filled the room and questions came up.

“Why didn’t you tell us sooner?” Tommy asked.

“Is he ok?” Niki followed.

“Will he attack us during the winter?” Tubbo piped in.

“Enough!” Wilbur put up his hands and everyone went quiet once more. He looked at Tommy. “I didn’t tell you all sooner because I didn't want it to distract you from your work,” His gaze shifted to Niki. “I have no idea if he’s ok or how he’s doing. And…” Wilbur looked at Tubbo. “I don’t know. But we need to prepare for the worst.” Phil looked down. “But that’s why I called this meeting, to tell you all. And now you know.” Wilbur looked at Phil, but he didn’t look up to meet his eyes. Wilbur looked at everyone else instead. “Please continue to do your jobs until snow comes. Meeting dismissed.” Wilbur sat down and everybody left the Community House one by one in a hurried manner. Phil looked up.

“You said you’d tell them about the letter.” Phil said.

“I did,” Wilbur responded. “And I told them everything they need to know, nothing more.”

“Keeping secrets from my people never goes well in my experience.”

“They aren’t your people anymore.” Phil finally met Wilburs gaze. Oh, how badly they both wanted to just attack each other and prove a point by brute strength. But after a couple seconds of aggressive eye contact, Tommy ran back into the Community House.

“Wilbur!” Tommy was out of breath like he’d been sprinting for 5 minutes straight. Wilbur became concerned.

“Tommy, what’s wrong?” He stood up.

“You were saying we needed to prepare for the worst?” Tommy reminded through heaving breaths. “I think we just hit the worst.” Tommy pointed outside and Wilbur walked out.

There was no denying the cold air that hit Wilbur’s face like a good old smack, but he looked up at the sky. Grey clouds covered the normally blue sky in a thick depressing blanket that was so heavy, even light from the sun struggled to get past. But the worst was yet to come. Wilbur put out his hand in front of him and eventually small white flakes landed and melted on his skin.

The first snow.

Wilbur looked into the community house.

“Phil, you need to get up there and keep an area of sky clear for Eret.” Wilbur looked at Tommy. “Tommy, go to Eret and tell him Phil is opening up the clouds. After that, go to everyone in the village and ask if there’s anything you can help with.”

“Yes sir,” Tommy responded as he ran off. Phil came out of the building and stretched his wings.

“I haven’t flown in a while,” He said, preparing himself for takeoff. In the blink of an eye, Phil had left the ground and was now soaring among the falling snow. From a distance, one might’ve confused him for an abnormally large crow. Wilbur watched as Phil hovered just above the greenhouse. Phil raised his hands and in one quick motion of his arms the wind did as he commanded, moving the clouds and creating a crack where the sunlight could get through.

Tommy got to Eret at exactly the right time, because at that moment Eret stepped outside the greenhouse and lifted his hands towards the opening. The sunlight moved from going eastward to shining right onto the greenhouse. Both Phil and Eret were struggling to get their abilities to last as long as possible.

Wilbur walked back to his house, locked his door behind him, and closed any and all curtains in his bedroom. He went to his desk, grabbed a rolled up piece of paper and sat on his bed to read it. Wilbur had read this letter nearly a hundred times already, but he needed to read it again. He needed to make sure one last time that he read it correctly.

On the letter, a few words stood out because they were underlined in red ink. It read THE WEEK OF THE FIRST SNOW.

Wilbur realized shit was about to hit the fan, and for the first time he didn’t know what to do about it.

#dsmp #dreamsmp #dsmpfanfic #dreamsmpfanfic #fanfic #fanfiction #fantasy #action

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phantasticworks · 4 years ago

Text

If You Don’t Love Me, Pretend - Chapter Twenty

Thank you so much for the patience on this story. I promise I am not going to leave you guys hanging without an ending, it's just a long work in progress. I hope you enjoy this chapter! <3

read on ao3

Words: 12.3k

Summary: Dan and Phil have an interesting "date night" at the BBC Fundraiser.

Warnings for this chapter: swearing, mentions of alcohol

Dan doesn’t know what to wear. He’s stood in front of his side of the shared closet, blindly. There’s nothing jumping out at him, nothing screaming “first public appearance with your fake fiancé in front of people who matter!” And he’s not sure what to do about that.

“Dan,” Phil’s voice filters into his ears. “Hello? Daniel, honestly-“

“Huh?” Dan mumbles in confusion, turning to glance at him. “What?”

“Did you honestly not hear a word I just said?” Phil asks, sounding exasperated.

Dan huffs. “I didn’t even know you were standing there until, like, now. So no.”

Phil seems to shift from annoyance to worry then. “Are you okay?” Before Dan can reply, Phil steps forward, pressing his hand to Dan’s forehead to check for a temperature. “You don’t feel like you’ve got a fever,” he announces.

Dan rolls his eyes at that. “That’s because I don’t,” he sighs, knocking Phil’s hand away. “I just can’t decide what to wear.”

Phil lets out a noise somewhere between a laugh and a snort of disbelief. “That’s what’s got you looking like someone just kicked your puppy?”

“Hey,” Dan whines weakly. “I just want to look good.”

There’s a mutter of something that sounds suspiciously like “you always look good,” which Dan decides to ignore. “It’s not that big of a deal, Dan,” Phil says when Dan doesn’t say anything. Phil flops onto the bed, staring up at Dan with a sweet smile. “You’ll look fine no matter what.”

“But... what if I’m too overdressed? Or what if I’m underdressed?” He crosses his arms, pouting. “Should we match? Would that look stupid? Would it look more stupid if we didn’t match?”

Phil sighs, opening his arms. “C’mere.”

“I’ve got to pick something to wear,” Dan protests immediately.

“No you don’t, we’ve still got like two hours before we have to go. Now come here and let me comfort you, buffoon.”

His tone leaves little room for argument, so with a very over-dramatic sigh, Dan consents, crawling onto the bed and flopping down right into Phil’s arms. They wrap around each other smoothly, and Dan tries not to compare the way they fit together to a puzzle or something else vaguely suggestive. It’s just nice, being close to someone he cares about like this. In a completely platonic way.

“You know it’s not that big of a deal, right?” Phil murmurs to him. “Like, I know it sounds like it is, but they’re just people, Dan. Just like us.”

“I know,” Dan murmurs. “But they’re people I’d like to impress.”

Phil kisses his hair. “I know.” Evidently that’s all the advice he’s got, as the room gets quiet then, both of them lost in their own thoughts.

Rather than stew in his own nervousness, Dan pats Phil’s chest. “Should we match though, seriously?”

There’s a lovely little crinkle to Phil’s nose when Dan glances up at him. “I’d really rather we didn’t, actually,” he mumbles.

“What, you don’t wanna go with the coordinated husbands look?” Dan asks, quirking a brow.

Phil rolls his eyes, before rolling Dan off him, going to sort through the clothes on his side of the closet. “I actually had an outfit in mind for myself. But I know you’re gonna make fun of me.”

Dan bites back the instant denial that tries to crawl out of his mouth. Clearing his throat instead, he asks, “Well, what did you have in mind?”

Phil grins, and Dan suddenly feels like he’s been baited. Before he can revoke asking, Phil fishes something out of the closet, grinning broadly as he holds it up for Dan to see. It takes approximately four seconds for Dan to study the forest green shirt to notice that the pinstripes, wavy and trippy at first, are actually little bamboo stalks, and the waves are actually tiny pandas. Dan huffs, making Phil’s grin widen.

“That looks ridiculous,” Dan informs him, sitting up and crossing his arms. “What blazer are you matching it with?”

Phil looks smug. Dan rolls his eyes. “I have the black one that might be nice. The beetle one? You remember?”

Dan vaguely remembers mocking Phil about a beetle shell blazer, but he only recalls seeing it once or twice, so he’s already dreading whatever it is that Phil is about to pull out of his closet. Instead of the flashy monstrosity he’s expecting, it’s actually a very subtle shade of black iridescent, catching the light just the right way to turn it a bit greenish. It looks undeniably attractive paired with the shirt and Dan sighs but nods. “You’ll look great,” he says, almost exasperated.

Phil grins before laying his clothes haphazardly on the bed beside Dan. “Do you want me to actually help you pick something or do you want me to leave you alone?”

Dan considers it, but allows a sheepish shrug to possess his shoulders. “As much as I appreciate your opinion...” he trails off, giving Phil an apologetic look.

Rolling his eyes, Phil nods and steps away. “Okay. I’m gonna go get ready in the bathroom, but you can come in whenever you need to.”

“‘Kay,” Dan mumbles, already standing to thumb through his options again. Phil brushes his lips against Dan’s temple before leaving him be, and Dan smiles at the fabric in front of him.

After staring at his closet for nearly ten whole minutes, Dan decides on a white button down, paired with a flowery blazer he hadn’t had the chance to wear yet. It’s a little flamboyant, a little loud, but he likes the attention, if he’s being perfectly honest. He doesn’t like the idea that he and Phil won’t match, but he notices that there is a subtle hint of green to the leaves in the floral pattern of the jacket, and he hopes that’s enough to make them look matched.

After tugging on some fitted black slacks, which are cut neatly to show off his ankles, he pulls the white shirt on and makes his way into the bathroom to do something with his hair. Phil’s stood at the sink already, combing through his hair with his fingers. Dan can smell the product, an almost citrusy note to it, and he smiles at Phil’s reflection.

“You pick something out?” Phil asks, sliding his gaze to Dan’s in their reflection.

“Mhm. I’m wearing the flowery jacket, the one I got from Topman?”

Phil nods like he knows which one Dan’s talking about even though they both know he doesn’t. It’s quiet for a moment while they both fix their hair, and when Dan’s done all he can in terms of making sure his hair behaves, he begins rifling through their drawers, looking for something else. It only takes a moment of his rummaging for Phil to get curious.

“What’re you looking for?” He mumbles, rubbing at his jaw like he’s trying to decide if he should shave or not.

“Mm,” Dan hums, not quite answering. His hand finally finds the tiny cylinder and he brandishes it triumphantly. “Ah-ha!” He announces. “Found it.”

Phil squints, clearly trying to figure out what it is. He watches intently as Dan unscrews the cap, and Dan catches a flicker of dawning understanding across his face as he brings the mascara spooly up to his left eye. Dan’s careful and precise in his movements, making extra sure that he applies it neatly, considering how long it had been since he’d had any reason to wear it. When he’s finished with both eyes, he replaces the cap and admires his work in the mirror, batting his eyelashes several times to make sure it’s not sticking together.

Phil’s watching him when Dan turns around. He’s got a soft look on his face, easing the slight anxiety Dan still feels about doing things outside the traditional gender norm. “Beautiful,” he says simply, reaching up and tucking a tuft of hair back into place on Dan’s head.

Dan feels his face heating up under the praise. “Thank you,” he says, surprised at himself when he manages to keep his voice sincere. Phil’s hand slides from Dan’s hair to cradle his cheek and he gives him a soft smile before his hand falls away entirely. Dan has to clear his throat twice to settle his sudden butterflies. “Are you ready to go?” Dan asks, his voice almost cracking towards the end.

Phil shrugs, pouting at himself in the mirror as he prods at his face. “I can’t decide if I need to shave or not,” he complains.

Stepping right into his space, Dan knocks Phil’s hands out of the way, smoothing his hand over his jaw slowly. He can tell there’s a hint of stubble from feeling of it, grainy against his fingertips. He hates that he kind of loves it. His eyes flick to Phil’s as he leans in, pressing his lips to Phil’s jaw and brushing them softly against the skin. He’s got one hand on Phil’s arm and the other on the opposite side of Phil’s face, thoroughly trapping him right in Dan’s grip.

When Phil shivers, Dan pulls away. “You’re a little rough,” he murmurs, their faces closer than before.

“What?” Phil asks, his pupils blown wide. Dan can’t help but wonder if it’s him specifically or his actions that did that. Either way, he bites his lip to hide his smug grin.

“Your beard. Little bit scratchy. Maybe just a quick shave and you’ll be good,” Dan tells him.

Phil nods, looking slightly vacant. Dan’s never really seen him like this, looking this affected by anything Dan’s ever done, and honestly... the thought of that is enough to give him a confidence boost like no other. “Alright, I’ll... I’ll shave and then we can go.”

“Perfect,” Dan says brightly, clapping his hands together with a smile. “I’m going to go find my shoes.”

There’s a mumbled response that Dan doesn’t quite catch, but he smiles to himself all the way to the other room.

~~~

“Remember, call us if anything happens, okay? I’m serious, Levi,” Dan says for maybe the fifth time that night.

Levi nods, his gaze flicking to the ceiling in an almost-roll. “Got it.”

Dan stands in the hallway leading to their front door, tugging at his suit jacket to make sure it’s situated properly on his shoulders. He’s getting impatient at this point, having been waiting for nearly ten minutes now. “Phil, come on!” Dan calls. He glances at Levi, who’s leaned against the wall waiting for them to leave. “And he says I take forever to get ready,” Dan mumbles, loud enough that Levi can hear but Phil can’t.

Levi laughs, which is what Dan was hoping for. “Should’ve put money on it,” Levi jokes with a grin.

Dan rolls his eyes but nods. “Honestly,” he agrees.

They’re interrupted by footsteps and Dan turns to face the sound, propping his hands on his hips and tapping his foot, the epitome of impatience. “What took you?” Dan asks as Phil steps into the hall.

He gets the answer unspoken, as Phil barely acknowledges that he’s even said anything, too busy focusing on attempting to tie his bow tie. Dan can’t help but sigh fondly. “I can’t- ugh!” Phil complains, starting over.

“C’mere, idiot,” Dan says, his voice incredibly fond. Phil huffs but steps into his space. “Turn around, I don’t know how to do it that way,” Dan instructs, nudging lightly at Phil’s shoulder.

Phil complies, and when he does, Dan puts his arms around Phil to grab the material of the tie. He presses close to hook his chin over Phil’s shoulder to watch what he’s doing to make sure it looks okay. There’s a soft noise from Phil as Dan ties it, and Dan smiles at the way Phil’s body seems to melt against his own.

“All done,” Dan announces, pressing an impulsive kiss to Phil’s neck before stepping back.

“Thanks,” Phil says, turning and smiling at him. Dan nods, straightening the bow tie a little bit as Phil turns to Levi. “Do you have everything you need? Phone, food, all that?”

Levi has a sort of thoughtful look on his face as his gaze flicks between the two of them. He looks a little startled when he realizes Phil’s asked him a question, but he only nods. “Mhm. I’ve got everything I need.”

“Alright,” Phil says, buttoning his cuff on one sleeve. He glances at Dan, his gaze flicking up and down the length of him, nearly making Dan blush. “You look good,” Phil tells him unashamedly.

Dan avoids eye contact, clearing his throat. “Thanks.” He flicks a curl out of his eyes, fiddling with his hair absently. His gaze flickers to Phil, who’s looking at him expectantly. “What?” He asks, deadpan.

Phil huffs. “Where’s my compliment, rat?”

Dan cuts his eyes at him, quirking his brows. “You’re really gonna stand there and ask me to stroke your ego?”

There’s an adorable pout on Phil’s lips as he blinks owlishly at Dan. “Please? I told you how nice you look.”

Rolling his eyes and looking away to hide the flush on his cheeks, Dan steps past him to grab his car keys off the hook by the door. He spares a brief glance at Phil, his resolve crumbling as he reaches for his hand. “You look amazing,” he says quietly, pressing a quick kiss to the back of Phil’s hand before dropping it. “Dashing, even.”

Phil grins widely, rolling his shoulders in a puffed-up, proud sort of way. It makes Dan’s chest ache with fondness. “And to think you made fun of this blazer when I bought it.” He looks well chuffed as he tugs on the cuffs of the jacket.

Dan takes a moment to look at Phil then, really look at him, and he smiles with a wistful shake of his head. “It’s not the blazer, bub.” Before Phil can respond to that, Dan turns his gaze to Levi, who’s watched the exchange with amusement. “Are you sure you’re alright?” He asks one last time.

Levi rolls his eyes, but nods. “We’ll be fine. Everything’s under control, I promise.” He gives a little salute in a bid goodbye, reminding Dan of himself. “Have fun on your date,” he says with a smirk.

Dan points an accusing finger at him. “Keep your phone on, okay? We’ll be checking in.”

Levi waves him off with a nod. “I know, I know. But honestly we’re fine. You guys can have fun, do whatever. We’ll be alright.”

Dan’s about to argue when Phil puts a steadying hand on his shoulder. He gives him a look and Dan knows he needs to chill now. “We know, Levi. We’ll be home around ten or eleven, yeah?”

Levi nods. “Alright. See you then.”

Phil waves, putting his hand on the small of Dan’s back to guide him out. He probably realizes that if he gives him literally any more time to procrastinate, Dan will either find a reason to stay home with the kids, or make Levi actually lose his mind, neither of which are preferable right now. Having already said goodnight to the twins, they make their way out the door, locking it behind them.

“They’ll be okay, right?” Dan asks worriedly.

“Of course they will,” Phil replies easily, squeezing Dan’s hip in reassurance. “Come on, we’ll be late.”

Dan mumbles something half-heartedly irritated under his breath, but Phil ignores him, which is probably for the best.

~~~

When they arrive at the venue the BBC had rented out, the event is in full swing. They’re not late, Phil assures Dan when he complains about their timing. Everyone was supposed to show up around seven, then socialize amongst themselves until the speeches and things started at eight. Most of Phil’s coworkers were already there, and Dan recognized PJ and Chris among a few others he’d been briefly introduced to over the past few years since Phil’d started there.

Another thing Dan notices quickly is how Phil carries himself in this space. He’s completely in his element, holding his head high and greeting his employees with a smile. He’s so... powerful here, if Dan’s being honest. He tries not to think about how attractive that makes Phil seem, seeing him take on this leader personality. It’s made more difficult as he’s led through a crowd of people who seem to part for Phil, smiling and nodding at the two of them like they’re some sort of royalty.

“I forget about the whole “BBC producer” thing sometimes, but god, these people really treat you like a king, don’t they?” Dan whispers to Phil.

Phil laughs, moving his hand to the small of Dan’s back to lead him to a table with some people Dan recognizes. “Maybe a little bit. It’s mostly superficial though- if they’re nice, they usually want something from me.”

Dan tries not to let that rub him the wrong way as Phil waves to the table of his coworkers, a bright grin on his face. “Hi, everyone,” he greets. “I’m sure you all remember my fiancé, Dan.” Phil rubs gentle circles against Dan’s back as he speaks, making his cheeks warm in response.

“Er, hi,” he says quietly, waving to the four people sat at the table.

“Phil! Dan!” PJ says joyfully, tipping his head back to smirk at them. “We were just talking about you,” he jokes, gesturing to a woman next to him. It takes Dan a moment to recognize her in this setting, but when he does- “This is my girlfriend, Sophie,” PJ introduces her with a bright smile in her direction.

Dan laughs. “We’ve actually already met. Hello again, Sophie.”

The brunette smiles at him, a twinkle of surprise in her eyes. “Dan! And Phil! Lovely to see you again. How are the kids?”

Phil pulls a chair out for Dan next to Sophie, taking the one beside him and next to a man Dan’s never met before. Dan smiles gratefully at him as he sits before answering Sophie’s question. “They’re doing really well! The twins are loving school and I think Levi’s made a couple friends. It’s still an adjustment having three of them, but it’s really lovely.” He’s close to saying more, gushing about how much he loves being a parent, but remembering where they are and who they’re with makes him pause.

“That’s wonderful!” Sophie replies. She must notice PJ’s confused stare, so she leans closer to explain. “They’re fostering Levi, one of the foster children who I used to have on my case list.”

“Oh,” PJ says, nodding in understanding. “Small world, huh?” He asks with a lazy grin.

Dan nods with a polite smile. He’s still a little uncertain about PJ and Chris for how they treated Phil before, but he’s willing to be civil tonight. Chris, who’s sat between PJ and the man Dan has yet to be introduced to, smiles and waves at Dan, who returns it with a nod.

“Dan,” Phil says, nudging Dan’s arm with his wrist. “This is Tom. He’s one of the technicians at the studio.”

Dan reaches over to shake his hand with a polite smile. “Nice to meet you.”

Tom nods at him. “And you as well,” he replies. He turns to say something to Phil, then, so Dan occupies himself with looking around the table for a drink.

“So, things are alright?” Sophie asks, her voice quiet enough not to disturb the others, having their own separate conversations in pairs. “Levi’s doing okay?” She sounds concerned, but in a way that makes it obvious she’s trying to mask the emotion.

“Yeah, yeah,” Dan agrees with a smile. “He’s getting on well with me and Phil, the twins are happy to have him home... I think he’s doing really well.”

“Good, that’s really good,” Sophie says with a sigh of relief. “I worry about him sometimes,” she admits. At the panic that’s probably on Dan’s face, she shakes her head, waving her hands dismissively. “No, no, not that he’s with you and Phil, just... in general. He’s had a very hard life, and it was one of the saddest cases I’ve worked recently, so... I just keep him in my thoughts very often.”

Dan nods slowly. He’s trying to think of a subtle way to ask about their home life, but he doesn’t think this is the right place. Another vacant look around the table has him wishing for that drink all over again. “Well... I know he’s come out of his shell a lot since he moved in. We’re really happy to have him, though. He’s such a good kid.”

PJ, who’d tuned into the conversation somewhere during Sophie talking, tilts his head at Dan, smiling. “You sound like you really enjoy being a foster parent,” he says. Something about the emphasis he puts on the word “foster” prickles underneath Dan’s skin in an uncomfortable sort of way. He tries not to let it bother him, knowing that PJ probably didn’t mean anything by it at all.

“I do,” Dan says, tilting his chin up, almost defiant. He glances at Phil, who at some point has placed his arm on the back of Dan’s chair and is softly running his fingers through the hair at the base of Dan’s head. “I think we both really enjoy it, honestly.”

PJ nods with a grin. “I know Philly does, he talks about you guys constantly,” he teases.

Phil rolls his eyes but doesn’t deny it. “It’s my family, Peej, what do you expect?”

PJ’s grin only widens, as if this is fuel to his fire. “Oh, I know, I get it.” He turns to Dan then with a cheeky smirk. “He told us all about your Halloween costumes the other day. That’s such a fun idea, honestly.”

“Oh, what did you go as?” Sophie asks, interrupting whatever mocking remark PJ was surely about to make. Dan’s grateful for her all over again.

“Er, we did a Pokémon theme. The kids were the three starters, Phil was Ash.” He’s very specifically avoiding sharing what part he played in that theme, for obvious reasons.

“And Dan was Pikachu!” Phil announces cheerfully, tugging lightly on a strand of Dan’s hair.

Sophie coos as Dan sends a glare to the side of Phil’s face. Chris has engaged him in another conversation already, and Dan’s just left to sit there steeping in the hot water of embarrassment.

“That’s precious,” Sophie declares with a smile. “Do you have any photos?” She asks.

Dan wants to lie and say no, but he sees the hope in her eyes and he knows he can’t do that to her. Instead he nods and goes to fish out his phone from his pockets. He panics when he can’t find it, shifting in his seat to see if it’s slipped out somehow.

“What’re you looking for?” Phil asks, sending him a confused look.

Dan sighs. “I think I left my phone in the car. Can I see yours? I wanted to show Sophie our Halloween photos.”

“Sure,” Phil says easily, sliding it out of his jacket pocket and handing it to Dan. He turns back to his conversation with the other men immediately, and Dan nearly rolls his eyes.

Dan goes to type in the password, which has been 1987 for as long as he can remember, and he’s shocked when it doesn’t work. He tries it again, slower, thinking he’s somehow typed it wrong. Still nothing. Poking Phil’s side, he turns the screen to face him.

“What?” Phil asks, his brows furrowed.

“You switched passcodes.” It’s almost an accusation.

Phil looks guilty. “Er, yeah. Mia kept trying to download games to play and I finally just changed it.”

“Okay, fine, what’s the new one?” Dan asks impatiently.

“Uh, ten-nineteen,” Phil answers, already becoming distracted by some joke Chris is trying to tell, his voice slightly loud and obnoxious.

Dan types the numbers in, his mind taking a second to process it after the home screen has already appeared. His mind, still trying to process the meaning of the numbers of the new password, is overwhelmed again at the sight of Phil’s home screen background, which upon closer inspection, is a photo of Dan sleeping.

Dan flushes, trying to cover it up with a cough into his elbow. He clears his throat, tapping on the photo app and scrolling as he leans closer to Phil to speak quietly. “Ten-nineteen?” He asks. “Our anniversary?” He doesn’t specify which one; he doesn’t have to- the only real one they share is the anniversary of the day they met in person.

“Mhm,” Phil half-responds, still not paying much attention to Dan at this point.

Dan sighs, his veins thrumming with something nervous and excited. His hand wobbles a little with it as he turns the phone to Sophie, showing her all the photos they’d taken with the kids that night.

She coos and aww’s at all the right places, asking questions and listening to Dan’s stories of their adventures so far with the kids. It’s refreshing, to talk to another adult outside his immediate family about his kids and all the funny little anecdotes. PJ and Chris want to see the pictures as well, so Dan passes the phone around, beaming at all the compliments about how cute their kids are.

“Well we can’t really take credit for that,” Phil jokes, glancing at Dan with a smile. “But we really are so lucky to have such good kids.”

“Do you reckon you’ll ever have any for real?” Chris asks, a little invasively, Dan thinks.

Still, whatever noodle part of his brain that isn’t running on the same wavelength as the rest, chooses to ask, “What do you mean?”

There’s a brief, awkward pause, before Chris explains. Phil’s hand tightens its grip on the back of Dan’s neck. “I just meant, like... these are foster kids, correct?”

Dan nods. “Yes.”

“Right, so something will happen to them eventually and they’ll leave or whatever happens to foster kids, but will you guys ever have a real family?”

He’s not trying to be mean, Dan reasons. He just doesn’t understand the situation. Dan tells himself this as he blinks back tears, his heart suddenly in his throat at the thought of something, anything, happening to these kids, their kids. And really... really he shouldn’t be surprised. Obviously Chris isn’t entirely wrong, generally children are fostered for less than a year before they either age out of the system or get moved to another home. And then what? Will Dan somehow convince Phil to stay with him, to foster more children to build an emotional connection with? To get far too attached to, only to have those children ripped out of their arms the minute they start to feel like a family? To love like their very own, to-

“That’s not really an appropriate question, Chris,” Phil says in that strong, authoritative voice that he has, sending Dan’s train of thought to a screeching halt. He sends Chris a look, one that shuts him up right there. Turning to look at Dan, Phil’s eyes soften. “Hey, why don’t you call Levi and check up on them? Yeah? I’ll go fetch us some drinks and meet you back here when you’re done, alright?”

Dan nods, numbly. “Okay,” he says, going to stand on stiff limbs. He doesn’t look at anyone at the table as he holds a hand out for Phil’s phone.

“Here,” Phil says, leaning in and kissing his cheek once. “Tell them I say hello and I love and miss them.”

“I will,” Dan agrees before stepping away, scrolling to find Levi’s name in Phil’s contacts. He smiles a little when he sees the little wolf emoji next to his name, recalling very clearly the conversation Phil had with him, asking what Levi wanted his contact emoji animal to be. He’d picked a wolf, saying that it was his favorite animal, and Phil had immediately made a joke about Dan’s surname, as was typical of him.

He’s still thinking about that conversation when Levi answers the phone. “Hey,” he says, sounding a little hesitant.

“Hey Levi, it’s Dan,” he greets.

“Oh,” Levi nearly sounds relieved. “Why are you calling on Phil’s phone?”

“I left mine in the car,” Dan explains. “Are you guys doing okay? Everything alright?”

Levi laughs. “Yes, helicopter dad. Everything is fine.” Dan can hear the smile in his voice and it both eases his mind and squeezes his heart, a heavy reminder of how temporary this connection of theirs really is. “We ordered pizza and ate it in the lounge, just like you said we could.”

“Good deal,” Dan says, glancing over to see if Phil was back at the table yet. He is, but his gaze is on Dan. When their eyes lock, the older man smiles at him softly. Dan can’t help but feel a little warmer. “Phil says to tell you and the twins hi and he loves and misses you all,” Dan relays the message.

Levi snorts, not unkindly. “You guys have been gone for, like, an hour.”

“So?” Dan replies with a little laugh. “That’s an hour longer than we’re usually away from you guys unless it’s a school day. We miss you.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Levi mumbles. “I’ll relay the message.”

“Perfect,” Dan grins. “Thank you. Are the twins waiting for you to hang up so you can play Mario Kart?” He asks knowingly.

“How’d you-“

“I could recognize the distorted sound of the Mario Kart 8 soundtrack in my sleep, bud,” Dan says with a smile.

“Right,” Levi sighs, a whisper of sarcasm in the sound. “Well I’m sure you’re having a blast at your charity whatever thing, so...”

His unsubtle “good riddance” has Dan cracking up. “Alright. I’ll check in again shortly, yeah? You guys be good.”

“Will do. Bye.”

“Bye, Levi,” Dan replies. He waits until Levi has hung up before he slowly returns to the table.

Phil is speaking quietly to Chris as Dan approaches, so Dan pretends to be distracted on his phone, straining his ears to listen.

“Look, I know you weren’t, Chris. But Dan’s... we’ve gotten really attached to the kids, okay? So just... choose your words better.”

Chris looks guilty, but nods. He’s about to say something when Dan finally looks up from the phone, sending Phil what he hopes appears to be an easy grin. “The kids are fine,” he announces, sliding into his seat. “They had some pizza and they’re playing Mario Kart.”

Phil grins, dropping his arm back across the back of Dan’s chair. “See? I told you they’d be fine.”

Dan rolls his eyes, turning away pointedly. “Whatever,” he mumbles.

“Here’s your drink, love,” Phil says, his voice taking on a softer pitch as he hands Dan a glass of what Dan assumes is some type of punch.

“Phil’s really got the parental controls on tonight, he’s even censoring Danny’s drink,” Chris announces in a teasing sort of voice.

Dan sends him a wry look. “I’m driving, actually. I’m assuming he’s just looking out for me by getting me something without alcohol.”

Chris looks immediately embarrassed. “Er. Right, yeah.”

PJ shakes his head at him mockingly. “When will you learn, Chris, when will you learn?”

Chris mumbles something probably rude under his breath, but Dan chooses to ignore it in favor of thanking Phil for his drink. Phil smiles, pleased, and Dan finds himself unable to care about the other people around them at all.

~~~

There’s quiet conversation for a few more minutes until someone takes to the stage, thoroughly quieting everyone down. Phil whispers to Dan that this is his boss, and Dan, in turn, whispers back that he looks kind of like a cool wizard, with his wiry white beard and round glasses. Phil pinches his waist.

“Welcome, everyone, I’m really excited to see the turnout for the evening. We’re here to support a very good cause, as you are all probably very well aware. Mind Over Matter, the prestigious mental health charity, and also the reason for tonight’s event, has helped thousands of young people struggling with mental illness across the UK. Tonight there will be several speeches made by some of MOM’s leadership, as well as some special guests invited on behalf of the BBC.” He pauses, probably for dramatic effect, and several people applaud during the silence. He grins before continuing. “Of course, this is a fundraiser, so there is a silent auction operating in the B lobby, just down the hall from this room, and there will be several opportunities for donations throughout the course of the night, in between speeches and presentations.”

He speaks a little more, but Dan mostly tunes out, most of it applying to actual employees of the BBC. Phil seems interested, and Dan takes a moment to admire him. He looks good tonight, with his quirky outfit choice and his freshly washed hair swept back in a perfect quiff. The index finger of one hand traces the stem of his champagne glass while the other rests against Dan’s shoulder blade, where he’s rubbing smoothing circles with his thumb.

Phil’s gaze suddenly flickers over to Dan, startling him. Phil sends him a confused smile and Dan shrugs sheepishly. It’s a wordless conversation, barely even a conversation at all, really- more so just an acknowledgement of the other’s presence. It’s nice, the way it fills Dan with a comfort, bone deep.

“And of course, Mind Over Matter has been kind enough to donate some of their merch, so be sure to pick up a gift bag on your way out, everyone,” Phil’s boss, who Dan vaguely remembers is called Greg, is saying. He clears his throat as if he’s coming to an end of his announcements, which Dan is secretly relieved by. “The presentations will start shortly, led by Mind Over Matter’s co-founder, and my co-host for the evening, Bryony Matthewman. Before she takes the stage, dinner will be brought out, courtesy of our caterer for the evening...” Greg trails off on another ramble, thanking the catering company and anyone else who donated or helped set the fundraiser up in any way.

“Bit of a shaggy dog, innit?” Phil whispers right into Dan’s ear, his voice deeply northern.

Dan flinches away in surprise at the closeness. Phil places his palm on the back of Dan’s neck and squeezes gently. “A what?” Dan whispers back, their faces incredibly close.

“A shaggy dog,” Phil repeats.

Dan shakes his head, uncomprehending. “I don’t know what the hell that means,” he says with a smirk. “I don’t speak hobbit language, or whatever the hell.”

Phil rolls his eyes. “C’mon. That’s a British thing. A shaggy dog?” At Dan’s blank stare, he huffs and moves imperceptibly closer, probably noticing the subtle questioning glances from their table mates. “A made up story? Or like a long story with no point?”

Dan blinks. “You couldn’t have just said he talks a lot or something? You had to go full northern?”

With another huff, Phil reaches up and tugs on the hoop of Dan’s earring in reprimand. “Hush.”

Grinning, Dan shifts his face just enough to brush his lips against Phil’s cheek. “You started it.”

“Oi,” Chris says teasingly from across the table. Luckily, the stage is empty now and a dozen or so people in white uniforms are moving around the room with food trays. “Stop flirting in front of my salad,” he says, gesturing pointedly to the salad that’s been placed in front of him.

Dan rolls his eyes as the waiter makes his way around the table, delivering salads to each of them. “Sorry,” Phil says, not an ounce of sincerity in the way he smirks around the words.

“Don’t listen to him,” Tom says from Phil’s right side. “He’s just jealous that he doesn’t have a relationship as cute as yours.”

Chris makes an indignant squawking sound at this, which everyone at the table laughs over. “I am not!” He protests.

“Okay, sure,” PJ says. He nods like he’s being genuine. “You’re definitely not a jealous bitch.”

Chris mumbles something scathing about what he thinks about their affection, but Dan’s too busy trying to manage his face-splitting grin to even process it. Phil tuts from beside him, but a glance proves that he looks pleased by the comment as well. Dan has a fleeting moment of disappointment; these are Phil’s coworkers and friends, it’s important for them to believe the charade that is their fake engagement. As much as some newish part of Dan would like to believe that Phil is happy about their perception of them for the same reason Dan is happy, he knows that’s likely not the case.

He makes a split-decision right then, watching that relaxed smile on Phil’s face. Tonight is a performance, the fundraiser their stage, Phil’s coworkers their audience. And for tonight, Dan would be the best actor he could. And as someone who had been a theatre kid in school, he knew the best method actors used real-life emotions and thoughts to enrich their acting. So for tonight, with their perception in the hands of his acting abilities, Dan would allow himself to indulge in those emotions to impress their audience.

As his hand falls to Phil’s thigh, he tells himself this is part of the script. That the way Phil glances at him, a raised brow, is penciled in as a blocking note rather than a reaction of surprise. He smiles at his best friend, the portrayal of his love interest for the night, and allows himself a moment without pretenses or a mask of uncertainty. If Phil notices the shift in Dan’s face, he doesn’t react.

Instead, he nudges Dan’s elbow with his own. “Can I have your croutons?” He asks, nodding to Dan’s food.

It’s not a line. None of it ever is, with Phil. “Sure. If I can have some of your cherry tomatoes,” Dan says, lips quirking on a grin.

Phil nods, smiling excitedly as he moves his bowl closer to Dan’s. They pick at each other’s salads, trading the things they like or don’t like out of each other’s bowls until they have what they want. “Is that cheese?” Phil asks, pointing to something.

Dan squints at it before shrugging. “I think it’s a lettuce.”

Phil pouts. “If it’s not I don’t want it. Will you take it?”

“I’ve got lettuce,” Dan argues.

Stabbing the mystery bit with his fork, Phil holds it in front of Dan’s mouth. “Please?”

Dan rolls his eyes. “Yeah, alright,” he sighs, opening his mouth and allowing Phil to pop it in. He chews thoughtfully. “It was a lettuce.”

Phil shrugs, already picking at his food again. “Better safe than sorry.”

Dan turns to roll his eyes at Phil for their tablemates to see, but instead he finds them all pretending not to look at them. “What?” He asks, quirking an eyebrow up.

PJ shrugs, looking entirely too amused. “Nothing,” he sings. “Just funny seeing the two of you in action.”

Blinking, Dan shrugs. “Okay?”

Sophie swats at her boyfriend’s arm playfully. “He just means it was interesting to see how in sync you both are.”

Phil speaks up then, half-paying attention as he is. “We’ve been together for ten years,” he comments, almost off-handedly. “I reckon we’re as in sync as two people can be.”

Chris whistles lowly. “Ten years is a long time, innit?”

Dan’s not sure if it’s rhetorical or not. “Well, where were you ten years ago? Does it feel like it’s been a long time?” He asks him.

The man surprisingly nods immediately. “Forever ago, actually. Being in uni and drunk off my face every night with Peej. Feels like ages ago now.”

Not sure how to respond to that, Dan shrugs, taking a sip of water. “Well. I don’t know, ten years hasn’t seemed that long to me.” He looks over at Phil and risks being overly sappy, under the pretense of playing his part. “Not long enough, I reckon.”

Phil looks up as he says this, looking genuinely surprised when they lock eyes. There’s an intensity there that would usually scare him, but Dan refuses to look away now. Instead, he just offers a little smile. Phil returns it immediately, without any hesitation.

Chris makes a gagging sound. “Ten years in and you still look at each other like you’ve hung the bloody moon or something,” he sounds both awed and disgusted. Dan can’t help but laugh. “I reckon if I’d been with someone that long I’d be ready to rip their face off, I wouldn’t be giving them Bambi eyes over salad.”

Phil cuts his eyes to him with a sly grin. “But that’s the thing, Chris, you’ve not been with someone for ten years. In fact, you’ve barely managed two.”

There’s a chorus of laughter around the table, but Chris takes it in stride, shrugging. “What can I say? I can’t be tied down, I’m just not made for that kind of life.”

Almost imperceptibly, Dan and Phil share a look. Phil’s eyes are dark in the light of the room and he gives Dan a look that gives him shivers. Dan clears his throat before looking away, his cheeks flushed. “Believe me, the right person can change that,” he says simply. Promptly, as he’s suddenly feeling giddy with whatever brief moment he and Phil just shared, Dan changes the subject. “So are any of you involved with the charity?”

They move the conversation to the event of the evening, and Dan’s genuinely happy to listen to everyone discuss the mental health organization and what they do, especially as it gives him a distraction from the way Phil’s decided to place his hand so delicately on his knee. It’s a light touch, punctuated occasionally with a brush of his fingers or a squeeze, and by the time the spokesperson from Mind Over Matter takes the stage, Dan’s heart is a hummingbird in his chest.

“Hello, everyone. My name is Bryony, as Greg introduced me earlier. Mind Over Matter is so very pleased to be here this evening, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to have the chance to work with the BBC for such a good cause.” She continues speaking about the charity’s mission statement and the logistics of running a mental health charity, and Dan finds himself enraptured in a way he wasn’t with Greg.

He actually genuinely cares about mental health charities and already donates to several, but now that he’s listening to someone from inside one of those charities, he realizes how much more involved he’d like to be. He makes a mental note to grab more information about the charity later in the night, listening intently as Bryony shares some of her own struggles with mental illness and the stigma that surrounds it.

Without his conscious consent, his body tenses up when she begins speaking about depression and how it has affected her life. It’s not that depression is a universal truth for every person that has it, as it comes in many flavors and shapes and sizes, but hearing someone else’s story about something he’s struggled with most of his life puts him on edge. A touch to his hand has him flinching, and Phil shushes him softly. Dan glances at his blurry face, blinking quickly to bring him back into focus.

“Breathe,” Phil murmurs, almost silently. He holds Dan’s clenched hand in both of his, holding eye contact as Dan forces himself to relax. Phil smiles when Dan unfurls his fist, squeezing Phil’s fingers several times.

“Charities like Mind Over Matter helped support me when I needed it most. I wanted to give that gift to someone else, and be a voice for someone struggling.” Bryony appears to be at the end of her speech. “Throughout the course of the night, you’ll hear several other stories, both from speakers and videos we’ve put together, and I hope they inspire you to be the change in someone else’s life. Thank you.”

An applause Greg’s introduction couldn’t have challenged erupts as Bryony leaves the stage, Dan included this time. His mind is running on a loop of what she said, repeating the words over and over. He realizes, somewhere, that he’s desperate to find a way to integrate his passion for mental health awareness into how he contributes to the world. All he’s ever wanted was to put more good into the world than bad, and part of that need has been soothed by his insistence to foster. Now, his mind is being opened to a new realm of possibilities he hadn’t even considered before.

He’s so focused on thinking of all the ways he could make a change that it takes him a moment to realize that Phil is trying to speak to him. “Dan,” he says, almost panicked.

“Hm?” Dan hums, half-listening.

Phil lets out a breath of relief. “Are you okay?”

“Mhm,” Dan murmurs. “Just thinking. That was a lot, right? Like a lot to think about?” He looks up at Phil, waiting for him to agree.

Phil flicks his gaze between the stage and Dan several times before he seems to get it. “The speech?” When Dan nods, Phil shrugs. “I mean, it was a good speech. She’s a good spokesperson.”

Dan nods, looking away. Phil’s not insensitive by any means, he just didn’t always get the desire to speak out the way Dan did. He was a more passive and peaceful sort of thinker, preferring to exist in the comfort of his own mind when it came to his belief system, which generally reflected Dan’s own, even if it was more subtle. “Right,” Dan says belatedly.

There’s a flicker of confusion on Phil’s face as he glances at Dan, but before he can say anything else, their waiter has returned to clear their plates away.

“I hear we’re having chicken parm tonight,” Chris says, rubbing his hands together conspiratorially.

“That’s one of my favorites,” Dan says mildly, his mind still running in circles around something else entirely.

“Except when I’m cooking it,” Phil jokes, smiling broadly when his coworkers laugh. He’s good about making light jokes at his own expense sometimes, and Dan’s always sort of admired that about him.

“I didn’t say that,” Dan protests with a roll of his eyes. He considers it, then shrugs. “I am a bit better at cooking, though.”

Phil snorts, quite unattractively. “Okay, Mr. Boil the Pasta Without Water,” he taunts.

Dan swats at him playfully. “Hey,” he protests weakly. “I don’t tell everyone about your cooking failures. Remember the dalgona coffee? Or the brownies? Or the-“

He’s interrupted by Phil placing his fingers over his mouth. “Okay! We get it, we get it.” He sounds sheepish.

PJ tuts. “I didn’t realize we’d be getting all this hot gossip.” He waggles his eyebrows suggestively. “Do tell us more, Daniel.”

Phil’s quick to interrupt there, of course. “How about we don’t and say we did,” he says blandly, looking vaguely worried.

“What’s the matter, Philly?” Chris teases. “Afraid he’ll tell us all your secrets?”

Before Phil can answer, Dan shakes his head. “Nah, he’s just afraid I’ll tell you about how he tried to cook a pizza while it was still in the box,” he says smoothly.

“Dan!” Phil squawks, indignant.

“Oops,” Dan says, grinning at him.

Shaking his head, Phil crosses his arms, looking the epitome of a spoiled child. “That was supposed to be a secret,” he whines. He’s playing it up for the sake of the people watching and laughing at their little argument, but Dan allows it. It’s nice to have a moment to be sort of themselves, banting about things that happened even before all the pretending. Not to mention it’s kind of adorable when Phil pouts.

“Not anymore!” Dan says cheerfully. He sees the same waiter from before approaching their table again, this time with a tray of food. Sure enough, there are several plates on it, each of them full of a serving of chicken parm. He’s careful as he passes them out, and Dan’s sure to thank him politely when his plate is placed in front of him.

As everyone tucks into their food, another presentation starts, and after that the chatting is at a minimum. Other than when the waiters swoop in to collect the dishes between the speeches, there’s not a whole lot of time for small talk, and Dan spares a moment to be grateful for that. Despite how much he’s genuinely and unironically enjoying himself, he’s not sure he likes the way he’s put himself on this stage, their every move speculated on by Phil’s closest coworkers. He tries to tuck that thought away for now. He’s having a good night; they both are, he thinks, so there’s no point in ruining it for himself because of his own self-doubt or whatever his mind is conjuring up now.

Eventually, the evening begins winding down. Greg takes to the stage to remind everyone to stop by the silent auction on their way out, something everyone could have filtered in and out of as they pleased throughout the night. He also thanks everyone for coming and reminds them to pick up a gift bag on the way out as well. Bryony comes back to the stage for a thank-you message as well, and then everyone slowly starts mingling, wandering over to other friends and coworkers they hadn’t had the chance to speak to yet.

“This is the part I was dreading,” Phil mumbles. “We got here late enough that we could avoid it then but there’s no way to avoid all the small talk now.”

Dan drops a hand to his thigh and squeezes reassuringly. “It’ll be alright, baby. I’m the master of escaping social situations, remember? We’ll be out of here in no time.”

Phil grins at that, and Dan’s heart flutters at having that lovely gaze on him. “I’m holding you to that, you know.”

With a smirk, Dan turns away, looking over at Sophie and PJ. “It was really lovely to see you both again, but we should probably go ahead and say goodbye to everyone. We don’t want to be too late getting home to the kids.”

Sophie nods understandingly. “Oh of course! It was great to see you two.” She smiles at PJ then, nudging his arm. “Small world, huh?”

PJ grins, the expression almost cat-like, as he glances over at them. “The smallest, really. Dan, lovely to see you again, mate. You and Phil should join us for game night sometime.” He doesn’t sound like he’s kidding, the invitation genuine.

“Sure,” Dan agrees with a noncommittal shrug.

Phil stands then, placing his hand on Dan’s shoulder as he says his goodbyes. “PJ, Chris, Tom, I’ll see you all at work Monday. Sophie, it was great seeing you again!” His thumb brushes over Dan’s collar, sending a shiver up Dan’s spine inexplicably. “C’mon, love. I ought to go say goodbye to Greg.”

Dan nods and stands, waving to Phil’s coworkers as they make their way from the table. They get several paces away before Dan grins, knocking his elbow against Phil’s. “Told you we’d get out of it quick.”

Phil rolls his eyes. “I wouldn’t hold my breath,” he mutters, straightening his posture up when they get closer to the stage. “Greg’s a talker.”

Dan smirks, slipping his hand into Phil’s. “So am I.”

~~~

It turns out Phil wasn’t kidding about Greg’s talking ability. He rambles for nearly twenty minutes, seemingly without taking a breath. Dan tries to take several opportunities to slip away, but each time, Greg manages to start in on something else, keeping them stood there nodding along politely, pretending to care. Eventually though, Greg seems to run out of things to say, and Phil takes the chance to pretend to check the time on the watch he’s wearing, sending Dan a look, his lips pursed. “I hate to say this, but Dan and I really should be going,” he says, his lips twitching into a very convincing disappointed pout.

“Oh that’s too bad!” Greg says, looking genuinely let down. “We were going to invite you out for a drink.”

Dan’s quicker than Phil this time, sending the older man a helpless sort of shrug. “We’d love to, but with the kids at home and this being our first night away from them, we really should be getting home.”

Greg nods sadly. “I understand.” He claps Phil on the shoulder and Dan can tell just how annoyed the gesture makes him. “Well, Phil, I appreciate you being here, always glad to have a chance to sit and chat with you.”

Phil smiles, his mouth tight. “Right. You too, Greg.” He turns to Greg’s wife and smiles a little more genuinely. “It was lovely seeing you again, Marianne.”

The brunette smiles and nods. “And you as well.” She glances at Dan with a polite smile. “It was nice meeting you, Dan.”

Dan offers an easy grin. “You too, both of you,” he extends the sentiment to Greg, who responds with a nod.

“Cheers, lads. See you on Monday, Phil,” Greg bids them a goodbye, waving with the hand holding his champagne flute.

Phil waves before taking Dan’s left hand in his right, leading him to the exit. They’re nearly to the door when Phil pauses, giving Dan a sheepish smile. “Do you care if I stop by the loo really quick?”

Dan rolls his eyes but releases his hand. “Go, go. I’d rather you didn’t wet yourself in my car.”

Phil’s nose crinkles delicately at that. “I’m not a toddler, Dan, I would never!”

Hiding his grin, Dan pushes him gently in the direction of the restrooms. “Sure, bub. Go ahead. I’m gonna go snatch another one of those little biscuits.”

Phil’s eyes light up at this. “Will you get me one? The ones with icing?”

Dan huffs playfully. “Obviously. Who do you take me for?”

There’s a precious grin on Phil’s face as he leans in and presses a kiss to Dan’s cheek. “You’re the best. I’ll be right back.”

~~~

Phil takes nearly fifteen minutes in the loo, and Dan’s starting to get a bit annoyed when he shows up in the foyer where Dan’s waiting, looking a little out of breath. “You okay, mate?” Dan asks, his voice a little teasing.

“Never better,” Phil grins. “Ready to go?” He asks, reaching out to hold Dan’s hand as they walk.

Dan nods wordlessly. They’re handed a gift bag each at the door, and Phil chivalrously offers to carry both of them to the car. They’re quiet as they walk, both of them lost to their own bubble of thoughts as their hands swing between them.

“Did you have a good time?” Phil asks into the silence.

Dan glances at him, finding an almost nervous look on Phil’s face. “I did, actually, yeah,” Dan says with a smile and a squeeze of Phil’s fingers. “I really enjoyed hearing all of the ways to get involved with the charity and stuff.” Phil nods along, looking relieved. Dan nudges his elbow with his own gently to get his attention. “Thank you for inviting me,” he says softly.

Phil slows his steps a little, really looking at Dan before he speaks. “I know how much mental health means to you, Dan. I just... I figured that you’d enjoy something like this.”

Dan nods, looking down at the pavement below their shoes. “I did.”

“Did you get to speak to everyone you wanted to? I know lots of people were handing out information,” Phil says, changing the subject a little. Dan’s secretly a little pleased; he’d rather not talk about how much the gesture of Phil inviting him to such a public event means to him.

“I think so, yeah,” Dan nods.

Phil nods too, slowing to a stop as they’ve reached Dan’s car. “That’s good. I, um... I actually went and spoke to the lead speaker, Bryony?”

Dan glances up at him. “Yeah?”

Phil nods, not quite looking directly at him. “Yeah, I figured... I figured if you had an in with someone you knew at a mental health charity the school might finally let you do that assembly about mental illness and how to get help.”

“I...” Dan stutters out, suddenly at a complete loss for words. The thoughtfulness of the gesture is setting in, and all he can think about is how much Phil means to him, how much it means to him that Phil would suffer through his social anxiety in order to talk to someone for Dan, without Dan even knowing. Dan can only stare at him in shock, eyes and mouth wide and gaping as he struggles to comprehend how absolutely selfless this man is.

“I know it’s not a lot,” Phil rushes to say, clearly taking Dan’s silence the wrong way. “And it’s not my business anyway, but I- I know how much you’ve wanted to do that for the school, and I thought maybe this would be a good place to start and-“

Dan interrupts him then, flinging himself forward and wrapping his arms around Phil’s neck. He’s half a second away from kissing him, but at the last second his lips change course and land firmly against Phil’s lovely cheek. Despite the change Dan’s felt this evening in that aspect of their behavior, this is one moment of their genuine real relationship that Dan doesn’t want to mar with the confusion of his romantic feelings. So instead he hugs his best friend as tightly as he can, feeling full of something warm and fuzzy when Phil wraps his arms around Dan’s waist and squeezes.

“Thank you,” Dan whispers. “Thank you so much, that...” he clears his throat. “That means more than you’ll probably ever know.”

Phil kisses his cheek, right where his dimple is. “Of course. Anything for you, you know that,” he says, his voice soft and full of feeling.

Dan squeezes him once more before releasing him, giving him another smile before they get into the car. Almost immediately, their hands find each other again over the console separating them, and Dan resigns himself, happily, to a one-handed drive.

~~~

The flat is quiet when they get home, both of them more than ready to get out of their suits and into some pajamas. Phil murmurs that he’s going to go put the gift bags away and Dan nods before going to check on the kids. As expected, the twins are fast asleep in their beds, and Dan creeps through the room, making sure each of them are tucked with their favorite plushies. He kisses the top of both of their heads, and only Mia stirs, just a bit.

Walking down the hall, he hears quiet voices and finds Phil, minus his shoes and suit coat, talking to Levi in the kitchen. “And they didn’t give you any trouble going to bed on time?”

Levi shakes his head with a smile. “Not at all. I uh... pulled a Dan and stayed in there to read to them for a while and they both just fell asleep.”

Phil looks relieved. “Perfect. Did we leave you enough money for the food? Did you all have enough to eat?”

Dan steps behind him then, wrapping his arms around Phil’s waist with a hum. To his credit, Phil doesn’t even jump at the suddenness of the contact. “Stop interrogating him, you sound like me,” he chastises, grinning at Levi over Phil’s shoulder.

Phil huffs, crossing his arms. “You worried before, I’ll handle worrying after. Go to bed.”

Dan shakes his head, kissing Phil’s jaw before stepping away. “I don’t really think that’s how this works,” he says. He turns to Levi then with a smile. “You guys were okay I take it?”

Levi nods, looking tired but happier than Dan’s seen him since he moved in. “We were fine. I’m exhausted though, I’ll give you that. I don’t know how you guys do it.”

Phil flicks his gaze over to Dan’s and they share a smile. “It’s worth being tired,” Dan says simply. “But you’re a kid too, and the kids shouldn’t have to be tired for doing the parents job, so it’s time you head to bed too, bub.”

There’s a flicker of disappointment on Levi’s face and then it’s gone as he nods in agreement. “Okay,” he says, turning to leave the kitchen with a little wave. Before he gets too far though, he spins back around, quirking a brow. “Did you guys have fun on your date?” He asks with a smirk.

Dan flushes, not even sure why it embarrasses him for Levi to call it that. Before he can answer, Phil puts his hand on Dan’s back, nodding for the both of them. “We did, yeah.”

“So does this mean you guys trust me enough now to leave us home alone every now and again? You could have a weekly date night,” Levi says with a very sweet smile. A twitch of his lip shows that he’s mostly kidding.

Dan rolls his eyes. “Thank you for the suggestion, Levi. We’ll think about it,” Dan nods to the stairs, his arms crossed. “To bed, kiddo. Don’t forget about therapy tomorrow.”

Levi nods, waving half heartedly as he leaves the kitchen. “Yeah, alright. Night, guys.”

“Goodnight, Levi,” Phil calls. He turns to face Dan with a smile. “The twins okay?”

Dan nods, pulling his suit jacket off. “Yeah, they’re all tucked in with their plushies.”

“Good,” Phil nods, leading the way back to their bedroom. He’s flung his jacket across the bed and Dan makes a petulant noise when he sees it. “Sorry,” Phil grins, going to hang it up. “What pjs do you want to wear?” He asks, pulling one of their dresser drawers open and sifting through it.

“Mm. Just a shirt, please. Something cozy,” Dan mumbles, taking his shoes off and neatly placing them back on the rack. He places Phil’s beside them, smiling at how neat it looks.

“Here,” Phil says, handing Dan a folded up tee. When he grabs it, Dan realizes it’s one of the shirts Phil had gotten him on a family vacation to Florida a few years ago. It’s got little cats in space suits and is quite honestly the best piece of clothing he owns, in his opinion.

“Thanks,” Dan says, working on unbuttoning his shirt. The bundled up t-shirt in one hand makes it difficult to make any progress though, and Dan makes an annoyed noise through his nose. “Stupid shirt-“ he mutters darkly to himself, tugging on the second button aggressively.

“C’mere, idiot,” Phil says fondly, knocking Dan’s hands out of the way in order to actually unbutton the shirt. Dan watches his hands, lips quirking when he notices how they’re shaking.

“Your hands are shaky,” he murmurs softly. “You okay?”

Phil lets out a quivering laugh. “You just make me nervous, sometimes.”

“Me?” Dan asks, incredulous. “How?”

Phil gives him a look, but doesn’t answer. His knuckles brush Dan’s stomach as he gets to the last couple of buttons, and Dan can’t stop a shiver from crawling down his spine. Phil pauses his movements, eyes flickering up to meet Dan’s again. The blue-green of his eyes is almost completely gone, his pupils blown out and making his eyes look darker than Dan knows them to be. Dan’s breath catches as their gazes lock, the soft sound audible in the limited space between them.

Swallowing hard, and trying not to spook him too much, Dan raises his hands carefully to Phil’s neck. He brushes his fingers against the bow tie around Phil’s neck, and he shivers. “I’m gonna take your tie off, yeah?” Dan whispers. Any amount of volume sounds like screaming right now, in this quiet space between them.

“Yeah,” Phil breathes back. His hands slowly drop down to undo the last two buttons of Dan’s shirt, and he hesitates, his hands poised in the air at Dan’s waist. His eyes drop from Dan’s gaze to stare at the bare skin of his chest and he cautiously reaches out, tucking his hands inside Dan’s open shirt and smoothing over his waist, just above the band of his trousers.

Just that innocent contact has Dan flushing, and he drops his gaze to where he’s undoing Phil’s bow tie, trying to hide from Phil’s searching eyes. “You looked so good tonight,” Dan says, the confession almost inaudible.

“Yeah?” Phil whispers back, squeezing the bare skin at Dan’s hips.

Dan nods, tugging the tie loose and tossing it on the dresser. He focuses on his hands as he undoes the buttons of Phil’s shirt, working slowly down the line. “I was really proud to be your date for the evening.”

Phil makes a soft noise at that. “Dan...” He takes a deep breath, almost like he’s steeling himself for something, and suddenly Dan can’t do it. He knows, with how their evening has gone so far, how this chat would go and what it is Phil might be gearing up to say, but right now- Dan can’t hear it. They’ve lived in this little bubble of peaceful in-between for so long, and right now, he isn’t mentally prepared for how their relationship could change if they have the chat they both know is coming.

“All done,” he says, loud in the space they were just occupying. His hands gently press against Phil’s stomach, pushing him out of Dan’s space a bit. “I’m gonna go have a wee and brush my teeth,” he announces, moving to step past Phil.

Phil catches his arm before he can get too far. He’s got a pained sort of look on his face. “We need to talk, Dan.”

And there it is.

“I... I know, just... not tonight, please? We’ve had such a good night, just... tomorrow?” Dan practically begs.

Phil looks reluctant, but nods slowly, running his palm gently down the length of Dan’s arm before it falls away. “Alright. Tomorrow.”

Dan nods in agreement. He’s already trying to think of a way to prolong it past tomorrow, but he’s not about to tell Phil that. Nodding to the bathroom, he holds up his pjs. “Be right back.”

When Phil nods, Dan quickly disappears into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him, something he very rarely does anymore. His hands are shaking as he goes to have a wee, and when he’s finished he washes his hands a little too vigorously, as if that’ll help with the tremors. He’s just washing his face when the bathroom door opens and Phil pops his head in.

“Remember to take your meds,” he reminds, studying Dan in the mirror.

Dan nods, gesturing to the pillbox on the tap. “I’m going to,” he replies with a little smile.

Phil looks relieved. He glances around the bathroom almost awkwardly. “Is it okay if I...”

Dan’s quick to nod, trying to force a casualness he doesn’t really feel. “Yeah, course.”

He tries not to watch as Phil comes in, moving through his own nightly routine of washing his face, brushing his teeth, and taking his contacts out. Dan’s a step behind him, just reaching for his toothbrush when Phil is fastening the top back on his contact lens pot, and instead of leaving, Phil leans against the counter and watches him.

It makes Dan feel even more nervous, and now his hands are shaking even more as he tries to ignore the way Phil’s very obviously studying him. “Quit looking at me,” he mumbles around a mouthful of toothpaste.

Phil’s got a smile on his face when Dan glances at him. “Sorry.” It doesn’t sound very genuine, but then he sighs, reaching out and tugging gently on the hem of Dan’s t-shirt. “You just look kind of adorable in that shirt,” he says with a sweet smile.

Dan flushes red all over at the compliment. “Shut up,” he grumbles before spitting out the foam in his mouth and reaching for their little rinse cup. It doesn’t hit him until after he’s swishing the water around in his mouth that this is another one of their things, another little domestic object that they share, undisputed. He places it gently back on the tap before spitting the water out. “I’m tired,” he announces, turning to leave the bathroom without another glance at Phil.

He crawls into bed, a real exhaustion suddenly wearing on him as he does, proof of the full day they’ve both had. Phil slides into bed beside him after turning the light off, casting the room in a near pitch-darkness. He shifts around a bit before finally settling, and then it’s so dead quiet that Dan nearly stops breathing, the sound shockingly loud in the silence.

“Come here,” Phil says softly.

“Why?” Dan mumbles, unthinkingly.

Phil lets out a huff. “Because I want to hold you, that’s why, rat.”

“Oh,” Dan whispers. He slowly shifts over, crowding into Phil’s space gradually. Phil apparently doesn’t have the same patience, as he hooks an arm around Dan’s waist and tugs him right up against his chest.

“Mm,” Phil hums contently in Dan’s ear. “Are you comfy?”

Dan smiles at the low voice. “Yeah, baby, I’m comfy.”

Phil kisses his jaw, close to his ear. “Good.”

They lay in silence for long enough that Dan assumes that Phil has already fallen asleep. He’s proven wrong when he feels another kiss, this one pressed to his hair, followed by Phil squeezing his waist. “You okay?” Dan mumbles, something worrying in the strength of Phil’s grip.

“I’m fine,” Phil says dismissively. There’s an audible hesitance in the following silence until he whispers, “Did you really have a good night?”

Dan tilts his head back a little to smile at him. “Of course I did.” He nuzzles into Phil’s chest, leaving a fleeting kiss on the collar of his t-shirt. “I wanted to say thank you again, by the way. For the whole...” he gestures vaguely. “Talking to Bryony for me. That was really sweet of you.”

Phil kisses his forehead. Dan feels so small in his embrace. “Of course. I mean...” Phil sighs. “Even before the whole fake dating thing, I would’ve done that. You... you’re my best friend in the whole world, Dan.”

“I know,” Dan replies, his voice cracking in an embarrassing sort of way. “I know that,” he repeats after clearing his throat. “This wouldn’t work if we weren’t.”

“Right,” Phil says slowly. He tugs gently at Dan’s shirt, and Dan feels his heart flutter at the way Phil’s hand sneaks underneath the fabric. His nails lightly scratch over Dan’s back, and the feeling is so light and gentle that it sends shivers all over Dan’s spine. “But even outside of this part of our life, the part that’s just for now... you’ll always be my best friend, yeah?”

Dan swallows hard. Something hot and sick is crawling at his throat, making him feel suddenly fidgety and anxious. He goes to shift and Phil’s hand splays out on his back, holding him steady like he’s falling. He is, in a way.

“Of course, yeah,” he rasps out, half-responding to Phil. The half of his brain that isn’t stupid and filled with mush is trying desperately to come up with a way to curb his anxiety.

He finds that distraction in the way Phil strokes his back in long sweeps, and Dan feels himself relaxing into it. “You look so cute,” Phil whispers.

Dan smiles, his eyes having fluttered shut at some point. “Thanks,” he mumbles.

Phil laughs, and then there’s an easy, sleepy silence spreading over them. Dan’s brain, even as it slows down with the impending sleep, manages one last coherent thought. “Phil?”

“Mhm?”

Dan smacks his lips as he tries to remember what he wanted to ask. “How long do you think we can do this for?”

“What?” Phil asks, nearly inaudible.

“This,” Dan mumbles, punctuating his words with a squeeze of his arm around Phil’s torso. “It’s got a deadline, doesn’t it?” It’s not really a question. Dan knows the answer.

The question’s not completely out of left field, Dan thinks vaguely. It’s been on his mind all night rather consistently, and even before that he’s thought about it from time to time; wondering if they’ll get to celebrate Christmas with the kids, or Easter. Sometimes his mind races past that, to the what if’s beyond their current family unit: what if someday these children were moved somewhere else, would they even be able to cope well enough to move on and foster other children? Or would this whole thing, this whole life they’d built together, come crashing down?

“I don’t know,” Phil eventually answers, after what feels like hours.

Dan nuzzles his chest. “Not forever though, I guess?”

Phil leans down and kisses his cheek softly. “Let’s not think about that tonight. We’ve had a good night and we can talk about this tomorrow.”

“Okay,” Dan says quietly. There’s a lot on their plate for tomorrow’s conversations, it seems. Suddenly Dan’s so exhausted, he feels like he could sleep for a year. He’s not sure how much of that is genuine exhaustion and how much is the desire to avoid the confrontation he knows will be waiting for him on the other side of tomorrow. He kisses Phil’s neck. If this is the last night they have like this, with this same platonic intimacy, he wants it to end on a good note. “Love you,” he mumbles, intentionally low and inaudible.

Phil rubs soft circles between his shoulder blades. “Love you too, bear.”

#phan #phanfiction #parent!au #parent!phan #foster parent au #bbc producer!phil #school counselor!dan #fake relationship #friends to lovers #best friends #if you don't love me pretend #iydlmp #chapter 20

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