#phils princess voice oh daniel

[nervouswrck]

dan and phil reacting to a meme that refers to phil as dans girl should i just kill myself

[succubusphan]

A Rose of Winter- Chapter 6

Summary: All Daniel wanted to do was escape the stifling life as a Stark of Winterfell and travel the world. Between the looming threat North of The Wall and the den of lions in the capital, he unexpectedly finds love in the midst of a war set to tear Westeros apart. Caught between loyalty to his family and duty, he is torn in a thousand directions that all point to one man: Philip Flowers.

Rating: E (There are only a few smut scenes but it's an M for battles, war, and other adult topics)

Tags/warnings: I removed most triggers (no R or SA, no minors involved in sex, no gore). It does include: Deaths either written without details or in a poetic way if it's an important character (Dan and Phil, Ghost and Balerion will live but everyone else is fair game). Strangers to lovers, Slow Burn, missing each other. The prophecies and stories foreshadowed are fulfilled, a satisfying ending to the entire story without plot holes. Extreme canon divergence. Dan and Phil are not replacing characters, they were written in. GAME OF THRONES AU

Author's Note: This is my OSPBB 2022, Couldn't have done it without my betas @effingmeteors and @filisaceaf.

Word Count: Each chapter will be around 15k and have at least one Dan or Phil pov. The total wc is about 210k.

Read on Ao3

TYRION 

Tyrion scratched his chin as he ate breakfast. It was only a matter of time before someone let Cersei know about his plans to send Myrcella to a safe place. The question was who.

The door slammed open on the wall as his sister made her way to him. “You little monster. She is my only daughter, did you think I would let you sell her like a common whore?”

“Myrcella is a Princess, some would say she was born for this,” Tyrion said before eating a few grapes, hoping that she would continue.

“I will not let you ship her to Dorne as I was shipped to Robert Baratheon.”

“Dorne is the safest place for her. She will be happy there.”

“Are you crazy? The Martells loathe us.”

“That is why we need to seduce them. We will need their support in the war your son started.” He kept his tone even, never raising his voice to match hers.

“She will be nothing but a hostage.”

“A guest,” Tyrion corrected her.

“Do you think a piece of paper Father gave you will keep you safe?” She smiled. “Ned Stark had a piece of paper too.”

“It is done, you cannot stop it.”

“No!” she yelled, pushing everything off the table. Then, she stilled as if she was trying to control her outburst. His poor sister was not used to having control taken from her.

“Just how safe do you think Myrcella is within these walls?” He explained. “The best way to protect her is to send her away before Stannis heads to King’s Landing. Do you want to see her enslaved, tortured, or worse?”

“Leave,” she whispered.

“You know I love Myrcella too.”

“What do you know about love?” she spat. “Leave!”

“This is my room.”

“Leave!” she screamed. 

Tyrion sighed and walked to Pycelle’s bed chamber.

---

He knocked on the door and waited patiently for the old man to drag himself over. 

“Oh, Lord Tyrion. What a surprise,” he sputtered.

Tyrion walked in and looked around curiously, Bronn close behind. The place was a mess of old robes and books lithered on every surface. 

“Oh, Lord Commander, I had not noticed you, my apologies…”

Rolling his eyes, Tyrion addressed the matter directly.  “You betrayed me.” 

“I am not sure I - I undres-s-stand, My Lord.”

“You told Cersei about my plan to send Myrcella to Dorne!”

“No! It was not me, I am your loyal servant. The Spider, it was surely him. One can never trust a eunuch.”

Tyrion huffed. “Except that I told you that I was sending Myrcella to Dorne, I told Varys I was sending her to The Iron Islands, and Littlefinger that she was going to The Vale.”

“The Spider is everywhere.”

“Bronn, cut his manhood,” Tyrion said.

“No, no please!” The old man cried.

“How many hands have you betrayed?”

“I never-”

“Jon Arryn?” Tyrion pressed.

“He- he knew the truth about The Queen, and - and, he was going to tell King Robert!” Pycelle stammered.

“So you poisoned him!”

“No!” Pycelle whined. “I would never!”

“But you let him die.”

“Everything I’ve done has been for House Lannister!” The old man said. “I will always serve House Lannister!”

“Throw him in one of the black cells in the dungeon,” Tyrion said and watched Bronn call one of the city guards and have Pycelle dragged down the hall kicking and screaming.

--

News of another Stark victory reached the Capital. He had attacked in the middle of the night with only two thousand men and caught the Lannister army by surprise. 

Tyrion could hear Joffrey’s screams reverberating through the Throne Room as he rushed down the hall. “You need to answer for your brother’s sins!”

Sansa cried, her voice shook as she spoke. “Your Grace, whatever my brother may have done, I had no part in.”

“Robb Stark attacked in the shadows with an army of wolves, thousands of honourable men were butchered and when they were done, the Northerners feasted on the flesh of the fallen!” Said Lancel, that snivelling idiot. 

Tyrion knew he needed to stop his idiot nephew before he killed the girl.

“Killing you would send your brother a message, but my mother insists on keeping you,” Joffrey said. 

Tyrion walked in and could finally see his smile as he lowered his crossbow. 

“Stand!”

“Thank you, Your Grace,” Sansa said.

“Ser, leave her face, I like her pretty,” Joffrey said.

Ser Meryn of the Gold Cloaks walked to Sansa and punched her on her stomach, kicking her to the ground.

“My Lady is overdressed, Unburden her.”

The Gold Cloak tore the back of her dress before Tyrion could rush to her side.

“What is the meaning of this?” Tyrion yelled. “What kind of Knight beats a helpless girl?”

“The one who serves his King, Imp,” said Meryn Trant.

Bronn walked up to him, one hand on his sword. “Careful now, you don’t want red to stain that pretty white cloak.”

“Someone bring her something to cover herself with!” Tyrion demanded before turning to Joffrey. “She is to be your Queen!”

Joffrey shrugged. “I am punishing her!”

“For what? She is not fighting Robb’s battles, you halfwit!” Tyrion watched as The Hound removed his white cloak and placed it on Sansa’s shoulder as she cried very quietly, trying to make herself small.

“You can’t speak to me like that! The King can do as he likes!”

“The Mad King did as he liked,” Tyrion said, his voice loaded with disdain. “Has your Uncle Jaime ever told you what happened to him?”

“Nobody threatens The King!” Ser Meryn said, approaching Tyrion.

“Bronn , the next time Ser Meryn speaks, kill him,” he said. “See? That was a threat. I was merely educating my nephew.” Tyrion turned around and helped Sansa to her feet. “I apologise for my nephew’s behaviour,” he said as they walked out of the Throne Room. “Tell me the truth, do you want to put an end to this engagement?”

“No, I am loyal to King Joffrey, my one true love,” she said without hesitation. 

Tyrion stopped and watched her leave with her ladies in waiting, marvelled at her strength. “Lady Stark, you may survive us, yet,” he said in wonder.

---

In an attempt to give Joffrey something else to focus on, Tyrion sent two whores to his chambers. But that proved to be a mistake. He realised this when Joffrey called him over and showed him their bodies pinned to the wall with a series of arrows from his crossbow.

His stomach turned at the sight. As he exited the room, he vowed to never attempt to do anything nice for that little monster.

If Tyrion wanted to get any diplomatic advantage, he would have to do it himself. There would be no point in trying to reason with Cersei or Joffrey. Instead, he called Littlefinger to a secluded part of The Red Keep.

“I have a deal for you.”

“You will not make a fool of myself again. You promised me Harrenhal if I arranged Myrcella’s match with Robyn Arryn, yet she is sailing to Dorne instead.”

“Yes, she is. Sorry about that. My brother Jaime rots in a cell, I want him released.”

“Robb Stark would never release him.”

“No, but his mother would. How would you like to see your beloved Cat again?”

ARYA

Ever since the guards from the City Watch had come asking for Gendry, Yoren had taken to searching for more secluded places to rest, oftentimes staying off the road during the day as well. They were not far off from The Gods Eye, slowly making their way to the North. In just a few months, Arri would finally be able to hug Jon again, to feel safe; something that she hadn’t felt in months. Not since -

She shook her head and turned around on the dirt floor she’d been trying to sleep on. Tonight’s hideout was an abandoned tower slowly falling apart with time. It had no beds, or hay, or anything really, but it sheltered them from the elements and kept them out of sight. She huffed and turned around.

“Why don’t you rest, boy?” Yoren asked from where he was sitting by the door, his sword already in his hand.

“I can’t sleep. I keep thinking about -”

“I used to have a brother but he was taken from me, killed without remorse without even a reason. He was just a boy. Many nights I tossed and turned without sleep, making a list, saying the names of the men who killed him. Eventually I was able to track them down, and I killed them one by one. I finally got my revenge.”

“Then what happened?”

“I was sent to The Wall. Actions have consequences, but I have learned to live with mine. If I could do it all again, I wouldn’t change a single thing.”

She nodded and laid on her back, staring up into the darkness. “Ser Meryn Trant, Joffrey Baratheon, Ser Ilyn Payne, Cersei Lannister, The Hound,” she whispered, starting over when she got to the end of the list. She let out a sigh thinking how she would deal with each of them.

The noise outside put Yoren into motion. He looked out the window, holding his breath. 

All the boys rose to their feet at the sound of the horses and the soldier’s amours as they searched the area. 

“Don’t let them see you,” Yoren whispered to her and Gendry. “If things go array, run; run north and don’t look back.” Then he stepped back and addressed all the prisoners. “There’s men out there wanting to end you, fight! Go out and fight for your lives!” He kicked the door open, everyone running in different directions. 

Arri felt someone grab her hand and her eyes widened until she realised Gendry was dragging her away from the fight. The soldiers attacked everyone they could get their hands on, young and old. 

There was fire spreading all around, making it even harder to choose a path to safety, but they all still ran, taking cover behind the bushes. 

“Where is the bastard?” yelled one of the soldiers. 

“I have many bastards,” Yoren said, walking up to them.

“I am Ser Amory Lorch of Tywin Lannister’s army. These capital soldiers have requested our assistance. Lower your weapons in the name of The King!”

“What King would that be?”

“This is your last chance. In the name of King Joffrey, lower your weapons.”

Yoren didn’t move. An arrow hit him in the chest and the soldiers charged at him but he was able to fight them off, killing three of them before another arrow hit him, making him fall to his knees. 

It was then that every boy charged towards the soldiers with their very limited fighting skill, Arri right behind them until she heard it.

“Boy, boy!” called the man in the small cell; the one she’d given water to. The cart itself was burning and there was no way for him or his two companions to escape, the metal heating rapidly. “Help us, boy. We can fight! We can help!”

Not wanting their deaths weighing on her conscience, Arri grabbed a small hatchet the man was pointing to and gave it to him before running. 

One of the Lannister soldiers caught up to her, kicking her to the ground and grabbing Needle. “What a pretty sword. I could clean my teeth with it,” he said.

A little over Arri heard Lommy yelling for help. “Don’t leave me! It hurts! Help!”

The man towering over Arri laughed and walked to the blonde boy and smiled. “Does it hurt? Do you want my help?”

“Yes, please!” Lommy whined, a shocked sound coming from his throat when the soldier killed him with his sword.

“Perfect,” he said, cleaning the blade on his uniform. “Where is Gendry?” He screamed, looking around at all the prisoners already surrounded.

Arri couldn’t take her eyes off Lommy’s empty ones. Then she saw it, his small hand laid so close to Gendry’s helmet. He’d probably taken it when he got the chance. “Do you want Gendry?” she asked. “That’s him.” She pointed to the blonde boy’s body.

Satisfied with the results of the attack, the soldiers tied them up and put them on a cell before marching for Harrenhal.

JON

Jon stepped outside for the last time to feed Ghost and stayed with him for a moment, petting him and apologising for not letting him in. The other crows were not too happy to sleep with him, so he had to return to his cage every night. 

The screams of a woman giving birth reverberated all around the Haunted Forest. In the weeks they’d stayed at the inn, it was not uncommon to hear one of Craster’s wives bringing another child to the world but something caught Jon’s attention.

Once the baby’s cries were heard, the woman pleaded and pleaded but Craster walked out of the small hut with the child in his arms and ventured into the woods instead of his cabin. Jon kept his distance but followed him still. They walked for quite a while before the old man set the child on a slab and made his way back home. 

This time, Jon didn’t follow him; instead he waited, holding his breath as he saw a tall white figure walking to the slab. The creature could have been mistaken for a human wearing battle armour but its skin looked like a collection of ice crystals and its deep blue eyes shined.

The creature touched the child, cocking its head to look at it before locking eyes with Jon and making a strange noise. It resembled a scream but there were no discernible words, instead, it was the sound of ice cracking.

Before Jon could turn around, he felt something hit him in the back of his head and his knees give out under him.

--

When Jon opened his eyes, hissing and bringing his hand to his head, Lord Commander Mormont was looking at him in disappointment and Craster was yelling at the top of his lungs.

“Leave!” Craster said. “I want all of you gone! Out of my house!” Then he approached the Commander. “You make this right.” He waved Longclaw in Front of Mormont’s face.

“Wait outside!”

“Lord Commander,” tried Jon.

“Now!”

Everyone shuffled out of the stables. Jon sat by the horses and let Sam tend to the wounds on his face, refusing to talk about what happened until Mormont walked up to them.

“Leave us,” Mormont said. Sam nodded and left without a word.

“What did you do?”

“I followed him,” Jon admitted but rushed to justify himself. “He took the baby into the woods; a newborn.”

“What business is that of yours?”

“You don’t understand, he’s killing them! All the boys and-” Jon paused, frowning. He could see no shock in his Commander’s eyes; he looked troubled, but not surprised at all. “You know.”

“Wildlings - they have different Gods than you and I. Those babies are his offerings.”

“Offerings? He’s killing his own children! He’s a monster!”

“That monster is the difference between life and death for the rangers when they venture beyond The Wall, including your uncle Benjen. We have other wars to fight, out there. Like it or not, we need men like Craster.”

“I saw it. I saw -” he shook his head, “something take that child.”

“Whatever it was, I’ll dare say you’ll see it again,” Mormont said. “Now, ready my horse, we leave at dawn.” He pressed Longclaw to Jon’s chest. “Don’t lose it again.”

DAN

Dan tried his best not to look into his mother’s eyes but she gave him a knowing look nonetheless. He shouldn’t have fallen asleep in Phil’s tent, but his heart got the best of him. He knew they wouldn’t be staying for much longer and he would be away from Phil once more, not knowing when or even if they would ever meet again. As much as Dan liked to pretend that that wasn’t the case, they were at war still, and they would be for quite some time. Thinking about the future was something he actively avoided because he had already come to the conclusion that most of the people he loved, or even himself, would not be alive by the time everything was said and done. He let out a deep sigh and ran his fingers through his long curls.

“Are you ready?” His mother asked. 

“Ready?” 

“Renly has asked us to ride with him; he is meeting Stannis for negotiation not far from the camp.”

“Is that safe?” 

“If Stannis wanted to attack he would do it without hesitation, but Renly’s army is much bigger than his own, so he knows not to make impulsive decisions.”

“Alright. Why should we accompany them?” 

She sighed, looking at him with a little disappointment. “Loyalty is very important; it is what the Starks have always been known for and while Ned supported Stannis’ claim to the throne, we are visiting Renly. I assume he wants to show Stannis that he doesn’t have as many allies as he’d thought.”

“I want to support Renly.”

“I do too, but our word is the only thing we have left, so we must be open and negotiate with them.”

--

“Lady Stark, I had not thought to find you in the Stormlands,” Stannis said.  

She smiled. “I had not thought to be here, Lord Stannis.” 

“Can that truly be you?” Renly asked, his voice dripping with contempt.

“Who else might it be?” Stannis replied.

“When I saw your standard I couldn't be sure. Whose banner is that?” 

“My own!”

Renly shrugged. “I suppose if we use the same one on the battlefield, it would be terribly confusing. Why is your stag on fire?” 

It was actually quite an interesting feat. While Renly’s stag was crowned and sitting on a green background, Stannis’ sat on a red heart surrounded by flames.

“The King has taken for his sigil the fiery heart of the Lord of Light,” said a mysterious woman in red at Stannis’ side.

“Ah, this must be this fire priestess we hear so much about. Brother, now I understand where you found religion in your old age.” Renly was not holding the insults back. Dan has to resist the urge to laugh in such a dire situation. 

Stannis was much older than Renly and looked absolutely furious both at the fact that he needed to negotiate with his young brother and at the insults. “Watch yourself Renly!” 

“No, no, I'm relieved. We really believed you're a fanatic. Charmless, rigid, a bore, yes. But never a godly man.”

The red Lady sneered at Renly. “You should kneel before your brother, he's the Lord's Chosen, born amidst salt and smoke.” 

“Born amid salt and smoke?” Renly rolled his eyes. “Is he a ham?” 

“That's twice I’ve warned you,” Stannis finally snapped.

“Where is the Hand of the great King Stannis? Renly asked.

Dan’s mother tried to calm them down. “Listen to yourselves! If you were sons of mine I would knock your heads together and lock you in a bed chamber until you remembered that you were brothers!”

“It is strange to find you beside my brother, Lady Stark. Your husband was a supporter of my claim. Lord Eddard's integrity cost him his head and you sit beside this pretender and chastise me!” 

“We share a common enemy!” She said.

“The Iron Throne is mine - by right - all those that deny that are my foes.”

“All the realm denies it from Dorne to The Wall,” Renly said. “Old men deny it with a death rattle and unborn children deny it in their mothers’ wombs. No one wants you for their King. You never wanted any friends, brother, but a man without friends is a man without power.”

“For the sake of the mother who bore us, I will give you this one night to reconsider. Strike your banners, come to me before dawn and I will grant you your old seat in the council. I'll even name you my heir until a son is born. Otherwise, I shall destroy you.”

Renly’s face softened and he cleared his throat. “How is Shireen? I haven’t seen her in two years.”

Stannis frowned, seemingly confused by the sudden change of topic. “She is doing well. Why do you ask?” 

“If you give me Shireen as a sign of good faith, I will consider your offer. The battlefield is no place for a child.” 

The red woman spoke before Stannis could reply. “My Lord, she has your blood. You shouldn’t let her go.”

“If I were to consider it, what would you do with her?”

“Raise her - with my husband. Make her my heir. She would be safe and happy.”

The red priestess grabbed Stannis’ arm and his demeanour changed instantly. His face went from careful consideration to completely cold and distant. “No. She’s my daughter.”

Renly frowned. “Look across those fields, brother. Can you see all those banners?”

“You think a few bolts of cloth will make you King?”

“No, the men holding those bolts of cloth will make me King.”

“We shall see, Renly. We shall see,” Stannis said before riding away.

The red Lady looked at Renly with such an intensity that made Dan uncomfortable. “Look to your sins, Lord Renly, for the night is dark and full of terrors.”

Renly turned to Loras in disgust. “Would you believe I loved him once?”

--

Back at the main tent, Renly, Loras, Dan, and Phil sat down to discuss the horrible attempt at negotiation. 

“You were too confrontational,” Phil said.

Renly gave him a look. “What did you expect me to do? He is trying to take the throne without any good reason other than he is older than me. You can’t expect me to be civil towards him.”

“Of course I can. It was the smart thing to do, but I guess you are not that smart after all.”

“Phil!” Loras chided him. 

“You know perfectly well that I’m speaking the truth,” Phil said. “Dan agrees with me, don’t you Dan?”

Dan sputtered, nearly choking on the wine he’d been drinking. “Well - yes and no.” 

Loras smirked at him, clearly enjoying seeing Dan in a difficult position, by Phil, no less. “You can’t agree with both.”

“I am not agreeing with both. I just would not have gone as far as to call Renly stupid, but I do believe that being more civilized would have been more agreeable - even if Stannis didn’t seem too keen on discussing a realistic solution.”

“See? This is a smart man,” Loras said, patting Dan’s shoulder. 

Dan finally felt confident enough to ask what had been weighing on his mind all afternoon. “Renly, would you have really accepted your niece in exchange for the throne?”

“Yes. Stannis is old and his love for battle would put him out of his misery eventually, leaving the throne free for me, as his heir,” Renly said, his face softening when he thought about his niece. “I’ve always had a soft spot for Shireen, ever since I held her in my arms for the first time. When we thought that greyscale would take her, it was me that searched high and low for someone who would be able to help her, not Stannis. He would have left her to die. Now she lives locked up in her room, reading about the wonders of the world instead of seeing the sunlight, going for walks and experiencing the life that she deserves. And it’s all because of Stannis. He just can’t stand the fact that his daughter is not perfect.”

Loras nodded. “We would be good parents to her, and that would be the safest option to get the throne, even if it took some time.”

“What will you do now?” Phil asked.

“There’s nothing else I can do now other than killing my brother. I can only hope Shireen survives and forgives me for it.”

---

Dan had had a wonderful afternoon walking down the beach with Phil, watching the sunset, kissing between the cliffs when nobody was watching… it was only his luck that everything would be ruined so suddenly. He walked into his tent to find a man already waiting. He pulled his sword and placed it by his neck, causing the man to give him a snivelling smile Dan was already learning to detest. “State your business.”

“You must be Daniel. I am Lord Baelish, a family friend.”

“So you are the man who betrayed my father and got him executed.” He pressed the blade to his neck and saw a drop of blood sweep out of him. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t behead you right here.”

“I am a diplomatic envoy sent by Tyrion Lannister. If even a hair on my head is missing, you and your entire family will regret it, dear friend.”

“You are not my friend,” Dan said. 

His mother walked in, the smile slipping from her face. “He’s not anyone’s friend. He has none because everything he does is lie and betray those around him.”

“I am merely following orders, Catelyn. If you would call off your boy, I could give you the gift of goodwill I’ve brought you.”

His mother put her hand on his shoulder and Dan lowered his sword but did not step away from him. “We don’t need any gifts from you,” she said.

“It is not from me. The Lannisters send it to you.” He pointed to the chest on the opposite side of the tent.

Dan watched her walk to it and open it carefully before she let out a wail. She fell to her knees and Dan rushed to her, finally seeing the contents of the chest. It was his father’s bones. She cried and screamed again and Dan tried to hold her but she didn’t want to be touched. “Leave me alone, please.”

“If you want your girls back we can arrange the exchange for Jaime Lannister.” 

“Leave!” she screamed. “Leave me be! You are nothing but a liar! I should have you executed for what you did to Ned!”

“Think of your girls,” he pushed. 

Liar. He was lying; they didn’t have Arya at all. 

Time seemed to stop when Dan’s mother rushed to him and slapped him as hard as she could. “Leave!”

Petyr Baelish’s expression morphed from a satisfied smirk to pure outrage before he gave her a vengeful look and walked out.

“Mother, I-” He was hurt too, but he understood. It was the love of her life, the man she had raised an entire family with. 

“Please, let me be alone with your father for a moment.”

Dan’s eyes filled with tears; he nodded and left in search of Phil. When he finally found him, he allowed himself to cry in his arms, listening to Phil’s heartbeat and sweet whispers but he couldn’t help but wish death upon their enemies. 

DAENERYS 

The Red Waste, Essos.

Just when Daenerys was starting to lose hope, the first horse returned, but it didn’t carry good news. What returned was exactly that, just the horse. No rider. 

Jorah found Rakharo’s head in the satchel and said that he had probably died at the hands of another Khalasar. Daenerys was heartbroken but had to stay strong to comfort Irri. She was devastated; even more so because she thought that Rakharo wouldn’t be able to enter the Night Lands due to the mutilation. 

Danny didn’t know how she would make it happen, but she promised Irri that she would give him a funeral and burn his body to make him whole again and allow him to enter the Dothraki land of the dead.

So far the only good thing to come from their wait was getting to eat the horse.

Days later, Kovarro rode back, exhausted and on the verge of fainting but he brought them good news. They had an invitation from Qarth, one of the richest cities in Essos and set their path there.

----

What was left of her Khalasar arrived at Qarth only two weeks later, but instead of opening the gates for them, the Ruling Council, known as The Thirteen, met her outside the gates, guarded by their soldiers and the gates firmly closed. Three walls surrounded the city, each taller than the previous one, which were said to make it impenetrable.

A representative that refused to give his name but introduced himself as a trader of spices demanded to see her dragons, but Danny was not an idiot. She knew they would try to take her children from her if she set them out of the cage, so she offered to show them once they were inside and fed after their long journey.

The offer was rejected and The Thirteen turned around walking to their gates. Only then, she snapped. “Thirteen! I am Daenerys Stormborn. I will reclaim what was taken from me and I will burn every city to the ground. Turn us away and we will burn you first.”

“How do you intend to do that if you die in the desert?” He said with a smile. “Qarth didn’t turn into the greatest city that ever was or will be by letting Dothraki savages within its gates. We wish you well.”

“Running away from a little girl is not representative of the greatest city that ever was or will be,” said the tallest man among The Thirteen.

“The Thirteen have spoken.”

“I am one of The Thirteen and I am still speaking. I Invoke Soumai,” he said, pulling a small sword from its holster and running it on the palm of his hand. “I will vouch for her, her people and her dragons in accordance with the law.” He then showed the blood dripping from his wound to the spice trader and to the rest of the council who nodded solemnly. 

The huff that the spice trader let out made Danny smile, she knew then that they were saved. “Be it on your head, Xaro Xhoan Daxos.”

“Welcome to Qarth, Mother of Dragons,” Xaro said with a bow.

The gates opened to reveal the most beautiful place Danny had ever seen. She walked inside, looking at the white stone buildings with gold accents, palm trees all around and colourful birds singing their songs. Ships came and went from its dock, bringing spices and foods and exotic fabrics from all over the world, enriching the qarthians and their culture. 

The place was, for the lack of a better word, a paradise.

Daenerys thanked Xaro profusely and followed him to his marvellous home where they were all able to clean up, change and eat enough to be full and even more. 

---

It was easy, a little too easy, to forget about her goals for a few days. To enjoy resting and living a quiet life, teaching her children to use their fire and be able to feed themselves.

“Dracarys,” she said and Drogon - the largest of her dragons - breathed the smallest amount of fire followed by a tiny cloud of smoke and cooked the piece of meat Danny had placed in front of him. She clapped and pressed a kiss to his snout, making him screech in delight. 

Rhaegal and Viserion watched intently but it took them a few extra days. It was alright, they would learn and help each other.

Doreah walked into her room and brought a selection of dresses Xaro had bought for her; they were truly beautiful, but she was hesitant to accept such expensive gifts from a man who had not yet stated his intentions. She knew well that he must want something in exchange for his kindness.

“I don’t want to give Xaro the wrong impression.”

“Wear them, Khaleesi. They are a gift.”

“The last man that bought me a dress sold me to Drogo,” she said.

“It is not right to take gifts from a man like that,” said Irri.

“He is our host, you can trust him,” Doreah added, her tone sharp as she looked at Irri.

“You don’t want to do things for gold Khaleesi, that is no good. Only whores do that.” Irri snapped, but quickly regretted her statement. She knew it was not right to bring Doreah’s past to prove a point, so instead she shook her head and said: “Wear them, Khaleesi. They are pretty and it would be rude not to accept the gift from your host.” She grabbed an apple and left the room.

That afternoon, Daenerys and her Khalasar decided to enjoy the market and everything it offered. Even if they didn’t have gold, the Qarthians were curious enough to offer them samples and show them their best products. Just like the city, the market had an array of different peculiar characters of different cultures; magic and beauty all around. A woman with her face covered with an intricate gold mask looked at her intently but didn’t approach her, choosing to speak to Jorah instead, but the Warlocks did. 

Perhaps it was only one of them, Danny couldn’t be sure since they all looked the same: greyish skin and purple lips with no hair. They played with illusion, appearing out of thin air in different places and disappearing again, marvelling the people around them who clapped in excitement. 

“Forgive them, Khaleesi. They drink ‘shade of the evening’ much too often; its hallucinogenic powers extend their life but also give their lips that distinctive purple shade. They are mere charlatans playing parlour tricks.”

“It is still quite impressive.”

“It is not real magic; not like your dragons,” Xaro said.

Daenerys smiled, not knowing what to say.

“We could form an alliance, you and me, Khaleesi.”

“What sort of alliance?”

“Come, there’s something I want to show you.”

--

Back in his house, Xaro Xhoan Daxos finally showed his true intentions.

“I am the richest man in Qarth, Khaleesi. If you accept to marry me, I will buy as many ships as you need and help you win The Iron Throne,” he said as he showed her the door of his vault. It was big - taller than Xaro himself. It appeared to be made out of solid gold and had many jewels encrusted. 

She blinked repeatedly and looked back at him. “I’ve had a husband already and I don’t intend on getting another.”

“Robert Baratheon is dead. His heir is rumoured to not be his son. This is the perfect opportunity to sail to Westeros. If you accept my proposal, I will give you half of my vault. This is where I keep all of my riches; there’s no way to open it other than with this key,” he said, showing her a long chain with a round pendant that looked like a small copy of the vault door. “Not even air can get inside.”

Danny shook her head. It was tempting, but she didn’t want to owe her success to a man. “I am Daenerys Stormborn, Mother of Dragons, a Khaleesi and a Targaryen by blood. I will not marry you in exchange for ships or any other riches.”

“My apologies, Khaleesi. I did not mean to offend you.”

“Good night,” she said and turned on her heels, walking in the direction of her chambers. 

Jorah was already waiting for her, wanting to know about their meeting and was not impressed by what he heard.

“Do you want to accept?”

“No, but it is a tempting offer. For now, I have declined.”

“You can’t accept, Khaleesi. You need to gain resources and an army another way, otherwise, he will own you forever.”

“I know, Jorah, but I’m tired. I’m tired of waiting, of failing my people. I made them a promise and the only thing I’ve brought them was death and misery,” Danny said, her eyes welling up with angry tears. 

He pulled her into a hug. “I want to see you on The Iron Throne because you have a good claim on it, but most importantly because you have a gentle heart. I know it, even if you try to hide it, I know your true nature, Daenerys.”

Danny stepped away from him and looked into his eyes. She frowned. She was so stupid, how did she miss the fact that her most trusted advisor was in love with her. “You love me,” she said and it was not a question. 

Jorah took a step back and looked down in shame but didn’t deny it.

She cleared her throat and crossed her arms. “What would you have me do - as my advisor?”

“Give me a few days. I can get you one ship.”

“One ship?”

“That is all you need for now. It will be enough to get you to Westeros and you find allies there. It may not be what you envisioned, but you will not owe anything to anyone.”

Letting out a deep sigh, Daenerys nodded. One ship. Perhaps it could work.

TYRION

There was a knock on the door. Tyrion opened it to find his whining idiot of a cousin, Lancel Lannister. “What do you want?”

“The Queen demands that you release Maester Pycelle from the dungeons immediately.”

“I will not. Why did she ask you to come here?”

“I - I don’t know. She trusts me.”

“Tell me, dear cousin. Does The King know that you spend so much time in his mother’s bedroom, especially after the Hour of The Wolf?”

Lancel’s eyes widened. 

“I would be happy to tell him that the reason you were knighted was that you helped her kill Robert, Ser Lancel. It would be interesting to see what he does with you.”

“No, please,” Lancel whined.

“I could reconsider it…”

“I will do anything. Anything at all!” He dropped to his knees.

“You will spy on Cersei. Tell me what she does and with whom, who she speaks with, and anything else I may ask you to enquire about.”

“Yes, I swear it! Please don’t tell The King.”

“Alright. I have a good heart and we have a deal. Now go and tell her I said no.”

---

His plan was incredibly useful when only days later his dearest cousin was able to tell him what Cersei was working on: Wildfire. Tyrion went to talk to the pyromancer that had been working under her orders for years and he was happy to show him the hundreds and hundreds of barrels he had so proudly produced. 

Perhaps…

PHIL

Phil tried to keep his mind on the important tactical discussions, but having Dan around was proving to be a distraction. He cursed himself for falling in love with the Stark boy. His grandmother would be disappointed if she knew, but he couldn’t help it. Dan was just… Dan. So sweet and beautiful - and kind too. 

He closed his eyes and tried to focus but the image of Dan moaning under him chased his every waking moment; he could hardly wait to get his hands on Dan again.

“Are you alright?” Loras asked, pulling Phil from his thoughts.

He blinked repeatedly and looked around the tent, most of the soldiers had already left, Renly was removing his armour in front of the mirror to rest for the day. Loras was looking at Phil with concern written all over his face.

“Yes, I was a little distracted. Perhaps I am just tired, sorry.”

Loras smiled and patted him on the shoulder. “Tired? From what? Would Dan have anything to do with it?”

“Of course not,” Phil said.

“No? And who was the one that bit you like that?” 

Phil’s hand went straight to the left side of his neck, instantly feeling a small twinge of pain that made him smile.

“Do you love him?” Loras asked, smiling widely.

“That - is private.”

“You know we have no secrets, little cousin. Tell me: was he good? Do you plan on seeing him again?”

“I don’t want to speak about Dan like that,” he frowned.

“So you do love him.” Loras' smile softened. “It’s alright to admit it; we don’t have to always do things to gain something.” He looked at Renly and sighed. “I’m glad that you have found someone that you want to share your life with as I have. This war… is unfortunate but necessary. In the end, I hope that it was all worth it.

Phil grabbed Loras’ arm and led him to the deepest part of the tent where they wouldn’t be overheard. “Do you really want to share the rest of your life with Renly?”

“Yes, of course I do. This marriage is convenient for both families but that doesn’t negate what we have. There is no shame in falling in love, make sure you let Dan know. With matters as they are, any day could be our last. That’s why I make sure to repeat it every night before we fall asleep. ”

That was the moment Phil knew he was making the right choice. He knew that Dan and he were different. What they had was important, but they knew it could be gone in the blink of an eye. As a bastard, he had spent the majority of his childhood in Essos, not knowing why his family had sent him there, nor why he was eventually allowed to come back. He saw every day as borrowed time, especially with how many times the people assigned to care for him went missing or simply died. He thumbed the ring on his finger and looked at the lilac stone in the centre. He remembered it like it was yesterday.

The beautiful woman had pulled her red hood back and looked into his eyes. “Look at me, Philip. I will give you two gifts today but you must promise to listen to me very carefully.” 

Phil had nodded eagerly, his black hair so long it covered his eyes.

She’d placed the chain around his neck, it had a beautiful ring hanging from it, just a bit too big for him. “This will keep you safe. The people searching for you will not recognise you as long as you wear it. You are to never take it off until it’s time.”

“H-How will I know when it’s time?” He’d asked, looking at the pretty stone.

“You will know,” she’d smiled. “And this… this is very special.” She showed him a long chain with a golden rose pendant. “There will come a time when you will be able to save someone’s life and that will change the entire world, just like a butterfly batting its wings, it will cause the end of a War and the beginning of the Real War.”

“Who should I save?”

“Love will guide you to the truth.”

“Thank you, Lady…”

“You may call me Kinvara,” she’d said with a sweet smile. If Phil hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he would’ve never believed she had set the man attacking him on fire. “Now, let’s get you home. Your family misses you dearly.”

“Why haven’t they come to get me then?” he’d asked, holding onto her hand as she led him through the streets.

“Because they wanted you to be safe - and now you are.” 

 He blinked, his mind returning to the present. “I will, thank you, cousin.”

“Of course,” Loras said. “I’ll speak to Margaery and be back shortly, will you wait for me?”

“No, I think I would like to go for a walk.”

“Then I’ll see you for breakfast.” 

Phil nodded and watched Loras exit the tent, Brienne of Tarth being the only person keeping guard inside. “My Lady, would you please let me speak to the King in private?”

She let out a huff at being called a Lady and eyed him suspiciously but looked at Renly for approval. “Your Grace?”

“Yes, Brienne, you may wait outside. Phil is family, we can trust him.”

She nodded and stepped outside, but Phil knew she was still within earshot. He motioned Renly to one of the sofas and once they took a seat, he asked: “What do you think about Stannis’ red priestess?”

“I think that whatever she’s doing to my brother is working for her, she has him wrapped around her finger. Do you know why I asked about his Hand?”

Phil shook his head.

“I received news from Dragonstone saying that Stannis burned him at the stake along with many others as a sacrifice. This… faith of them is vile.”

“Not all Red Women are like her. I met one when I lived in Essos. She saved my life and whatever she did to me has kept me safe ever since. All attempts on my life have stopped.”

Renly looked at him curiously. “What did she do?”

“She gave me this ring.” He said, showing Renly his left hand. “At the time I was too young and had to wear it on a chain around my neck, but now it fits perfectly. And she gave me something else as well. She - Kinvara was her name - she said it would save a life and change the course of a war. Well - she said it would end one war and the real one would begin. The real war, she called it.”

“What did she give you?”

He reached into his pocket and pulled the pendant out. “This. I would like to give it to you.”

Renly frowned. “Why not Loras?”

“Because you are in far more danger. That woman - she will do something. So please, wear this, fight fire with fire.”

“I’m not sure I believe in this.”

“You don’t have to believe, just wear it.”

Renly eyed the pendant hesitantly before letting out a deep sigh. “Alright, Phil. I will. Thank you,” Renly said, inclining his head to let Phil put the chain around his neck.

“Thank you for trusting me.”

“Of course.”

---

He returned to his tent and found Dan already waiting for him in his bed, completely naked. Phil rushed to his side and kissed him. “I’ve missed you,” he said before kissing him again.

Dan pulled him onto the bed, trying to remove his clothes as fast as possible. “Phil,” he whined.

“Shhh. Let’s take our time.” Phil whispered against his lips, as he removed his shirt and breeches, kicking off his boots. He couldn’t help but smile when he saw his ring shining on Dan’s finger. “You wear it.” He laid beside Dan and ran his fingers on his chest.

“Of course I do. I haven’t taken it off since you gave it to me.”

Phil closed his eyes and let out a soft sigh. “That makes me incredibly happy, please never do. I want to know that a part of me is always with you.”

“Phil, you are scaring me,” Dan cupped his cheek. “Promise me that you won’t die.” 

“Never,” he said, kissing Dan’s hand. “We will grow old together, live many winters and many summers together.”

“Always together?”

“Always.” Phil agreed. 

Dan straddled him, looking into his eyes with a soft smile. He was so beautiful it almost hurt to look at him. “Dan - I love you.”

His smile widened. Leaning down, Dan bit Phil’s lip and mumbled “I love you too” into the kiss. He rolled his hips ever so slowly as Phil ran his hands up and down his back and pulled him even closer, moaning at the tortuous but exquisite feeling of their bodies sliding together.

“Take me,” Dan moaned.

“But -”

“I’m ready.”

Phil pulled him into another kiss as his hand made its way to Dan’s backside and slipped a finger into him with ease. The thought of Dan touching himself in his bed while Phil was gone was driving him crazy, he wished he could have arrived earlier to catch him in the act. 

"Phil!" He whined, causing Phil to laugh. "Don't laugh. Get on with it."

"Demanding," Phil said, giving him a little spank. "Go on then, if you are so eager, you do it."

Dan bit his lip, looking less sure of himself. "With me on top?"

Phil nodded and patted the side of his hip. "Up."

Frowning, Dan kneeled, allowing Phil to grab his cock and press the tip to his entrance. Letting out a calming breath, Dan lowered himself onto Phil, moaning loudly and throwing his head back in a display of pleasure as he went as low as he could. 

Phil gasped, gripping Dan's hips tightly, keeping him in place until he could compose himself. "Dan…" he said, unable to express his feelings properly.

Still, Dan nodded in agreement and started moving hesitantly, rolling his hips, trying different things and finally settling on pressing his hands to Phil's chest and riding him. Starting slow at first but getting confident with each passing minute until the tent was filled with the sound of skin slapping against skin and their moans. 

"Yesss," Phil hissed when Dan shifted the angle slightly. "Keep doing that."

Dan smirked. "Do you like it?"

"Yes!" Phil moaned when Dan gave him a smug grin. As the pressure started to build within him, he could no longer stay still and let his instincts take over, meeting Dan thrust for thrust, until he saw his love spill all over his chest and following shortly after. 

Letting out an exhausted sigh, Dan laid down on Phil’s chest. “Was I good?”

He pressed a kiss to Dan’s forehead. “You were amazing, my love.”

A little laugh escaped Dan. 

“What?”

“I just can’t believe we are finally together, that this is real.” He laced their fingers together.

“It is real, and I am so incredibly happy.”

Dan lifted his head and looked into his eyes, all remnants of a smile now replaced by a frown. “You must remember that you promised you would survive.”

“I will keep my promise as long as you keep yours.”

He nodded and pressed a quick kiss to Phil’s lips. “I promise. Even If everything else fails, we will get our happy ending.”

Phil let out a deep sigh. “I hope time flies until we meet again.”

“It won’t but we can still dream of each other.”

--

The following morning Phil woke up to find Dan gone and the sheets next to him cold. He knew it didn’t mean anything but he still missed Dan.

Phil dressed in fresh clothes and took a good look in the mirror before going in search of his family. He first saw Margaery, smiling at a man he recognised from King’s Landing. She was giving him all her attention, shy looks, soft smiles and even touching his arm. There was no doubt that she was already getting acquainted with him. He took a turn to avoid them and made his way to the main tent.

Renly sat at the planning table, Brienne of Tarth close at his side, as he discussed the alliance with the Starks. 

“I can only pledge twenty thousand men. I need the rest to defeat my brother in battle. Once both the Lannisters and Stannis have been defeated, House Baratheon will restore Robb as the Warden of the North, aid in any remaining conflicts and bring peace to the seven kingdoms.”

“Robb is the King in the North,” Dan said, shooting Phil a covert smile.

“The North’s independence can be arranged after everything is settled. I am not against it but we have more urgent matters to discuss.”

Catelyn nodded. “I am not sure twenty thousand will be enough, Your Grace.”

“Lady Stark, twenty thousand is all I can pledge. You will have to make a decision today and let me know.”

“A-” She started but Dan interrupted.

“We will have the answer by dinner time. Thank you, Your Grace.”

---

That very night, as the sun set over the sea, Dan and his mother entered the main tent to give Renly their final response. He was already waiting for them, sitting at the big table, Phil at his side and Brienne keeping guard as usual, but no one else would witness their conversation.

“Well, what have you agreed upon? Will you support my claim?”

“Yes, Your Grace. We have decided to accept your kind offer of twenty thousand men and the promise to discuss the independence of The North once you have taken the throne and our common enemies are defeated in exchange for the loyalty of House Stark.”

Renly clapped once and smiled widely, “I couldn’t be happier to form this alliance with you. I will give the command to get the men ready for the trip at once. Phil, please let Commander Redwyne know. Give them our best men.” He wrote a message on a piece of parchment and handed it to him. 

“Of course,” he said and went in search of the man in question. It didn’t take long, and he was happy to see movement in Renly’s camp already. They would be ready to leave by dawn. It was a bittersweet moment; come morning, the alliance between the Tyrells, Baratheons and Stark would solidify, but that would effectively keep Dan away from him. 

He made his way back to the main tent, hoping to catch him there and smiled when he saw Dan waiting outside. 

“Hello,” he said.

“Hello,” Dan repeated with a sad smile. “It seems that our time together has come to an end.”

“Yes…” Phil was suddenly at a loss for words, he wanted to ask Dan to stay, but he knew that would not be possible. He couldn’t bring himself to leave his family either. There really was no other way - they would have to wait.

A sudden gust of wind entered the Stormlands from the sea, becoming more and more violent with every passing moment. Phil hugged Dan, covering their faces. “We should go inside,” he yelled and saw Dan nodding.

Renly stood in front of the mirror removing his armour already when Catelyn Stark yelled. 

“Renly!” Lady Stark yelled.

Focusing his eyes on the mirror Renly’s expression switched to one of sheer horror and turned around so suddenly Phil could barely take a step towards him before it happened. A tall dark figure made out of smoke or - utter darkness - that looked just like Stannis lifted a knife, almost a mere extension of itself, and struck Renly on the heart - or it would have if the golden pendant hadn’t been on its path.

A burst of light shone out of the golden rose casting the creature away, making it disappear with a howling screech and then there was silence; a deafening silence was all that Phil could perceive. Everyone moved their lips, but no sound was coming from them. He rushed to Renly’s side as he fainted in Brienne’s arms. 

“Phil! Phil! Is he alive?” he heard Dan say through the ring in his ears. 

Phil pressed his fingers to Renly’s neck and felt his pulse, strong as ever. “We need to sneak him out of here.”

--

As they made their way out with Renly wrapped in Brienne’s rainbow cloak, they noticed most of the soldiers had taken refuge in their own tents, the wind blowing softly. They reached the Starks’ tent and placed him on Dan’s bed carefully.

“What was that?” Brienne asked, her eyes welled with unshed tears.

“Whatever it was, the Red Woman sent it. I am sure of it,” Phil said looking at Renly.

“Should I search for Loras?” Dan asked. 

“No, not yet,” Lady Stark said. “There was an attempt on Renly’s life, we must proceed with caution.”

Phil shut his eyes tightly already dreading what was ahead. “You should take him,” he said.

“What?” Dan asked. 

“Stannis should believe that Renly is dead. This could change the course of the war.”

“Loras,” Renly mumbled. 

“Your Grace!” Brienne said, her voice shaking and the tears finally rolling down her cheeks. She kneeled at his side. “Open your eyes, please.”

Phil pressed the palm of his hand to Renly’s forehead and saw him blink repeatedly before his eyes focused on him. “How are you feeling?”

“As if some sort of demon almost took my soul,” he mumbled.

“Did you hear what I said?”

“No…”

“I want you to leave with Lady Stark, Dan and Brienne. No one must know that you survived.” 

“But Loras -”

“It will be the hardest thing I ever do, but he mustn’t know. If he did, he would follow you wherever you went and you’d be easily identified. But if he goes on with his life, nobody will question your death and you will be safe until the right time comes. You would not survive another attack from the red woman.”

“Phil, I can’t-”

“With you gone, the others will kill each other and leave the Throne ready for the taking without bloodshed. If you stay you will both die. Trust him to carry on what you wanted to achieve, never doubt him. One day you will see him again.”

“This could be your smartest move yet,” Lady Stark said.

“Nobody must know,” Phil said. “Swear it, My Lady, not even Robb.”

“Of course, I swear it,” she said.

“You have my word. I will take the secret to my grave,” Dan said.

“You have more than one promise to keep, Stark,” Phil said with a sad smile. 

“I will keep all of my promises,” he said, placing his hand on Phil’s.

“There won’t be a body…” Renly whispered, his eyes looking into the distance.

“The ground you were standing on was charred and your armour is laying right beside it,” Dan said.

“That won’t be enough, but I could cut my hand and get blood on his clothes and armour, burn them partially as well,” Brienne added.

“We can’t stay here for long,” Phil added. “I will see the rest of you out and return to tell Loras the news. Brienne will catch up to you.”

“Where, My Lord?” Brienne asked.

“The Bawdy Badger. It’s past the King’s Woods to the west. At Tumbleton, just by the Mander.”

She seemed unsure but nodded.

“That is a good plan. We will wait for you there, Brienne. You must aid me in this task and return to us safely, that is an order.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

She looked away as Renly removed all of his clothes and slipped into some of Dan’s more casual breeches, taking one of his cloaks as well. “Take this, and place it in the pile,” Renly said, giving her the now charred pendant, the indent of a knife clearly present in the centre of it.

“It left a mark,” Dan observed, pointing to Renly’s chest where the outline of the pendant was burned into his skin.

Phil gave him an unimpressed look but nodded. “That will help us identify you when we cross paths again.”

Renly let out a deep sigh. “Please, take care of Loras. Don’t leave him alone. I am trusting you with my life and his.”

“Of course.”

---

They made it into the King’s Wood in only two hours, but there was still a long time ahead. “I should return and make sure everything went according to plan,” Phil said.

“Thank you, Phil. I won’t forget this,” Renly said.

Phil pulled him into a tight hug. “Be strong, Renly.”

When he stepped away, he looked at Dan, who seemed to be holding tears back.

“We will give you a moment,” Lady Stark said.

Phil bowed before her and placed a kiss on her hand. “Thank you, My Lady. It was a pleasure to meet you.”

“You are a good man, Philip. I hope that you remain one when it’s time to make difficult decisions.”

“I will.” 

Dan frowned but didn’t reply to her comment. He merely guided Phil away, taking shelter under one of the oldest trees in the forest. “Phil -” 

“I love you,” he said, kissing him deeply. “I love you so much.”

Dan wrapped his arms around him, frowning, kissing him over and over; his tears trapped between their lips. 

Phil broke the kiss and pressed their foreheads together. “I love you,” he panted. “I will see you again, even if it’s the last thing I ever do.”

“Yes, don’t forget me.”

“Never.” Phil swallowed thick and cleared his throat. “I should leave.”

“I know,” Dan pressed one last kiss to Phil’s lips, lingering for a moment. “Don’t forget to open Balerion’s cage and give this note to our soldiers before Renly’s death is discovered.”

“Will Balerion find you?”

“Yes. I believe so, but if he doesn’t, he will survive in the King’s Wood.”

Phil nodded. Dan parted his lips to say something, but he shook his head. “I’ll never be ready to let you go. I’ll see you soon, Philip Flowers.”

“It can never be too soon. Until fate brings us together again, be safe, Daniel Stark.”

--

As soon as Phil returned to the camp he approached the Stark soldiers and gave them the note, letting them know that they should leave at once. He opened the lock on Balerion’s cage and hugged him tightly. He seemed to know that something was amiss. “Go, find Dan.”

Balerion whined and licked Phil’s face. 

“Go, find him. Keep him safe.” He pushed Balerion in the general direction of the woods. The wolf sniffed the air and whined, jumping into a sprint and losing himself between the trees.

Then, he made his way to the main tent and found everything ready. He kneeled and touched the bloody clothes, the armour, now pierced and the pendant, all laying in a pile of ashes and charred clothes. 

“Phil?” Loras said, rushing to him. “Where is Renly, I -” All colour left his face when he saw what Phil had been looking at. “What-”

“It was Stannis. I was here, he-” Phil paused, watching as Loras' entire body started to shake.

“Where is he?!” Loras yelled, tears streaming down his face.

“He’s gone,” Phil said, his voice barely above a whisper.

Loras slapped him so hard Phil could feel his ear ringing. “You’re lying!”

“I’m not, Loras,” Phil’s eyes welled up with tears. He knew he was breaking his cousin’s heart but it was necessary. He would make it his mission to help Loras reunite with Renly and earn his forgiveness. “There was this creature, like a shadow or- a demon, I’m not sure, but he looked just like Stannis. It stabbed Renly in the heart, and then there were flames. That’s all I remember.”

“If it was Stannis, where are the Starks? Where is Brienne of Tarth?” Loras demanded.

“They left, terrified of what they saw, I’m sure. The alliance was sealed but without Renly they could only return to Robb as soon as possible.”

“If you were unconscious how could you possibly know that they left and why?”

“I searched for them. They left, Loras, why would they stay behind? It is not every day that one sees someone burn down to ashes!”

Loras tried to slap him again but Phil caught his hand and kissed it. 

“Please,” Phil said, pulling him into a hug. “I swear, that is the truth.” He felt sick to his stomach the moment those words left his lips, but it was the only way.

“You’re lying,” Loras cried, holding onto him for dear life. Then he let out a piercing scream loaded with so much grief and anger that it made Phil shudder.

“I’m sorry, Loras. I am so sorry,” he cried along with his cousin and said a silent prayer, hoping that he was doing the right thing; that everything would work in the end.

Before long, people had gathered around the main tent and the news spread like fire, some of the soldiers left immediately, some remained, not knowing what to do.

[asfaltics]

A brown moth fluttered.

  The curtain was down, and the carpenters were rearranging the “No, no, no! I can’t breathe       1       volatile I can’t breathe.” And such a fit of suffocating       2   “I can’t breathe,” she would sometimes say       3 and the minisnever! I can’t breathe it in fast enough, nor hard enough, nor long enough.”       4   and started up up. to return to the tent, only to check him No, I can’t breathe the same air self in the act as often as he started, with ye to-night, but ye’ll go into the he lost consciousness in uneasy dreams       5 meet me at the station. I can’t breathe in this wretched       6   “sickening down there — I can’t breathe!  I can’t stand it, Drewe! It’s killing me!” — Tears       7 struggling to altitudes that I can’t breathe in.  I could help him when he was in despair, but he is the sort who       8   sometimes I find I can’t breathe in it.  Perhaps some folks will say “so much the worse for you”       9 it seems if I can’t breathe in the house. not dared hope       10   “Well, I won’t wear ’em. I can’t breathe” “Sure! Blame ’em!” “I can’t breathe a square breath.” Oh       11 things I regret I can’t breathe.       12   bramble bush. I can’t breathe. I can’t eat. I can’t do anything much. It’s clear to my knees.       13 I can't breathe, I can't talk,       14   lying on its “I can’t stay here I can’t breathe” side, the cork half-loosened. A brown moth fluttered.       15 “I can’t breathe beside you.”       16   the needs of any reasonable young lady. “I can't breathe there,       17 I can’t breathe — I really need the rush of this wintry air to restore me!”       18   I can’t breathe no more in that coop upstairs . tablet ; two he said is what you need.” of flame shoots through a stream of oil       19 no friction. It’s friction—rub- / asthmatically.] “I can’t breathe deep — I can light and of reason. But I’ve a notion       20   out of it. I can’t breathe in the dark. I can’t. I / She withdrew       21 “I can’t breathe or feel in”       22   Up a flight of stairs, and there was the girl, sitting on the edge of an untidy bed. The yellow sweater was on the floor. She had on an underskirt and a pink satin camisole. “I can't breathe !” she gasped.       23 I can’t breathe in the dark! I can’t! I can’t! I can’t live in the dark with my eyes open!       24   One never gets it back! How could one! And I can’t breathe just now, on account of       25 that old stuff, I could shriek. I can’t breathe in the same room with you. The very sound of       26   don’t! I can’t — breathe.... I’m all — and bitter howling.       27  

sources (pre-1923; approximately 90 in all, from which these 27 passages, all by women)

1 ex “Her Last Appearance,” in Peters’ Musical Monthly, And United States Musical Review 3:2 (New-York, February 1869), “from Belgravia” : 49-52 (51) “Her Last Appearance” appeared later, “by the author of Lady Audley’s Secret” (M.E. Braddon, 1835-1915 *), in Belgravia Annual (vol. 31; Christmas 1876) : 61-73 2 snippet view ex The Lady’s Friend (1873) : 15 evidently Frances Hodgson Burnett (1849-1924 *) her Vagabondia : A Love Story (New York, 1891) : 286 (Boston, 1884) : 286 (hathitrust) 3 ex “The Story of Valentine; and his Brother.” Part VI. Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine vol. 115 (June 1874) : 713-735 (715) authored by Mrs. [Margaret] Oliphant (1828-97 *), see her The Story of Valentine (1875; Stereotype edition, Edinburgh and London, 1876) : 144 4 OCR confusions at Olive A. Wadsworth, “Little Pilkins,” in Sunday Afternoon : A Monthly Magazine for the Household vol. 2 (July-December 1878) : 73-81 (74) OAW “Only A Woman” was a pseudonym of Katharine Floyd Dana (1835-1886), see spoonercentral. Katharine Floyd Dana also authored Our Phil and Other Stories (Boston and New York, 1889) : here, about which, a passage from a bookseller's description — Posthumously published fictional sketches of “negro character,” first published in the Atlantic Monthly under the pseudonym Olive A. Wadsworth. The title story paints a picture of plantation life Dana experienced growing up on her family’s estate in Mastic, Long Island. Although a work of fiction set in Maryland, the character of Phil may of been named for a slave once jointly owned by the Floyds and a neighboring family. source see also the William Buck and Katherine Floyd Dana collection, 1666-1912, 1843-1910, New York State Historical Documents (researchworks). 5 OCR cross-column misread, at M(ary). H(artwell). Catherwood (1847-1902 *), “The Primitive Couple,” in Lippincott’s Magazine of Popular Literature and Science 36 (August 1885) : 138-146 (145) author of historical romances, short stories and poetry, and dubbed the “Parkman of the West,” her papers are at the Newberry Library (Chicago) 6 ex Marie Corelli (Mary Mackay; 1855-1924 *), Thelma, A Norwegian Princess: A Novel, Book II. The Land of Mockery. Chapter 12 (New Edition, London, 1888) : 432 7 preview snippet (only), at Ada Cambridge (1844-1926 *), Fidelis, a Novel ( “Cheap Edition for the Colonies and India,” 1895) : 289 full scan, (New York, 1895) : 261 born and raised in England, spent much of her life in Australia (died in Melbourne); see biography (and 119 of her poems) at the Australia Poetry Library in particular, the striking poems from Unspoken Thoughts (1887) here (Thomas Hardy comes to mind) 8 snippet view (only) at F(rances). F(rederica), Montrésor (1862-1934), At the Cross-Roads (London, 1897) : 297 but same page (and scan of entirety) at hathitrust see her entry At the Circulating Library (Database of Victorian Fiction 1837-1901) an interesting family. Montrésor’s The Alien: A Story of Middle Age (1901) is dedicated to her sister, C(harlotte). A(nnetta). Phelips (1858-1925), who was devoted to work for the blind. See entry in The Beacon, A Monthly magazine devoted to the interests of the blind (May 1925) a great-granddaughter of John Montresor (1737-99), a British military engineer and cartographer, whose colorful (and unconventional) life is sketched at wikipedia. 9 Alice H. Putnam, “An Open Letter,” in Kindergarten Review 9:5 (Springfield, Massachusetts; January 1899) : 325-326 Alice Putnam (1841-1919) opened the first private kindergarten in Chicago; Froebel principles... (wikipedia); see also “In Memory of Alice H. Putnam” in The Kindergarten-primary Magazine 31:7 (March 1919) : 187 (hathitrust) 10 OCR cross-column misread, at Mabel Nelson Thurston (1869?-1965?), “The Palmer Name,” in The Congregationalist and Christian World 86:30 (27 July 1901) : 134-135 author of religiously inflected books (seven titles at LC); first female admitted for entry at George Washington University (in 1888). GWU archives 11 OCR cross-column misread, at Margaret Grant, “The Romance of Kit Dunlop,” Beauty and Health : Woman’s Physical Development 7:6 (March 1904): 494-501 (499 and 500) the episodic story starts at 6:8 (November 1903) : 342 12 ex Marie van Vorst (1867-1936), “Amanda of the Mill,” The Bookman : An illustrated magazine of literature and life 21 (April 1905) : 190-209 (191) “writer, researcher, painter, and volunteer nurse during World War I.” wikipedia 13 ex Maude Morrison Huey, “A Change of Heart,” in The Interior (The sword of the spirit which is the Word of God) 36 (Chicago, April 20, 1905) : 482-484 (483) little information on Huey, who is however mentioned in Paula Bernat Bennett, her Poets in the Public Sphere : The Emancipatory Project of American Women's Poetry, 1800-1900 (2003) : 190 14 ex Leila Burton Wells, “The Lesser Stain,” The Smart Set, A Magazine of Cleverness 19:3 (July 1906) : 145-154 (150) aside — set in the Philippines, where “The natives were silent, stolid, and uncompromising.” little information on Wells, some of whose stories found their way to the movie screen (see IMDB) The Smart Set ran from March 1900-June 1930; interesting story (and decline): wikipedia 15 OCR cross-column misread, at Josephine Daskam Bacon (1876-1961 *), “The Hut in the Wood: A Tale of the Bee Woman and the Artist,” in Collier’s, The National Weekly 41:12 (Saturday, June 13, 1908) : 12-14 16 ex E. H. Young, A Corn of Wheat (1910) : 90 Emily Hilda Daniell (1880-1949), novelist, children’s writer, mountaineer, suffragist... wrote under the pseudonym E. H. Young. (wikipedia) 17 ex Mary Heaton Vorse (1874-1966), “The Engagements of Jane,” in Woman’s Home Companion (May 1912) : 17-18, 92-93 Illustrated by Florence Scovel Shinn (1871-1940, artist and book illustrator who became a New Thought spiritual teacher and metaphysical writer in her middle years. (wikipedia)) Mary Heaton Vorse — journalist, labor activist, social critic, and novelist. “She was outspoken and active in peace and social justice causes, such as women's suffrage, civil rights, pacifism (such as opposition to World War I), socialism, child labor, infant mortality, labor disputes, and affordable housing.” (wikipedia). 18 ex snippet view, at “Voices,” by Runa, translated for the Companion by W. W. K., in Lutheran Companion 20:3 (Rock Island, Illinois; Saturday, January 20, 1912) : 8 full view at hathitrust same passage in separate publication as Voices, By Runa (pseud. of E. M. Beskow), from the Swedish by A. W. Kjellstrand (Rock Island, Illinois, 1912) : 292 E(lsa). M(aartman). Beskow (1874-1953), Swedish author and illustrator of children’s books (Voices seems rather for older children); see wikipedia 19 ex Fannie Hurst (1885-1968 *), “The Good Provider,” in The Saturday Evening Post 187:1 (August 15, 1914) : 12-16, 34-35 20 OCR cross-column misread, at Anne O’Hagan, “Gospels of Hope for Women: A few new creeds, all of them modish—but expensive” in Vanity Fair (February 1915) : 32 Anne O’Hagan Shinn (1869-1933) — feminist, suffragist, journalist, and writer of short stories... “known for her writings detailing the exploitation of young women working as shop clerks in early 20th Century America... O’Hagan participated in several collaborative fiction projects...” (wikipedia) a mention of St. Anselm, whose “sittings” are free, vis-à-vis “Swami Bunkohkahnanda”... “Universal Harmonic Vibrations”... 21 OCR cross-column misread (three columns), at Fannie Hurst (1885-1968 *), “White Goods” (Illustrations by May Wilson Preston) in Metropolitan Magazine 42:3 (July 1915) : 19-22, 53 repeated, different source and without OCR misread, at 24 below 22 ex Mary Patricia Willcocks, The Sleeping Partner (London, 1919) : 47 (snippet only) full at hathitrust see onlinebooks for this and other of her titles. something on Mary Patricia Willcocks (1869-1952) at ivybridge-heritage. in its tone and syntax, her prose brings Iris Murdoch to mind. 23 Katharine Wendell Pedersen, “Clingstones, A week in a California cannery.” in New Outlook vol. 124 (February 4, 1920) : 193-194 no information about the author. the journal began life as The Christian Union (1870-1893) and continued under the new title into 1928; it ceased publication in 1935; it was devoted to social and political issues, and was against Bolshevism (wikipedia) 24 ex Fannie Hurst (1885-1968 *), “White Goods,” in her Humoresque : A Laugh on Life with a Tear Behind it (1919, 1920) : 126-169 (155) 25 ex snippet view, at Letters and poems of Queen Elisabeth (Carmen Sylva), with an introduction and notes by Henry Howard Harper. Volume 2 (of 2; Boston, Printed for members only, The Bibliophile society, 1920) : 51 (hathitrust) Carmen Sylva was “the pen name of Elisabeth, queen consort of Charles I, king of Rumania” (1843-1916 *) 26 OCR cross-column misread, at Ruth Comfort Mitchell, “Corduroy” (Part Three; Illustrated by Frederick Anderson), in Woman’s Home Companion 49:8 (August 1922) : 21-23, 96-97 (hathitrust) Ruth Comfort Mitchell Young (1882-1954), poet, dramatist, etc., and owner of a remarkable house (in a “Chinese” style) in Los Gatos, California (wikipedia) 27 Helen Otis, “The Christmas Waits,” in Woman’s Home Companion 49:12 (Christmas 1922) : 36 probably Helen Otis Lamont (1897-1993), about whom little is found, save this “Alumna Interview: Helen Otis Lamont, Class of 1916” (Packer Collegiate Institute, Brooklyn, 1988) at archive.org (Brooklyn Historical Society)

—

prompted by : recent thoughts about respiration (marshes, etc.); Pfizer round-one recovery focus on the shape of one breath, then another; inhalation, exhalation and the pleasure of breathing; and for whom last breaths are no pleasure (far from it); last breaths (Robert Seelthaler The Field (2021) in the background).

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all tagged breath all tagged cento  

[doomedhowell]

Together, We Will Rule [PBB]

Summary: Phil is the prince and soon to be future king, and hasn’t found his soulmate yet. Everybody in the kingdom is on edge waiting to know who will be the future princess. But, plot twist, his soulmate happens to be Dan (aka a boy, and not a princess), and everybody is shocked because being gay isn’t accepted with most people in the kingdom. But, it’s not Phil’s fault his soulmate turned out to be a boy, so things have to change whether the kingdom likes it or not. He and everyone else in the kingdom have to get used to this new idea of there being two kings rather than a king and a queen.

Word Count: 12,584

Trigger Warnings: abuse, slight internalized homophobia, homophobic slurs, minor character death, mpreg, injuries/slight violence

ART LINK: x Thanks to much to @blockdedibujo for creating this beautiful art piece! (will link to art post when they’ve posted)

BETA: Thank you so much to the lovely @phandomhaven for beta’ing my fic for me!

[AO3 LINK]

Any day now, Prince Philip Lester would be finding out who his soulmate was. It’s the only thing around the kingdom people were talking about. They couldn’t wait to meet their new princess, and future queen.

Phil, however, is an absolute nervous wreck. He has no idea who the future queen is going to be. He’s already panicking about being the future king and worrying about failing or not.

What if he and the queen don’t get along?

What if the queen is absolutely horrible and everyone in the kingdom hates her?

There were so many worries and questions swirling around in Phil’s brain. He could hardly sleep.

It doesn’t take long before The King starts noticing Phil’s behavior. He can see how nervous Phil is, and wants to assure Phil that he has absolutely nothing to be worried of. He already knows no matter what, that Phil is going to make a great future king, and he’s going to have a great queen.

“Philip?”

Phil looks over at the sound of his father’s voice, and smiles. “Oh, hey Dad…”

“You’ve been in your room all day. Your mother is worried about you…”

Phil chuckles. “She doesn’t need to be worried,” he says, sighing as he looks out the window. “I’m just… hiding. I guess. Every time I go out, people ask about my soulmate. I never know what to say to them.”

“You’re worried, aren’t you?” The King asks as he walks over to Phil. “You shouldn’t be.”

Phil blinks a few times as he looks up at his dad curiously. “Why not?” He asks. “This is my soulmate we’re talking about here, someone that I’m meant to spend the rest of my life with.”

“Exactly. Your soulmate. You wouldn’t be paired with someone you don’t get along with,” he says.

Phil sighs. “I don’t know. I’m just feeling really stressed right now,” he mumbles. “It’s a lot of pressure.”

“Well, I’m sure sitting in your room all day isn’t helping. Why don’t you come out for a bit?”

“Fine, but I’m not going out to the kingdom. I don’t want to answer the same questions,” Phil says before standing up. “I mean no offense. I love the people. Just… not right now.”

The King chuckles. “As long as you’re out of your room so your mother will stop bothering me,”

Phil nods. “I’m gonna see what Louise is up to,” he says before walking out of his room. He walks around the castle for a little bit before finally finding Louise in the library, where she’s cleaning around. “Hey Lou!”

Louise looks over and smiles when she sees Phil. “If it isn’t the talk of the town,” she says, grinning.

“Ugh. Don’t even get me started,” Phil groans. “I can’t leave without anyone walking up to me!”

“Well, it is a big deal, considering you’re going to be the future king and this soulmate of yours will be the future queen. People are curious. You can’t blame them really,” Louise says, placing a book on the shelf. She turns and looks over at Phil. “How are you feeling? This must be nerve wracking for you.”

“You have no idea. I can’t stop staring at this freaking clock on my arm. I only have to wait two days before I finally find out who my soulmate is. I just wish there wasn’t so much pressure on me,” Phil sighs.

“I know, and I’m sure things are really stressful for you right now, but everything will work out,” Louise says before flashing a grin to Phil. “And, I know you’re going to make a great king.”

“Thanks,” Phil smiles. “You always know what to say when I’m stressed.”

“It’s a gift,” Louise replies with a shrug, before laughing. “I’m just kidding. You’re my best friend! So then, how much longer until you find out who your soulmate is? If you don’t mind me asking.”

Phil looks down at his wrist and sighs as the numbers counting down. “Sixteen hours. I’ll know tomorrow,”

“That’s exciting,” Louise smiles. “I mean, I’m sure you’re stressed. But, it’s still very exciting.”

Phil rolls his eyes playfully. “Are you busy right now?” He asks, looking over at Louise.

“I’m just cleaning. Better to clean than do nothing,” Louise tells him. “Why? Are you?”

“No. I’m just bored and Dad wanted me to do something other than being locked in my room, but I don’t want to go to the kingdom because people will just ask about my soulmate,” Phil says.

“You could always help me clean,” Louise offers, gently waving the book in her hands.

Phil chuckles. “I’m a prince, princes don’t clean,” he says, before he and Louise burst into laughter. “Yeah, okay. I’ll help you clean. It’s better than doing nothing I suppose.”

“Wow. That makes me feel great,” Louise says jokingly.

“Come on, shut up. You know I love spending time with you even if it does include cleaning,” Phil says, walking over to her and gently nudging her. “Now, tell me what to do.”

After spending a few hours with Louise, the two decide to head up to the kitchen for something to eat.

It’s nice for Phil to have something to distract him from finding out who his soulmate is for a little while. Although, it’s constantly in the back of his mind and he’s trying his best not to glance down at his wrist, still, it’s just nice to keep himself distracted by hanging out with Louise.

“Let me know if you need a cleaning buddy again,” Phil jokes before he and Louise part ways. He sighs, before turning and heading up to his bedroom. He gets himself ready for bed, before climbing into bed.

Tomorrow is finally the day he will find out who his soulmate is. He’ll wake up with a name on his wrist, and the wait will be over. Even though he is nervous, he can’t help but feel the excitement too.

When Phil wakes up the next morning, he instantly sits up in bed, and his heart starts pounding against his chest the second he realizes that the name of his soulmate is on his wrist.

Phil takes a deep breath as he closes his eyes, and glances down at his wrist, before slowly turning his wrist over. He curses out loud when he sees that there’s still two hours left on his wrist.

“God, dammit!” Phil shouts angrily, hitting his bed. He could just fall back asleep if he wants to, but now he’s too awake to do that. He’s going to have to wait two more agonizing hours to find out his soulmate.

“Philip?”

Phil’s not surprised when he hears his mother’s voice. “I’m awake,” he says.

The door slowly opens, and in walks his mom. “Is there any news regarding your soulmate?”

Phil sighs and shakes his head. “Still two more hours left,” he replies as he turns his wrist around to show that there’s no name on his wrist yet. “Sorry for shouting. I know you don’t like that type of language.”

“Oh, sweetheart. That’s okay. I understand this must be hard for you,” she assures him. “While you’re up, why don’t we get some breakfast? I’m sure there’s something you can do to pass the time, yeah?”

“Alright,” Phil nods. “Let me get dressed and I’ll meet you in the kitchen, okay?”

Kathryn smiles before turning and shutting the door behind her, leaving Phil to himself again.

Phil takes a quick shower and dresses himself in a casual yet nice outfit. Today, he will be possibly meeting his soulmate, and he wants to look nice for her when he does finally meet her.

Having breakfast did not help. All Phil can think about is his soulmate, and it’s driving him crazy.

So, Phil decides to go sit in the garden once breakfast is finished. It’s peaceful, and no one but his family is allowed out in the garden so nobody will bother him out here.

Before Phil knows it, the two hours pass by quickly while he sits on the swing on his garden. He happens to look down at his wrist and his eyes widen when he sees that the clock has finally reached zero.

“Holy shit!” Phil squeaks as he stares at his wrist. He closes his eyes, taking deep breaths. It’s finally time.

Phil turns his wrist and sees the letters D A N I E L and he assumes that it’s going to say ‘Daniella’, but when he finishes reading the name, he’s shocked to find out that it just says Daniel Howell.

“Daniel?” Phil asks, frowning. That can’t be right. Daniel is a boy’s name. Phil’s not gay, so why would his soulmate’s name be a boy’s name? There can’t be a princess if his soulmate is a boy.

His father is not going to be happy when he finds out about this. Being gay isn’t totally accepted by most people in the kingdom. He’s afraid what will happen to him and his soulmate when the kingdom finds out.

How will they react to not having a future queen? It’s always been king and queen, not king and king.

Phil bites his lip nervously before standing up and making his way into the castle. It doesn’t take very long for Phil to find his father in his study. He hesitates as he walks into the study. “Dad?” He asks.

“Philip! I’ve been waiting to hear from you all morning. Surely you must have good news,” The King says as he looks up at Phil with a smile on his face, and Phil hates that he’s about to disappoint him.

“Dad, there’s something you should know…” Phil begins.

“What is it?” The King asks, raising his eyebrows at Phil. “Is everything alright?”

“I’m not sure,” Phil sighs. “I think there might be a mistake with my soulmate. It just doesn’t seem right.”

“There wouldn’t be a mistake. Your soulmate is your soulmate for a reason, Philip. Let me see,”

Phil frowns, before walking over to his dad and showing him the name. “Explain that then?” He asks.

The King looks at his son’s arm, and he also frowns. “Daniel Howell?” He asks, before looking up at Phil. “Is there something you’ve been meaning to tell me, son?”

“No, dad. I told you it was a mistake. That is a boy’s name on my wrist,” Phil tells him. “I’m not gay, nor have I ever been gay. I don’t why it says that name. Who even is Daniel Howell?”

“The Howell’s own a bakery in the village. They have two sons. Daniel and Alexander,” The King explains, shaking his head. “It wouldn’t be a mistake. I’m just not sure how this will change the future.”

“Wait, so… you’re not upset that my soulmate is a boy?” Phil asks, rather surprised to see his father’s calm reaction to the fact that his soulmate is a boy, and not a girl. He expected a lot more than this.

“No, it’s not your fault, Philip. It’s just something that we’re going to have to deal with,” The King says. “Will you be okay with your soulmate being a boy?”

“I… I don’t know. I guess I’ll have to meet him first, and then decide. How bad can he be?”

“We should go to the village and meet your soulmate then. I’m sure it will be a big shock to him. He’ll have to leave his family and come live in the castle,” The King explains. “I never thought that there would ever be two future kings. But, there’s no possible way for there to be a future queen, now.”

“I mean, I don’t have to marry this kid, do I? Can’t we break the rules?” Phil asks hopefully.

“No, Philip. That’s not how it works. This is your soulmate,” The King warns.

Phil groans and runs his hands over his face, already having a feeling that his life is about to be turned upside down, and he’s not exactly prepared for this change either.

An hour later, Phil is heading down to the village to meet his soulmate for the first time.

“Phil, I know this is a lot for you to take in. But I’m sure your soulmate is going through the same, so… please try your best to behave. We will discuss this more once we have your soulmate at the castle.”

“Dad, this isn’t fair. I’m supposed to be marrying a princess. Not some village boy,” Phil snaps.

“Philip Michael Lester, just because he’s from the village doesn’t mean that he’s any less than you are, that is not how your mother and I raised you to treat those villagers.” The King sighs. “Besides, one day, you’ll be the king and you’ll have to look over them..”

Phil huffs and sinks down in the seat, crossing his arms against his chest. He looks out the window, and sighs. He knows that his father is right overall, but marrying a boy just seems so… wrong, to him. At least, from his point of view. Everybody’s expecting him to marry a princess. So many people will be upset, and letting down the people in the kingdom is something he’s not looking forward to doing.

Finally, the carriage stops after what feels like hours of sitting in the carriage.

Phil slowly pushes himself up and looks out the window. Visiting the village isn’t something he does often, that’s more something the king does. Phil knows he’ll have to visit the village more once his dad passes, because his dad always makes it a point to make sure the village people are being taken care of.

“Come along, Philip. Your soulmate is waiting for you,” the King says as he steps out of the carriage.

Phil groans and slides out of the carriage as well. He looks around and sees that some of the villagers are already gathering around, as nobody from the village had been expecting a visit from the king today.

“Philip,” the King says before leading the way into the bakery, the bodyguards following behind.

Phil looks around once they’re inside the bakery. It’s quite a small bakery, but it’s nice and feels warm, very welcoming. This is definitely not what Phil had expected, but he’s not complaining either.

“Your majesty!”

Phil looks over when he hears a voice speak up suddenly.

“Your majesty, what an honor it is to have you visit our bakery,” the woman speaks kindly.

“Mrs. Howell, it’s lovely to see you again. Although, I’m sure you were expecting a visit from us?”

“Oh, you must be hear to see Daniel. Yes, my husband and I suspected we would be seeing you soon. We were all quite shocked when we saw the name on his wrist,” she chuckles nervously.

“Yes, it was quite a shock to us to. We were expecting Phil to be marrying a princess, but it looks like some things will be changing soon,” the King says. “We would like to meet Daniel, if that’s alright.”

“Of course, your majesty. Daniel is just in the back. Daniel! Please come out here!”

They wait a moment before a teenage boy with chestnut brown hair comes out from the back, and Phil’s a little taken back with how attractive the boy is. This is definitely not what he was expecting at all.

The boy, Daniel, looks up and instantly takes a step back once he realizes who’s in the shop. His eyes instantly flicker over to Phil. He’s too stunned to even say anything.

“Daniel, there you are,” his mom reaches over and then she gently pulls him closer. “Look who’s here. The King and Prince Philip are here to meet you!”

Dan’s heart instantly starts pounding against his chest. His soulmate is standing right there in front of him. The Prince is standing in front of him. This is all happening way too fast for Dan’s liking.

“Hello, Daniel. It’s nice to meet you. Mrs. Howell, would you mind if we borrowed your son for a moment?” The King asks. “There’s quite a few things that we need to talk about.”

“Yes, of course. I would like to join you for the conversation, if that’s alright?”

“Of course,” the King nods, and then he followed Mrs. Howell towards the sitting area, where they all sit.

Dan and Phil sit next to each other, suggested by Dan’s mom. Phil feels incredibly awkward.

Dan looks over at Phil, though he’s too shy and scared to say anything. He’s heard so many stories about Prince Philip. He’s never actually seen him in person due to having to work constantly at the bakery, but he’s always been curious about what he’s like in person. And now, he’s his soulmate.

“Okay,” the King begins. “Obviously, Phil is the prince. He’s going to be the future king. He was meant to marry a princess. Dan isn’t a girl. But, we think we can make it work with two future kings.”

“Wait, what?” Dan asks, looking over at the king with wide eyes.

“Daniel,” Mrs. Howell warns, giving her son a stern look. “Do not speak like that in front of the king.”

“No, it’s fine, Mrs. Howell. I understand that this must be shocking for Daniel. Dan and Phil are soulmates, so we need to make this work. It will be the first time in history where there won’t be a king and a queen,”

Dan blinks a few times and quickly shakes his head. “I-I’m only sixteen,” he says. “I can’t be a king!”

Phil rolls his eyes. “We don’t become kings until my father passes,” he says.

Dan frowns as he looks at Phil, not liking the way Phil talks towards him. “I’m no fit to be a king,”

“We have some people at the castle who will help you understand everything you need to know about becoming a king, do not worry Daniel,” the king assures him. He looks over at Mrs. Howell and sighs. “Now, I know this is personal to ask. But, is Daniel able to get pregnant?”

“Yes,” Mrs. Howell replies. “He’s one of the few rare males that are able to give birth.’

“Hm...” The King looks over at Phil. “Your soulmate is a Carrier. How lucky you must be.”

“So lucky,” Phil mumbles, looking down at his hands.

Dan is not happy about having to leave his home, to say the least. Most villagers would probably be thrilled about leaving the village to go live in the castle and marry a prince. But, not Dan. He is very close with his family and loves working at the bakery. Having that taken away from him, is not happy for him.

“We’ll make arrangements for you to come visit Daniel. He’ll be taken care of, I promise,” the king assures Dan’s mom as they leave the bakery. “There’s security surrounding the castle.”

“I’m just worried for him. I know people won’t be happy about a gay marriage,” Mrs. Howell says.

“Yes, it will be quite shocking. I don’t think anything too terrible will happen though,”

Mrs. Howell turns and looks at Daniel. “You be good, Daniel. You’re still sixteen, so don’t be reckless. We’ll try to write you a letter whenever we can, okay?”

Dan takes a deep breath and slowly nods. “O-Okay,” he mumbles. “Take care of Allie.”

Mrs. Howell chuckles. “Of course we will, sweetie. That is my son,” she says softly before gently kissing Dan’s forehead. “Now, go off and make me proud. I know you’ll make a great future king.”

“I’d hate to ruin this moment, but we must get going now,” the King says, motioning Dan to come forward.

“Goodbye,” Dan says before grabbing his luggage and walking over to the king, and then following him and Phil to the carriage. Dan looks up and blinks a few times. This is much more fancier than what Dan’s used to. His whole life is about to change right before his eyes. If only he could be excited about it.

The ride to the castle isn’t as exciting as Dan hoped it would be. They sit in silence, and no one speaks. Phil doesn’t even look him in the eye once either, and Dan doesn’t have to question if Phil hates him, even though Dan’s done absolutely nothing to deserve this.

Once in the castle, the king suggests Phil takes Dan up to his new bedroom, which is beside Phil’s.

“We’re not sharing a room?” Dan asks once he and Phil get to Dan’s bedroom.

“No,” Phil replies, surprising Dan by his coldness. “We’re not sharing a room, Daniel. Don’t even think about entering my room unless I say you can. We may be soulmates, but I’m not happy about it.

Dan looks up at Phil with hurt in his eyes. “D-Did I do something wrong?” He asks quietly.

“You ruined my whole entire future, that’s what you did!” Phil snaps before storming away.

Dan gasps with shock. He watches as Phil walks away from him, before he finally bursts into tears, unable to keep the emotions bottled up inside him any longer.

Dan knew things would be tough, but having your soulmate reject you… it hurts, and he can only hope that things get better, otherwise he’s not going to be able to survive this kind of treatment.

A few days pass since Dan’s arrival at the castle. Phil hasn’t really spoken to him, pretty much avoiding him at all costs. Everybody else seems to love Dan, unfortunately for him. He sees Dan already becoming friends with people like Louise, and Phil’s not sure he likes that.

“Philip?”

Phil looks up as soon as he hears his mother’s voice, and sighs before replying with, “Come in!”

The door opens, and Phil’s mom walks into the room. “Phil, my boy! There you are.” Kathryn smiles.

“Here I am.” Phil replies with a sigh as he leans back in his desk chair. “Is everything okay?”

“Well…” Kathryn walks over to the bed and sits down. “I was just about to ask you the same thing.”

Phil blinks a few times as he looks over at his mom. “What do you mean by that?” He asks curiously. “Why wouldn’t everything be okay?”

“Your soulmate has been here for three days and you’ve not come out of your room since he arrived. Before, I thought you were pretty excited about meeting your soulmate. What’s changed?”

“What’s changed is that he’s a boy,” Phil says. “He wasn’t supposed to be a boy.”

Kathryn frowns slightly. “What matters if he’s a boy?”

“Mum, I’m going to be the future king soon, I mean… hopefully not too soon because I really don’t want Dad to die. It’s just going to happen. A king isn’t a king without a queen, you know that. There can’t possibly be two kings. Dad keeps telling me everything’s going to be fine, but I can’t see it.” Phil sighs.

“I understand your worries,” Kathryn says softly. “But, I don’t think it’s fair how you’re treating that boy. Daniel is a kind boy, and I think you would get along with him if you gave him a chance.”

“If I did that, then it would mean that I’m okay with this, and I’m not okay with this,” Phil says.

“Phil,” Kathryn warns. “You listen to me, alright? This is your soulmate we’re talking about. This is the boy you’re going to be spending the rest of your life with. There’s no way you’re going to get around this mess that you’ve created for yourself. Your father and I both agreed that we’re not allowing you to not marry Daniel. I can’t even begin to imagine how it must feel for him, He knows that you don’t want him as a soulmate and that hurts. You need to go find that boy, and talk to him. First, apologize to him for the way you’ve acted. Get to know him before you judge him. I understand you’re upset about him not being a girl. We were all expecting you to marry a princess. Unfortunately, things are going to have to change now. But, they don’t all have to be bad changes.” She lets out a sigh. “Do you understand me?”

Phil blinks a few times as he stares at his mom, shocked at her rant. “Y-Yes, ma’am,” he mumbles.

Kathryn chuckles, before standing up from the bed. “Glad we had this talk, Philip,” she says softly. “Oh, and lunch will be ready soon. Get yourself ready. I expect you’ll make an effort to talk to Daniel. I can’t understand why you don’t like him. He’s such a sweetheart.”

Phil looks up and frowns as he watches his mom walk out of the bedroom, before sighing.

Phil sits in his chair for a couple of minutes before finally getting up and leaving his room. He looks around before heading towards Daniel’s- or Dan, as he apparently likes to be called, room.

Phil stands in front of the door for a moment. Just as he’s about to knock on the door, the door opens, revealing a very surprised Dan. Dan looks up and blinks a few times when he sees Prince Philip.

“Prince Philip,” Dan mumbles, looking down at his hands. “Surprised to see you here.”

“Just call me Phil, please,” Phil says, letting out a sigh. “I came to… talk to you. If that’s okay.”

“Your mother talked to you, didn’t she?” Dan asks, surprising Phil. “She talked to me too, said she was going to try to knock some sense into you. I told her it was fine but, she didn’t want to listen to me.”

“But, it’s not fine. Is it?” Phil asks. “Can I come in?”

Dan steps aside and then allows Phil into his bedroom. He shuts the door and then walks over to his bed and sits down, watching as Phil sits down on the bed as well. “I’ve been hiding in my room all day today. It’s a bit overwhelming having people walk up to you constantly. They’re nice, but it’s still overwhelming. I’ve seen how people in the village are around you and The King.”

“You’ll get used to it. Just wait until you go down to the kingdom,” Phil says.

Dan looks up at Phil. “Will I get to go down to the kingdom? I’ve always wanted to know what it was like. I’ve been living in the village my whole life, never allowed to leave,” he frowns.

Phil stares at him for a second. “I’ll take you,”

“Really?” Dan’s eyes light up with excitement, earning a chuckle from Phil. “Oh, thank you so much, Phil! Wow. I promise I won’t be any trouble!”

Phil raises his eyebrows. “Daniel, you’re going to be the future king. You and I will be visiting the kingdom many times in the future so you’ll have plenty of time to explore everything,” he says. “Although, I’d ask that you not go to the kingdom by yourself, especially after we announce you’re my soulmate.”

Dan shrinks down, looking up at Phil nervously. “Are people going to be angry?”

“People in the kingdom don’t exactly gay people. But, we’ll have no choice but to change the rules now,”

“No choice?” Dan asks, sitting up again. “You realize I’m not the only gay person in the village. I had plenty of gay friends. We should have been given rights a long time ago. We’re just normal people!”

“Daniel,” Phil warns, surprised at Dan’s outburst.

“Don’t ‘Daniel’ me!” Dan yells before standing up from the bed. “The way we get treated is unfair!”

“Daniel,” Phil stands up again. “I understand what you mean, and I’m sorry that the gay community have been treated wrongfully for so many years. But, that is going to change after I’m the King. I promise that. While I may not be gay myself, I don’t support the way you’ve been treated.”

Dan looks over at him, frowning. “You’re not gay?” He asks.

Phil shakes his head, feeling sorry for Dan that his soulmate is straight. “Straight. I was expecting to marry a princess. You can understand now why I’ve been upset lately? It’s not you. I’m sorry for the way I’ve acted towards you since we met,” he mumbles. “But, I want to try and make this… relationship, work. We should get to know each other before we move forward with anything. We’re going to have to anyways at least. I mean, my parents are expecting a child out of us for when I become the king.”

Dan blinks a few times. “I have a few years to prepare for that, don’t I?”

“I don’t know. The King is getting older, and when he dies… I take his place, and we’ll need a child, but I’d like to have a child before my dad dies. I want him to see his grandchild,” Phil says.

Dan groans, and walks over to sit down in the chair. “I’m only sixteen! Not only am I going to have to become the future king, but now you’re expecting me to get pregnant and raise a child?”

“I’m sorry,” Phil apologizes. “I know this is not what you expected. But, it’s how things have to be.”

“Well, looks like we’re just as equally ruining each other’s lives,” Dan mumbles, crossing his arms against his chest, feeling defeated after learning all of this new information. “I was so excited about finally knowing who my soulmate is. Then, your name appears on my wrist. I knew things were going to change, but I had no idea it was going to be like this. Now, there’s nothing I can do.”

“Look, I don’t want either of us to be miserable, we both deserve to be happy,” Phil says, sighing softly. “You seem like a nice guy. I’m sure once we get to know each other, things will get better.”

Dan looks over at Phil, biting his lip slightly. “I’m willing to give it a try,” he says.

“Great.” Phil smiles. “My mother will be pleased to hear this.”

“When are you going to announce to the people that we’re soulmates?” Dan asks curiously.

“I’m not sure. If not today, then sometime in the next coming days,” Phil says. “My dad is dealing with it.”

“Shouldn’t you deal with it though?” Dan asks, raising his eyebrows. “You’re going to become king anyways, so wouldn’t it be a good practice? I’m not sure how well you are with crowds…”

“If I go up there and make the speech, you have to do it with me,” Phil tells him.

“What? Why do I have do the speech with you?” Dan asks, frowning.

“You’re going to be future king as well. For good practice,” Phil mocks Dan, smirking.

“No way in hell am I going up there in front of people who are against gays. That’s out of the question. Until I know that I’m going to be safe, I’m not going anywhere near the kingdom,” Dan huffs.

“Fine with me. My dad will do the speech then,” Phil says. “Lunch will be ready soon. We should go down and at least be seen together so people don’t think we hate each other, which we don’t. Not anymore.”

“Well for one, I never hated you until I learned you hated me so...” Dan shrugs, and then he leads the way out of the bedroom. The two make their way downstairs, where they run into Louise.

“Dan! Phil! What a lovely surprise,” Louise smiles.

“Lou, I see you’ve met my soulmate,” Phil says as he looks over at Dan.

“Yes. I adore Dan,” Louise says. “I’m so happy that you guys finally found each other. It’s amazing!”

“Louise is a romantic sap.” Phil chuckles, earning a playful hit from Louise on the shoulder. He pouts and rubs the spot where she hit him. “She’s also a lot stronger than she looks.”

Dan chuckles. “Yeah, we met each other. I learned you had a library and had to see it for myself,”

“The library is wonderful. I enjoy spending time in there. It’s quite peaceful and quiet,” Louise says, nodding. “And, not to mention, the library is filled with thousands of books so you’d be in there forever before you finished reading them all. Books are such wonderful things.”

“Well.” Phil chuckles. “We should head to lunch. You coming Louise?”

“Can’t. I’m on duty. No worries, I’ll make sure I’ll have something to eat later,” Louise tells him.

“Okay. See you later then,” Phil says, smiling at her, before leading the way towards the kitchen.

“Bye, Louise!” Dan calls before following Phil. “She’s really nice.”

“She is,” Phil agrees. “She’s my best friend, so don’t even think about stealing her.”

Dan chuckles at Phil’s protectiveness over Louise. “Don’t worry, wasn’t planning on it,” he says.

The two finally make it to the kitchen, where they’re met with the workers of the castle as well as Kathryn, though Phil isn’t surprised to see his mother already there.

“Dan! Phil! What a lovely surprise to see you two together!” Kathryn smiles as soon as she sees them.

“Are you really that surprised, mum?” Phil asks, raising his eyebrows.

“Well, I hoped our little chats would actually go somewhere,” Kathryn says. “So?”

Phil sighs. “We’re working on it, okay? That’s all I can tell you right now,” he says. “When is dad making the speech about Dan and I?” He asks, walking over to the table.

“Sometime later today. He wants to get it out of the way,” she tells him.

Phil nods. “Fair enough,” he says, glancing over at Dan. He can’t help but worry about Dan, and how the kingdom will react to there being two future kings with one of them actually being gay. He doesn’t want Dan to get hurt. He knows how brutal the kingdom can be sometimes when things don’t go as planned.

Phil eats lunch with his mother and Dan, relaxing for a bit before the chaos ensues. He and Dan actually talked with each other which was quite nice after the way their first initial meeting went, Phil has to admit. He likes talking with Dan a lot. Dan’s soft spoken, and listens well when others are talking. It’s nice.

Ultimately, Phil decides to go with The King to the speech. His dad suggested that Dan stay at the castle, just in case things got out of hand or went wrong in some way, which Phil hoped they didn’t.

Phil takes a deep breath as he stares at the crowd of people in front of them, knowing this is live on TV. Everybody is watching them, waiting for them to announce who the ‘future queen’ is going to be.

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen,” The King begins as he looks around at all the people. “Well... as you all know by now, Philip as been waiting to find out who his soulmate is the past week. His soulmate is who he will be marrying and ruling beside him. The good news is, we finally know who Phil’s soulmate is. However, there’s been a change in tradition. Phil’s soulmate is Daniel Howell-”

As soon as The King speaks a boy’s name, there were gasps and people start whispering to each other, and Phil instantly gets nervous about how the rest of the speech is going to go.

The King sighs. “Yes, you heard me correctly. After I pass, there will no longer be a king and a queen, but a future king and king. If I had my way, it wouldn’t be like this. There would be a king and a queen. Unfortunately, this is Phil’s soulmate and who he’s destined to be with,”

Dan frowns as he sits in the lounge with Phil’s mother and a few other workers. “I knew he didn’t like me.”

“Dear, it’s not you he doesn’t like. The King isn’t too keen on changing the rules unless he has to,” Kathryn tells him. “This will be a big change for everybody.”

Dan looks over at her. “And what about all the other gay people?”

“Daniel-”

Dan stands up angrily. “No! We’ve been abused for years, treated poorly just because of who we love! It’s not fair that we have to hide who we are, and sit in silence, while everybody goes on living happily. Well, quite frankly, I’ve had enough of this treatment!” He storms out of the room.

Kathryn sighs and looks over at the TV as The King continues his speech.

“I know this may not please some of you-”

“There will be two kings!” Someone in the crowd shouts angrily. “It’s disgusting!”

“It’s a disgrace! Those fags need to burn in hell!” Another shouts.

Phil’s eyes widen as he looks over at his dad. “Dad,” he whispers. “Control them.”

The King sighs. “Enough!” He shouts, instantly silencing the crowd. “That’s my son, your future king, that you’re talking about. Phil will be marrying Daniel in just a few weeks, and he will take my place as king when I pass. The decision is final, and it’s something that we’ll all have to get used to. Goodnight.”

Phil frowns as he watches his dad walk away, heading towards the carriage. He starts following him, but he stops when someone walks up to him before he can.

“You’re one of them?”

“Excuse me?” Phil asks, blinking a few times. “That’s not how-”

“You’re a fag, aren’t you? This whole time, you’ve been lying to us all?” The man asks angrily.

“What? No!” Phil shakes his head. “I was expecting my soulmate to be a girl. I’ve always been straight, and it wasn’t easy for me either when I learned who my soulmate actually was. But, you know what? He’s still my soulmate. I will love him and treat him as if I would a girl, because that’s what he deserves.” He pushes the man aside and rushes over to the carriage, looking back nervously as the crowd gets angrier.

“That went well,” The King says once Phil is in the carriage.

“Dad, what’s gonna happen? What if they try to hurt Dan?” Phil asks, looking over at his dad worriedly.

“Do not worry, Philip. Dan will not be harmed,” The King assures him. “We will make sure he is protected, until this whole situation calms down. It’s a lot for the kingdom to take in. There will be a lot of changes.”

Phil waits a few days before approaching Dan again, after learning that Dan got upset during the speech. But, he still wants to try and make things work between them. This relationship is never going to work if they don’t even try. He doesn’t want to spend the rest of his life being miserable with his soulmate.

“Where are you taking me?” Dan asks as they step into the carriage.

“Have you ever been to the kingdom before?” Phil asks, looking over at Dan.

Dan shakes his head. “No, and… do you really think that’s a good idea? I mean, the people…”

“You’re apart of this family now. I know people are still upset but, they’re going to have to get over it, because you’re not going anywhere,” Phil assures him. “We have to make this work between us.”

“We have to?” Dan asks, raising his eyebrows.

“I mean-” Phil chuckles and shakes his head. “I want to make this work. I really do like you, Dan. I know that it doesn’t seem that way because of how I treated you before. But, I’m working on getting better.”

“Okay, if you’ll put effort into this relationship, then so will I, and we will make it work.” Dan smiles, and then gasps when the carriage starts moving. “I’ll never get used to these.” He holds onto the seat tightly.

Phil grins at him. “You will, trust me. We’ll be using them a lot in the future,” he assures Dan.

The two boys finally make it to the kingdom. Phil has a couple of security guards behind them, just in case something were to happen. Most people usually leave him be whenever he visits the kingdom, but because he has Dan with him, he wants to make sure they’re both protected at all times.

“Welcome… to the kingdom.” Phil smiles as he looks over at Dan. “Is it everything you imagined?”

“It’s what I thought it would be.” Dan looks over at Phil. “Way fancier, and a lot cleaner… than the village. It seems a little unfair that people in the village don’t get the same treatment. You know?” He shrugs.

“That’s not my doing, and you know that. I promise Dan, it’s definitely going to be one of my top priorities to take care of the village people once I become king. I never liked how poorly the villagers were treated.”

“At least someone cares,” Dan mumbles to himself, before looking around again.

“So, I was thinking we could go eat lunch at this really cute cafe that I know of,” Phil says. “My friend, Carrie, she owns it. She’s really nice. If you like Louise, you’ll love her.”

“Okay,” Dan replies with a shrug of his shoulders, before starting to follow Phil. He glances around as he and Phil walk together. He can’t help but notice all the people staring at him and whispering things. He feels weird and uncomfortable, which causes him to step closer to Phil.

“You okay?” Phil asks, instantly noticing Dan’s action.

“Um, y-yeah. I’m fine…” Dan tells him, not wanting Phil to worry. He just needs to be brave, and not worry about everyone around him. Phil’s here, and they have security. What could possibly happen to him?

Dan and Phil finally make it to the small cafe that Phil tells Dan about. They’re instantly greeted by Carrie.

“Relax, guys. It’s Carrie. You know she means no harm,” Phil tells the security, before turning to Carrie with a smile on his face. “Carrie! It’s so good to see you again!”

“Phil! I’ve missed seeing you at the shop.” Carrie smiles as she hugs Phil tightly. “You’ve been the talk of the town. Can’t go anywhere without hearing someone mention your name.”

“Which is exactly why I haven’t come in a few weeks. Sorry.” Phil chuckles.

“Oh, and you must be Prince Daniel?” Carrie smiles when she sees Dan standing beside Phil.

“Well, not yet. We haven’t gotten married. But, he will be soon enough. And, he likes to be called Dan,” Phil tells her. “Dan, this is Carrie. Aside from Louise, she’s one of my best friends. She’s the only one in the kingdom who doesn’t treat me like royalty. It’s refreshing.”

“Hi, Dan. It’s so lovely to meet you!” Carrie pulls Dan into a hug. “How are you liking the kingdom?”

“Uh, yeah. It’s great. I think it’s beautiful. It’s definitely not what I’m used to...” Dan chuckles nervously.

“Well, I’ve been to the village quite a few times myself. Your bakery is one of the best I’ve ever been to. The cheesecake is to die for,” Carrie says, smiling.

“Oh, thank you. My mum will be pleased to hear that.” Dan smiles.

“How about we get some coffee?” Phil suggests. “You know my usual.”

“Of course, and Dan? What will you be getting?” Carrie asks, pulling out a little notepad.

“Oh, uh… I’ll just get whatever he’s getting,” Dan tells her.

Carrie smiles and nods before walking away, leaving Dan and Phil alone.

“Come on.” Phil leads Dan over to one of the empty tables, where they both sit down. “Isn’t this great?”

“Yeah. Carrie seems really nice to. She reminds me a lot of Louise,” Dan says, looking at Phil.

“Yeah, she does. Lou and Carrie get along well with each other. Louise works at the castle so they don’t get to see each other. I hope to change that once I become king. My dad is quite strict with workers.”

“Yeah, I noticed that. He yelled at a poor maid yesterday when she dropped some plates!”

Phil shakes his head. “He’s just a perfectionist. Everything has to be perfect.” he sighs.

“Are you nervous about becoming the king?” Dan asks. “I can only imagine how difficult of a job that is.”

“Hey, you’re going to have to become king too.” Phil chuckles. “And yeah. There’s a lot of pressure, but… my mother has been telling my everything I need to know, and so has my dad. They want to make sure everything is ready for me when the time comes. We’ll need to get you trained as well.”

“I think I’d rather focus on learning about babies, since apparently I’ll be carrying one,” Dan says.

“Sooner rather than later,” Phil adds. “But yes, my mother can help you with that. It’ll be a few months until at least but it will happen. We need at least one child before my dad passes.”

“I understand it. I just wish that I had a little more time to prepare for this. I had no idea my soulmate would be the future king,” Dan mumbles. “It seems like everything is happening all too fast.”

Phil nods, and then he smiles when Carrie comes back with two coffees.

“For you-” She says as she hands a coffee to Phil. “And for you.” She hands the other to Dan.

“Thank you, Carrie. God, I’ve missed the smell of your coffee,” Phil says before taking a drink.

**

Dan and Phil stay at the cafe for about an hour, before getting up to leave. Phil tells Dan to wait outside while he says goodbye to Carrie, but he sends the security guards out with him.

“Hey! You’re the guy Prince Philip is due to marry!”

Dan looks over and blinks a few times when he sees an older man walking up to him. “Yes…?”

“People like you shouldn’t even exist,” The man snaps. “You should be hanged!”

“Hanged?” Dan asks, raising his eyebrows. “What century are you living in?” He laughs, and then gasps when the man shoves him harshly, causing him to stumble backwards.

“Hey, back up!” One of the security guards grabs the man, pulling him away from Dan.

“What’s going on?” Phil asks worriedly as he rushes outside after noticing the commotion from inside, seeing Dan being helped up by another security guard. “Dan, are you alright?”

“I’m-I’m fine.” Dan takes a deep breath as he looks up at Phil.

“What the hell happened?” Phil looks over at the man who shoved Dan. “Wait… I know who you are, and I will also be letting my father know about this incident. You don’t ever put your hands on Dan again.”

“Phil.” Dan places his hands on Phil’s shoulder. “Phil, I’m fine. He didn’t hurt me.”

The man smirks. “You got lucky this time.” he laughs, and Phil looks up at the security guard and nods. “Take him in. We’ll be heading back to the castle now.” He grabs Dan and leads the way back to the carriage. “Shit, I’m so sorry, Dan. I had no idea something like that would happen.”

“All he did was shove me. Nothing happened. I was just… a little shocked,” Dan tells Phil.

“Well, it still wasn’t okay what he did to you. He basically told us that he would have done much more had the security guards not been there.” Phil rolls his eyes and then opens the carriage and allows Dan to get inside first before following him in. He reaches over and shuts the door. “I hope you still had fun.”

“No, I really did. It was nice being able to talk to you alone, and… Carrie was really nice too.” Dan smiles.

Phil smiles. “That makes me happy to hear. I’m sorry that it ended on such a sour note,” he says.

“The day is still young. We can make it better.” Dan smiles.

“Yeah, we can-” Phil leans over and then he kisses Dan passionately yet sweetly, surprising Dan. It takes Dan a moment before he finally kisses Phil back. Phil pulls away after a moment and smiles.

Dan looks up at Phil, his eyes full of excitement. He never thought Phil would kiss him.

Phil chuckles and wraps an arm around Dan, pulling him closer. “Things are looking up, Dan,” he says.

The next few days, Dan spends most of his time at the castle, and mostly with Phil. There is still a lot of the castle he hasn’t seen so Phil’s been showing him around and telling him all these stories.

It isn’t until Dan is with Louise in one of the studies, helping her clean. “I wanna go back to the kingdom,”

“With Phil?” Louise asks, looking over at Dan with her eyebrows raised.

“No, by myself,” Dan tells her. “I know that’s a bad idea. But, I just… I don’t know.”

“I mean, I can understand why you do want to go back. A lot of stuff has happened since you were announced as Phil’s soulmate. People aren’t happy, and you have unanswered questions,” she says.

“Yes, that’s exactly it!” Dan nods. “But, how on Earth do I get out of the castle without Phil seeing me or without a guard watching me like a hawk? It’s like mission impossible!” He throws his arms up.

Louise chuckles. “It’s not that impossible. I can help you,” she offers.

“Really?” Dan asks, walking over to her. “But, how? I don’t want you to get in trouble…”

“Oh, please. It’ll be easy. I’ll make sure Phil is busy with something else and then all I have to do is distract the guards and you’ll escape. The guards outside are a little tricky though,” Louise tells him.

It’s still early in the day, so it’s easy to busy Phil with something that doesn’t involve Dan. And somehow, Dan and Louise manage to distract the guards by making a loud commotion outside the castle. Dan sneaks outside and runs towards the gate the moment the guards leave the gate, and he sneaks out.

Dan smiles, weirdly feeling proud that their plan actually worked.

It takes about twenty minutes for him to make it to the kingdom. He tries to act as calm as possible, though after his last visit to the kingdom, he can’t help but feel a little nervous about being alone.

Dan only walks around for a few minutes before he’s spotted.

“Hey! You’re Daniel Howell!” A man shouts as he points at Dan. He’s with other men as well.

Dan looks up and his eyes widen as the group of men start walking towards him. “I-I-”

One of the men grab him by the collar and pull him closer. “You’re the reason this kingdom is falling apart. Prince Philip should not be marrying a boy. He should be marrying a princess!”

“It’s not my fault!” Dan gasps and struggles to get out of the man’s grip, but he’s not strong enough.

“Who’s fault is it then? Huh? Nobody’s. It’s your fault, and you’ll pay for it!” The man shouts before throwing Dan onto the ground harshly, and then the group of men start kicking him.

****

It’s later that night when Phil is sitting at his desk in his bedroom, looking out the window thoughtfully, when the door opens. He looks over and is surprised when he sees Carrie standing in the doorway. It’s very rare when Carrie visits the castle. Usually she’s only around for special occasions like when Phil invites her over for big dinners. His parents allow him to invite friends which is usually Carrie and Louise.

“Carrie?” Phil asks as he stands up. He walks over and hugs her. “What are you doing here?”

“I wish I could say that I’m here for a nice visit, but… that’s not the case.” Carrie sighs sadly.

“What happened? Is everything okay?” Phil asks worriedly.

Carrie shakes her head. “It’s Daniel,” she says, looking up at Phil. “He got into some trouble.”

“Trouble?” Phil blinks a few times. “What kind of trouble are we talking about here?”

“Awhile ago, I was doing my usual evening walk around the kingdom, and… I found him. He was just… lying on the ground, beaten and bruised,” Carrie tells him. “It was a horrific sight.”

“Wait a minute, what was Dan doing in the kingdom?” Phil asks, confused.

“I’m not sure. But, you have to go see him. He’s in terrible shape!” Carrie grabs Phil’s hand, and then she drags him out of his bedroom and leads the way up to the hospital room. There are security guards surrounding the hospital room. Phil’s confused, and has so many questions swirling in his mind.

Carrie leads the way into the hospital room, where Phil sees his father and mother.

“Dad? What’s going on?” Phil asks, rushing over to Dan’s bed. His eyes widen when he instantly notices that Dan’s covered in bruises. He can only imagine how much pain Dan will be in when he wakes up.

“It appears that Daniel has sneaked out of the castle and ventured off to the kingdom by himself,” the King says as he watches Phil. “Carrie found him and informed us of his whereabouts.”

“That doesn’t make sense. How did he get out of the castle without the guards seeing him?” Phil asks.

“He had a little help from your friend Louise,” the King tells him. “She admitted that she helped him.”

“I just don’t understand why Dan wanted to go to the kingdom by himself, knowing how the kingdom feels about everything changing. It’s not safe for him to be out there alone. Clearly!” Phil points to Dan.

“Maybe he was just trying to get some answers.”

Phil blinks a few times as he looks over at Carrie. “What do you mean?”

“Like you said, Phil… people started hating the idea of you marrying a boy the second it was announced. They think it’s Dan’s fault, so of course they’re going to hate him even though he’s done nothing wrong. Believe me, I’ve heard what some of the people in the kingdom have been saying. It’s not nice.”

Phil looks over at Dan and frowns, hating that people are so upset by the idea of him marrying a boy that they would go as far as hurting Dan physically. He never wanted Dan to get hurt like that. It’s not right.

“Well, they’re going to have to deal with it,” the King speaks up. “I will not be having people in the kingdom hurting people close to me. Anyone who lays another hand on Daniel or Phil, will be punished.”

“Dad, do you really think punishments are going to fix anything?” Phil asks, looking up at him.

“Well, I’m not going to let anyone get away with this. They could have killed him, Phil.” the King sighs. “Stay here with him for now. The doctor said he’ll be fine, though it will take a few weeks of recovery before he’s back to his normal self. I’ve also contacted his family. They will be here tomorrow. Meanwhile, there are people I need to speak to. Carrie, you’re more than welcome to stay in one of our guest rooms for the night. It’s far too dangerous for you to go back to the kingdom this late.”

“Oh, thank you so much your majesty,” Carrie says with a smile.

“It’s the least we could do. You saved Dan’s life, after all,” he says before walking out of the room.

Phil looks back over at Dan and grabs his hand, sighing sadly.

Kathryn looks over at Phil and frowns, gently rubbing his back. “Dan will be fine,” she assures him.

Phil looks up at her. “Why did they do this to him?” He asks. “Is it my fault this happened?”

“Of course not, sweetheart. We could have never predicted this to happen,” she says softly. “Change is not easy. It will take a lot for everyone to get used to it, but… things will get better in the long run.”

Phil slowly nods, hoping that his mother is right.

Over the next few weeks, Dan slowly gets better. The King issued out a statement about the incident, warning the kingdom that punishments will be put out to anyone who hurts Dan again. They also decided that the wedding would be taken place sooner or later.

Unfortunately, while all this is happening, the king has fallen ill. Phil knew this was coming, but he expected it to happen a lot later. He’s terrified now, especially with everything that’s happening with Dan.

“Phil?”

Phil looks over and smiles when he sees Dan standing in his bedroom doorway. “Hey. You’re up,”

“Yeah, I can finally walk now,” Dan chuckles. “I still ache in some places, but it’s not as bad.”

Phil stands up and walks over to him, sighing. “I just hate that this happened to you,” he whispers.

“It’s my fault. I’m the idiot who thought it would be a good idea to go to the kingdom by myself,” Dan says. “I just didn’t think I’d end up in the hospital. I mean, I was only there for like five minutes.”

“Yeah, people can be pretty horrible-” Phil gently grabs Dan’s and leads him over to the bed.

“How’s your dad?” Dan asks as he sits beside Phil.

“Resting.” Phil sighs. “I know it’s killing him lying in bed all day. But, the doctor said that he needs to rest, otherwise there’s no chance he’ll get better. Added stress to the situation won’t help either.”

“Do you think he will get better?” Dan asks.

“I don’t know,” Phil mumbles. “We didn’t expect him to get ill so soon.”

Dan takes a deep breath. “Well, we should talk about… babies, I mean… you wanted to have kids before your dad passes, right? He’s fine now, but, we don’t know if he’ll make it for much longer,” he says.

Phil looks over at Dan. “Yeah, but… it shouldn’t all be about what I want. You’re the one who’s going to be carrying the children after all,” he says. “We’ve only known each other for a few weeks,”

“I knew it was going to come. And, besides… it’s your dad’s dream to see you with kids, for him to know that the tradition will continue. He’s done so much for me, the least I can do is help make this dream come true. I wish I had more time to prepare, but, I’m not that upset about it.” Dan shrugs his shoulders.

“I’m sorry things are moving so fast.” Phil chuckles nervously.

Dan shrugs his shoulders. “That’s okay. We’re still young, after all. Things are moving fast now, but, hey… we have many years left to enjoy our time together,” he says.

“Wow, Dan. I’m actually really glad you can see it that way,” Phil says with a smile. He bites his lip slightly before slowly leaning over and kissing Dan. The kiss lasts for a few moments before Phil pulls away. “So, are we really doing this?” He takes a deep breath.

“I can’t think of a better time,” Dan whispers.

Phil stands up and walks over to his door, locking it. He definitely didn’t plan for his first time with Dan to end up like this. He wanted to make it more romantic, but there’s no time for romance at a time like this.

Phil looks over and sees Dan already sitting on the bed. He hesitates before walking back over to the bed and crawling over to Dan. “I’ve never done this before… but I know what to do.”

“Well, I’ve never done this before nor do I know what to do. I apologize in advance if I disappoint you.”

Phil chuckles and shakes his head. “You could never disappoint me, Dan,” he whispers.

“That’s good to know,” Dan replies with a blush.

Phil smiles, and then he slowly leans down and he captures Dan’s lips with his own in a sweet kiss. “Okay, just relax,” he whispers. “I promise I’ll take care of you.”

Dan looks up at Phil and takes a deep breath before slowly nodding. “I trust you,” he whispers.

Phil kept to his word, and took care of Dan their first time having sex together. He was gentle and slow, and made sure Dan was okay the entire time. Dan just hopes that what they did actually works, because he wants to be able to carry Phil’s child while the king is still alive.

A week passes, and Phil’s checking on Dan again for any updates. He finds Dan outside in the garden.

“Feeling anything yet? I know it’s only been about a week but…” Phil begins.

“Nothing, really-” Dan shakes his head. “I mean, I felt kind of sick earlier but nothing really happened. Kathryn told me it takes a few weeks for anything to really start happening. Like, morning sickness.”

“Oh. Sorry I keep asking you. I’m just… I’m so nervous.” Phil takes a deep breath.

“That’s okay, you have every right to be nervous. I am too.” Dan chuckles, and then he sighs. “I just… God, I just don’t want to let anyone down. A lot of people are looking to me for this to work. I’m the one who’s able to get pregnant and have a child. I really want to make your dad happy.”

“I know and I appreciate that, but… please remember that it’s not all about my dad. Yes, this is my dad main reason why we’re doing this, but like you said. You’re the one who’s going to be carrying the child. It’s about you too. I want you to be just as happy,” Phil tells him, gently pulling Dan closer.

Dan smiles, and wraps an arm around Phil’s neck. “I am happy,” he whispers before kissing Phil.

Phil chuckles as he pulls away from the kiss. “Wow. Who would have thought that we’d actually be here? After how we started? I didn’t think we’d get past that...”

“Hm. I wonder who’s fault that is,” Dan says, smirking.

“Shut up,” Phil laughs and shoves him playfully. “I was stupid. At least I’ll admit it.”

“True,” Dan nods. “Can we go get something to eat? I’m starving!”

Phil chuckles. “Sure. Come on,” he says, grabbing Dan’s hand and then leading the way into the castle.

“I just can’t believe that I, villager Dan Howell, get to the live in the castle for the rest of my life.” Dan sighs when they make it to the kitchen. “I was so sure that people would hate me because I’m from the village. Turns out they hate me because I’m a boy who also likes boys.”

“Things will get better. I promise,” Phil says, looking over at Dan. “Dad and I are making it our mission to stop this homophobic hate. After seeing what they did to you, Dad changed his views.”

“Oh, well I’m glad it took me getting beaten up to change his views,” Dan mumbles.

“Hey.” Phil reaches over and he gently pushes Dan playfully. “He’s traditional, like most royal families are. He, and myself, just needed some pushing. We want to make things equal for everybody.”

“Well, I’m glad something’s being done about it at least. Thank you.” he kisses Dan’s cheek.

Over the next few weeks, Dan starts noticing some changes. Morning sickness starts becoming a frequent thing for him. He knows what it probably means. Dan just can’t believe it’s real.

“Are you done yet?” Phil asks, knocking on the door. “What’s taking so long?”

“Stop rushing me!” Dan shouts from the inside of the bathroom.

Phil chuckles, and then he sighs. “Blame my mum. She’s the one who keeps coming in here and checking to see if there’s any news. Everybody’s on edge.” It goes silent for a moment. “Dan?”

The door slowly opens, and Dan looks up at Phil like he’s just seen a ghost.

“Dan?” Phil asks, taking a deep breath. “A-Are you…?”

Dan holds up the pregnancy test, which is showing positive. “First time. It actually worked,” he whispers.

“Oh my God,” Phil breathes, shocked. “Oh my God!” He laughs and then he flings his arms around Dan, spinning him around. “It actually worked! You’re pregnant!”

Dan laughs as he holds onto Phil tightly. “Phil! I’m going to get dizzy!”

Phil places Dan back on his feet and kisses him. “Thank you, Dan,” he breathes. “Thank you so much. Come on, we have to go tell Dad the good news. Mum is going to be so excited.” He grabs Dan’s hand and then he leads the way to the hospital. Once they get there, he sees his mom walking out of the room. But when Phil sees the look on her face, he knows that something is wrong. “Mum?”

Kathryn looks up at Phil and shakes her head. “He’s gone,” she whispers.

Phil stares at her, his eyes widening with shock. “Y-You mean…?” He asks. “No, he can’t be…”

“I’m sorry, sweetheart. We knew he was going to make it for much longer,” Kathryn whispers.

“B-But… the doctor said that we still had a few more weeks with him. Wh-Why would they lie?”

Dan frowns and then he grabs a hold of his arm with one hand and gently rubs Phil’s back with the other. “I’m so sorry, Phil,” he whispers. His heart aches for Phil and Kathryn. He didn’t know the King very long, but he knew that the King was a great man. He did a lot to help him and his family.

Phil looks over at Dan before looking at Kathryn. “But, we were going to tell him. Dan’s pregnant.”

Kathryn looks over at Dan and smiles. “Dan, that’s great news!” She reaches over and hugs him, and then pulls away. “Even though you didn’t get to tell him personally, I know that he knows, and he would have been just as excited to hear that there will be a future prince, to know the tradition is continuing.”

“I just wish Dad would have been able to meet the baby,” Phil whispers. He takes a deep breath, and looks up at his mom. “Can I go see him? One last time? I-I just want to say goodbye to him.”

“Of course, sweetheart-” Kathryn reaches over and opens the door, allowing Phil to walk inside.

Dan bites his lip as he watches Phil. He wants to go in with him to comfort him, but he knows that it would probably be best for Phil to say goodbye to his dad alone.

It was hard to celebrate Dan’s pregnancy after the passing of the King.

While Phil has to deal with things back at the castle and kingdom, Dan decides to go back to the village, with Phil’s permission, to tell his mother the good news. Louise decides to tag along. There’s security, but Phil also agreed it would be better if Dan has a friend to go with him as well.

“Mum! It’s so good to see you again.” Dan smiles as he hugs his mom tightly. “Mum, this is my friend, Louise. She works at the castle.” He looks over at Louise and smiles.

“Ah, yes. Dan has told us all about you in his letters that he sent us.”

“Good thing I hope,” Louise jokes before hugging Dan’s mom. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Mrs. Howell.”

“Oh please dear. You can call me Diana.” she smiles. “Please, come have a seat.”

Dan and Louise follow Diana into the lounge, where they sit at one of the empty tables. “So…”

“Mum, there’s something I need to tell you. Is Dad around?” Dan asks.

“Actually, he’s out now with your brother running errands, but he will be back very soon,” Diana tells him. “We received the news that the King passed away. It was so shocking.”

“Yes, we were all devastated. We were expecting it, but we thought we had more time.” Dan sighs sadly. “Phil’s handling it like a champ though. He’s going to make a great king.”

Diana smiles. “I’m sure of it,” she says. “I can’t imagine anyone better as your soulmate.”

“Speaking of, actually.” Dan takes a deep breath, glancing at Louise quickly before looking at his mom. “How would you feel if I told you that… you were going to be a grandma?”

Diana frowns slightly, and then her eyes light up with excitement. “Dan! You’re expecting?”

Dan smiles and nods. “Yes, me and Phil… we found out a few days ago when the King passed,” he says. “I wanted to tell you in person. Phil’s busy right now so, now was the perfect time to tell you.”

“This wonderful news, Daniel!” Diana exclaims. “I can’t wait to meet the little one.”

“Yeah, just nine months to go-” Dan laughs. “It’s gonna be a long pregnancy, isn’t it?”

“I’m sure these nine months will fly by, and before you know it… you’ll be holding your beautiful baby-?”

“We don’t know the gender yet. I’m only a few weeks in,” Dan informs her.

“Ah, well. Whatever the gender, I’m sure you’ll have him or her in your arms soon.” Diana smiles.

It’s a nice trip to his family’s home. He stays for about a day, wanting to see his brother and dad first before he left. He’s able to tell them the news about the pregnancy. They’re both shocked, but supportive.

“There’s my beautiful, pregnant husband!”

Dan laughs as Phil throws his arms around him, hugging him tightly. “Phil!”

“I’m sorry, am I hurting you?” Phil asks, instantly pulling away from the hug worriedly.

Dan chuckles. “No, I’m fine. I missed you too,” he says, kissing Phil. “Did you get any work done?”

“I’m proud to say that gay marriage is officially now legal, and anyone who harrasses gay people will be punished.” Phil grins, earning a gasp from Dan. See? Told you it was going to be the first thing I took care of once I became king. I know the people down in the kingdom won’t be very happy about this change. But, it’s time that things do starting to change around here.”

“Oh, Phil.” Dan throws his arms around Phil and hugs him tightly. “Thank you so much. Now my brother will be able to grow up without having to worry about being teased or picked on.”

“Your brother?” Phil asks, pulling away from the hug.

“He came out to us when I visited. Apparently he has a boyfriend but I didn’t get to meet him. So, yeah… another trip to my family’s home is a must before I give birth,” Dan tells him.

“We can arrange that, I’m sure.” Phil chuckles. “Well, I’m glad I decided to change that rule now.”

“Yes, and our baby will grow up without having any worries. That is, if he or she turn out gay,” Dan says. “We’ll love him or her no matter what, right?”

“Hey, of course we will. Who do you think I am?” Phil asks, offended.

Dan laughs and kisses him once before hugging him again. “We should celebrate!”

“I agree we should.” Phil grabs Dan’s hand. “We’ll have a dinner tonight in the ballroom.”

“But, I thought the ballroom is only used for special occasions?” Dan asks curiously, tilting his head.

“I think celebrating our rights is a special occasions.” Phil grins. “We must tell the cooks!”

Dan laughs as Phil pulls him throughout the castle until they reach the castle.

Dan knew Phil would make a great king. Phil had been so worried he would let so many people down. But, Dan knows Phil only wants the best for all of the people, including the villagers. Not that King Michael didn’t care about the villagers, because he did. It just wasn’t his top priority.

Dan knew that Phil would make an even greater father as well. He showed it the night the baby was born.

“Let me see him! My husband is in there giving birth!” Phil yells angrily at the guard. He looks over when the door opens and sighs in relief when he sees his mother. “Mum-”

“Would you keep it down?” Kathryn asks, a smile forming on her face.

Phil blinks a few times as he stares at her, before his eyes widen. “Oh my God. Did he-?”

“Come in. There’s someone who wants to meet you,” Kathryn says softly as she allows Phil into the room. She steps aside to give Dan and Phil a moment alone with each other.

Dan looks up from admiring the baby in his arms, and smiles when he sees Phil. “Your majesty.” he grins.

“Shut up. You know you don’t have to call me that,” Phil mumbles before making his way over to Dan, looking down at the baby in his arms. “Wow. That’s our baby?”

“Mhm. He’s so beautiful, Phil. I’m already so in love with him.” Dan smiles. “Would you like to hold him?”

“Yes. I-I would. I mean, are you sure? You’ve spent all night giving birth to him-”

“I’ll have many more years to be able to hold him. Please, he’s your son too, I want you to hold him, Phil-” Dan pushes himself up, and then he carefully places the baby in Phil’s arms. “Careful. Hold his head up.”

Phil rolls his eyes. “Have you no faith in me?” He asks jokingly, before looking down at the baby. “Wow. Dan, he looks exactly like you. Absolutely gorgeous.”

Dan smiles. “So, I finally decided on a name,” he says.

“Oh, yeah? And… what did you decide on? We’ve been trying to figure a name out for months,” Phil says, not taking his eyes away from the baby in his arms.

“So, what do you think of the name Lucas?” Dan asks, biting his lip slightly.

Phil looks over at Dan, and grins. “I think that’s a beautiful name,” he whispers, leaning down to kiss Dan, and then he looks back down at Lucas. “Prince Lucas Flynn Lester, welcome to the world little one. Together, we will rule and make this kingdom a better place.”

[glitterrhowell]

Chapter 34

title: Seized

Co-author: fadingcrystalvoid

Pairing:  Daniel Howell & AmazingPhil (Phan

Word count: 1.3k

Warning/Genre: Rape/extreme violence/ depression/PTSD/Degradation/torture/ Non-consensual pretty much everything/Little!Dan/Daddy!Phil/Kidnapping

Summary: It started out as a fun day at the park but it ended in terror. Phil takes his little Dan to the park and while Phil is not looking, Dan suddenly gets kidnapped. What will happen to Dan? Will Phil ever see his boyfriend again? Did Phil have something to do with it? Heavy trigger warning

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“Are you comfortable?” Kathryn asked for the twenty-seventh time since the two had arrived home just over an hour ago. Dan, as happy as he was to be out of the hospital, didn’t quite know what do do with himself.

At the hospital, it had been a reasonably strict schedule, free time here, appointments there. Now all twenty-four hours of the day were free for him to do what he wished. And, well, he wasn’t sure what he wished.

“Why don’t you do some colouring?” Kathryn asked, still fussing over him. She hadn’t left his side since they got home, determined to have something for him to do before she went off to make dinner.

“Okay,” Dan agreed, laying his hand on top of the book pile and sliding one off. As any mother would for a young child, she had spoiled Dan. As soon as the papers were signed to say he’d stay with her after being discharged, she’d gone out to buy all the things Dan would need. Colouring books, crayons, texters, pencils. She’d bought new pacifiers, nappies, an Eeyore onesie, as well as socks, in case he got cold.

After she’d bought all this, and it was a week until Dan was being released, she’d went to visit Phil. After making sure her baby was okay despite being in hospital, she’d told him Dan was getting out in a week’s time and would be staying with her.

Phil had been super excited to hear the news and began listing things Dan would want to do and what he’d need. Kathryn, true to her mothering nature, hadn’t forgotten anything.

With Dan happily colouring in a Disney Princesses book, Kathryn made her way to the kitchen. She was exhausted. At fifty-seven years old, she shouldn’t be having to look after a toddler. She’d had her turn raising kids, two to be precise, and now she felt she was raising a third. She knew it was rude to complain; she’d agreed to have Dan stay with her and she loved him to pieces it was just, well, he was exhausting.

She flicked the tv on in the background, not really paying attention to or caring whatever it was they talked about. She focussed on preparing a lovely dinner for three. Which reminded her; William would be home soon.

“Kathy!” a small voice called and she abandoned the stove in favour of finding Dan.

“Yes, love?” she asked with a warm smile. She knelt down to Dan’s height.

“For you!” he declared, holding out a picture of what she assumed was supposed to be her family.

“That’s very nice, deary. I’ll put it on the fridge, okay?”

“T’ank you!”

She made her way back to the kitchen, putting it on the bench with a mental note to find a magnet later. The tv had now begun the six o’clock news and first up was Phil’s trial. It was pretty much on the news every night; updates and theories running rampant around the city. She quickly found the remote and clicked off the tv so Dan would remain unaware of the situation.

As she cooked, she remembered back during the first trial. How their fanbase had begun a fundraiser for a bail he never received. They’d raised over €2,000 in the first 48 hours but none of it had gone to his bail. Instead, the organisers sent it off to YoungMinds, figuring that’d still be helping someone.

“Kathy, I sleepy,” Dan yawned out, standing in the door to the kitchen.

She nodded. “Why don’t you go have a nap, love? Dinner is still forty minutes away.”

Dan rubbed his eyes before yawning again and stretching his arms out wide.

“Do you need any help?” she asked after he nodded in agreement.

“I can be big boy!” he declared before running off down the small hallway and up the steps.

She smiled. While it might be work, looking after a young kid again was enjoyable. There was none of that sass that came with the teenage years, just pure and innocent enjoyment.

~~~~~~~~

Phil dreamt of life before the trial. And before Dan was kidnapped. Before their once-peaceful life got flipped on its head. Before Dan needed bi-weekly therapy and Phil needed handcuffs to be taken anywhere. Back in the good old days. They felt like so long ago now.

After Luke had come by to inform him of the news, he’d found what little hope he had left locked away inside him and brought it out. He let himself think of a day where he could go to Tesco to get some cereal and return home to a grumpy Dan shouting at the tv screen as he played whatever video game he was obsessed with at the time. He let himself dream of a day where he’d be able to kiss Dan on the head without having to think anything of it.

But for now, they still remained fantasies. While the case was reopened, that didn’t mean Phil would be set free. He didn’t even care about being free anymore. Sure, he’d like to be able to live his life, but he’d happily go to prison if it meant he could just hold Dan in his arms once more. To know he was safe and loved and cared for. Of course, he trusted his mum. But Dan had gotten away under his watch and he knew the ins and outs of Dan. His mum didn’t.

He sighed, rolling on the stiff mattress and trying to get some shut-eye. After his hospital stay and a report from Doctor Mander, the prison warden had concaved and agreed to move Phil into another cell. Last he heard Kide had been put int even higher security and therefore had to move prisons. That didn’t mean Phil was safe though; his cronies were still there and somehow - even if Phil didn’t understand how - Kide would contact them.

For now, though, he could sleep easy, knowing he wasn’t at risk of being beaten or raped in the confines of his cell.

“Lester!” a sharp voice demanded. Phil abruptly sat up, sleep clouding his mind.

“Huh?”

“Trial day. Get changed,” the guard snapped.

Phil shook his head, clearing his mind. Trial day. Trial day. Oh my god, it was trial day! He leapt out of bed with energy he didn’t have three seconds prior and quickly went to the bathroom and changed uniform. He’d stopped caring about privacy a few weeks into his prison stay. There was no point; all it did was make him uncomfortable when he needed to shit but couldn’t. His shy bladder had gone away near instantaneously when it realised the options were peeing in front of people who didn’t care, or peeing himself in front of people who would, in that situation, definitely care, and not in a good way.

“Trial of Philip Michael Lester, accused of kidnapping, raping and torturing Daniel James Howell, with the help of Seth Conray and Roger Kide,” the judge announced to the packed hall. There were family and friends who had taken the front few rows. Behind them, were general public now invested since their own loved ones were involved, and a shit tonne of press. A good half of the people there held cameras, paper and pens, microphones or makeup brushes.

The judge summarised the last trial with the notes of the courtroom scribe. After that, the trial began.

[allthephils]

Repose

Chapter 10

Rating: Mature (adult themes, sexuality, sleeping beauty au)

word count: 4,285 / 30,435 so far

Read on Ao3 

Dennis had brought something to play music on, a portable CD player. When he handed it over, Phil had just sort of looked at it, prompting Dennis to call it vintage. Phil wondered if he actually owned any CDs but he said thank you just the same. It had a radio so he tuned in the classical station and left it playing for Dan when he wasn’t there or when he ran out of things to say. Most days started with a recap of Phil’s morning, then a summary of whatever media Phil thought Dan might be sorry to miss; Bake Off, Game of Thrones, Stranger Things. The kitchen started bringing Phil coffee when he arrived and lunch a few hours in to his visit. A few days, he brought cakes from the bakery by his flat. He’d sit and eat and reminisce, telling their origin story again and again. He always brought a cake for Dan, just in case.

In the seven days he’d been coming to see Dan, Phil had only seen the family the one time. This was just fine with him. He’d grown accustomed to the ride with Dennis and was so familiar with the other guard, it was like he wasn't there at all. The fervor over Phaniel had died down slightly. This was partly due to the royal family issuing a statement about Daniel showing promising signs due to receiving a new “treatment.” The crowds had mostly dissipated but for a few diehards who showed up every day and made a lot of noise about the curse and giving them their chance. Phil figured none of that was his concern and was happy to leave the politics to someone else. His time with Dan was about keeping him in this almost awake state he was currently in. It was theirs and theirs alone. Today was no different, until, half way through his in depth analysis of the latest Avengers movie, when there was a knock at the door. It was a brief knock followed by an abrupt intrusion.

“Really, Adrian, knocking? He’s my bloody son, for Christ’s sake!” Prince Walter stormed inside, disturbing the peaceful sanctuary Phil had carefully crafted. Adrian shuffled in behind him, watching his feet.

“Oh, Hello sir. Hey Adrian.” Phil moved to hug Adrian but stopped short. Water was glaring at him and it seemed it might be best to figure out why.

“Hello Philip.”

“It’s Phil…”

“What’s all this? You brought plants? I assume you aren’t actually planning to light those candles. You do realize Daniel has no idea any of these things are here?” Walter was unhinged, pacing the room, waving his arms about as he spoke.

“Well I just thought…”

Walter paid no attention to Phil at all, continuing his tirade over the absurdity of this plan of action. Phil sat down and waited, figuring it was no use to try and interrupt again. He watched Adrian, trying to convey compassion whenever he was able to catch his eye.

“You’ll need to clean all this up, take it with you when you go.”

“Wait, when I go?” Still no acknowledgement from the prince. “Sir... Sir!” Phil had had enough. He felt for this man, he really did, but he wasn’t going to sit here and be verbally abused for doing what he was asked to do, for being a friend to Dan. “Walter!” Phil barked his name and Walter finally stopped. He turned, his jaw clenched and looked at Phil.

“Beg your pardon, sir, but what do you mean, when I go?” Phil spoke carefully, his tone measured.

“I don’t know what my wife told you, but she’s not herself. We can’t carry on with this charade indefinitely.” Walter’s voice echoed off the walls.

Phil felt like he might be sick but he screwed up his courage. Someone had to stand up for Dan, someone had to be his voice.

“All due respect, Sir. Your wi- Princess Danielle seemed to be very much in control of her faculties when I saw her. I may not totally agree with her view of what’s happening here but she is his mother…”

“And I’m his father.” Walter interrupted harshly.

“I understand that. And I can’t imagine what this is like for you. But, she’s his mother and she seems to be willing to do whatever is necessary to help him.”

Walter threw his hands into the air and began pacing again. “Yes, we all are Phil, all but you, it seems.”

There it was. It had crossed his mind a few times over the course of the week, that the family would likely hold Phil responsible because of his unwillingness to buy into the whole curse thing and his refusal to kiss Dan. He knew it would come up but he had hoped Dan would wake up before it had a chance to.

Adrian tried to help, “Father, that’s really not fair. Phil is the only one who…” He swallowed the rest of his words when Walter held a finger up in his direction. It was the first time Phil had seen them act like a family, a dysfunctional, angry family, but a family.

Phil did his best to sound sympathetic. “Sir, again, I don’t mean to overstep, but Daniel has been right at the edge of consciousness since I’ve been coming here. If we could just have a little more time together.”

Walter huffed but Phil went on.

“Do you really believe in this curse? Do you really think a kiss is what he needs? From me?”

Walter raised his chin, looking down his nose at Phil.

“What I believe is irrelevant, Philip. By the time I take the throne, I’ll have one foot in the grave. There are important political ties, negotiations, arrangements, that rely on the relationships that I have personally built. Daniel needs to be there to step in. My heir will survive this and he will take his rightful place in history with a queen by his side.” Adrian stood silent, his lip quivering. It was not lost on Phil that Walter talked like he had one son. One son that was clearly just a pawn in a game to him. “Unfortunately, you seem to be the person Daniel decided to devote himself to. So yes, he needs a kiss. From you. I would do anything if that weren’t so, but it is. So, if you aren’t willing to play your part, then you will need to leave.”

Anger surged in Phil’s veins and he got up, walking to stand a mere foot from Walter. He hadn't noticed before now that he was at least a couple inches taller than him. Try and look down on me now, Walter.

“Adrian, would it possible for you to ask your mum to see me?” He stared into Walters eyes as he spoke to Adrian. “And your grandmother?”

Walter looked ready to strangle Phil, “Now you wait. That’s a step too far.”

Adrian had slipped out the door and Walter called after him to no answer.

“You don’t just casually ask for an audience with the queen.” Walter’s fists were clenched. Phil stood tall, inside he shook like a leaf but he faked confidence.

“I just did.” Phil smiled an artificial smile and Prince Walter walked heavily out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

As soon as he was gone, Phil slumped into his chair and dropped his face into his hands. He cried, mostly out of residual fear and frustration.

“No offense but your dad’s kind of a dick.” He said to Dan, then he brushed the curls away from his forehead. He found Dan’s fingers again, linking them with his, like he had been doing at the end of most days. “I wish you could tell me it’s OK. I wish you could tell me what to do.”

 They didn’t wake up spooning, they woke up facing away from each other, each clinging to their respective edges of the bed. There was enough room between them for the rest of the party to join. Phil rubbed his eyes and rolled over. Dan was sitting up in bed, phone in hand.

“Hey, What time is it?”

Dan jumped a little, smiling, so happy to see Phil first thing in the day. “Ten. Dennis is on my ass to get going so we definitely shouldn’t lay down and have a morning snuggle.” By the time the words were out, Dan had tucked a leg between Phil’s and wrapped his arms around his waist.

As he fell asleep last night, Phil had told himself that they needed to have some real conversations before things went any further. He had vowed to keep his hands to himself and not get carried away. But now, he found himself all tangled with Dan once again and all he could do was smile. They’d be on their way soon, what harm could a cuddle do? Dan wriggled against Phil. “I like waking up with you.”

Phil opened his mouth to agree but a knock on the door interrupted him.

“Sir, you have 3 minutes or I come in.” Dennis was not messing around. Phil jumped out of bed and pulled on his jeans and shirt at record speed. He ran to brush his teeth, Dan laughing behind him.

“Let him come, what difference does it make?” Dan stretched and took his sweet time getting up and dressing.

The living room was quiet, empty, but for a mess of empty beer bottles and dishes. The food from last night had been pushed to one end of the dining room table but not cleaned up. Dan lead Phil to an empty chair at the end of the table and sat him down. He leaned over and said “You relax, beautiful. I’ll get us coffee.“ He gave Phil a quick kiss and walked into the kitchen.

PJ sat, peering over his mug which was held to his lips in a perpetual state of almost drinking. He stared at Phil, an inquisitive look in his eyes. “Sleep well lover?”

“Um yeah. Thanks. It’s a big bed, innit?” Well this was weird.

“So tell me, Phil, what are your intentions with my friend?” PJ slurped his tea.

“Um, my intentions? Um, I guess I…”

PJ laughed a raucous laugh and shoved Phil’s shoulder. “Don’t worry ol boy, I’m just toying with you!” The room was quiet enough that Phil could hear the waves crashing outside through the open patio doors. Dan was tapping his toe to some song in his head, waiting on the coffee maker, oblivious. Phil watched him with an involuntary smile on his face. Dan’s shirt was wrinkled and he had terrible bed head, he had pulled on Phil’s socks, and his pinky toe stuck out of the hole that had formed. He had never seen anyone so beautiful in all his life. He’d had crushes, so many, but this feeling he got from just looking at Dan, it was new and big and somewhat overwhelming. PJ hadn’t stopped staring and now he leaned in close, “He really likes you Phil. Like really likes you.” Phil still watched as Dan poured the coffee, whistling.

“Yeah, That’s the impression I get. Don’t worry PJ, I really like him too.”

PJ looked serious, “Yes I know. But Phil, you know it’s not going to be easy, right? Are you prepared for what it might be like to be with Dan?”

Phil considered this, “Well, no. But I feel like this might be one of those things in life, where you just do whatever you have to do.”

Dan set a steaming mug in front of Phil and sat, splashing cream into his own coffee. He was chatting about taking a more scenic route home so he could show Phil more of the coast. Phil was only half listening, he drank his coffee too fast and burned the roof of his mouth.

There were only a few pairs of shoes by the door now. Phil slipped his on over Dan’s socks and brought Dan’s to him.

“Oh. Are we in a hurry?” Dan asked.

Phil brought his cup to the sink. “No, I mean, maybe. I do have a few things to do at home.” He was just ready to be out of this place. He wanted a shower and he did not trust himself to take one here. He wanted fresh clothes and even though he liked PJ, he wasn’t in the mood for any more best friend scrutiny right now.

“Ok, yeah, we’ve been here all night. Of course you’d want to get home. Sorry.” Dan stood and stretched, reaching his arms high above his head. “Thanks for this PJ, it was great.” He put a hand to his chest, “I appreciate you.” PJ walked over and hugged Dan tight.

“Anytime buddy.” PJ’s hands were on Dan’s shoulders and he looked him in the eye, paternally. “You’re always welcome here... You and Phil are always welcome here.”

Dan smiled widely at that and ducked away to get their jackets, a little embarrassed at the connection.

“Yeah, thanks PJ, this really was lovely, like a mini vacation.”

Phil hoped that would be the end of it but PJ pulled him in for a hug and whispered, “I’m glad it’s you, Phil. If he’s gonna fall for someone, you’ll do just fine.”

Those words, fall for someone, they danced around Phil’s stomach. Phil was sure of Dan. He was totally unwilling to admit it out loud this soon, but still he was more sure than he’d ever been of anything. He was also really scared, scared that his feelings would grow even more intense, scared that they wouldn’t. And scared that he’d be too much for Dan, that Dan could never possibly feel the way Phil did. But those words, from Dan’s trusted friend, if he’s gonna fall for someone, Phil suddenly felt lighter.

The drive home took a little longer than it should have. Dennis drove along the coast for a bit before jumping onto the main road. It was beautiful. Phil told Dan about the Isle of Man and the time he’d spent there with his family. They stopped for coffee and pastries and settled in for the drive. Phil couldn’t remember being so comfortable doing nothing with anyone before. Usually, he was incredibly nervous being alone with someone he hadn’t known for ages. He usually felt compelled to fill silences before they became awkward but the things he said to fill them only exacerbated things. It wasn’t like that with Dan. He could just coexist with him, no pressure, no pretense.

It was Dan who broke through the quiet with a question, asked just above a whisper. “Phil, have you ever been in love?”

The answer spun like a tornado in Phil’s mind, Yes Dan, with you, I’m in love with you. It was difficult to form any other words but he managed, “I think so.”

Dan brushed crumbs off his lap then off of Phil’s. “How long to you think you have to know someone before feeling like that, before you can say you love them?”

Phil thought Dan must be able to hear his heart for how hard it was beating. “Well, I think it depends on the people and how they met and how they spend their time. And anyway, love isn't just about knowing someone, it’s deeper than that. My dad says he knew the first time he saw my mum. He felt it. And look at them now.”

Dan took Phil’s hand and rested his head on his shoulder.

“Dan, you said there are stories you should tell me.” They were stuck in this car, maybe they should get this stuff out of the way. “No time like the present?”

Phil could feel Dan’s sigh. “Yeah. Yeah, ok. Let’s talk about that. There's stuff about my family, obviously, where do I start? Like, before we met, what did you know about me?”

“Um, well, I grew up watching the Christmas specials with my mum. I lost interest once I got a Tamagotchi. No offense.”

“None taken.”

“Funny, but I rediscovered you just a few months before we met.” Phil said, casually, not realizing the implication. He sipped his coffee.

“Wait. You rediscovered me? A few months ago? What does that mean?” Dan had lifted his head and now he was looking right at Phil.

Phil tried to hide his fluster. “Oh, I just exposed myself, didn’t I? Shit. My friend Louise is like a total fangirl for you, but I never really paid attention. And then I saw your photos, when you left Eton. That’s all. There’s no story.”

“Oh no you don’t. There’s always a story. What do you mean you saw my photos? Where?” Dan’s voice had gone high pitched.

“In a tabloid, they published your photo, in your Eton uniform, with the pink socks.”

Dan laughed and Phil continued, getting lost in the memory.

“And you were looking straight at the camera. You looked so...cool. Just enigmatic and fucking cool. I bought it, first one I’d ever bought, only tabloid I’ve ever bought. I didn’t read a word, just ripped out that photo and…” He trailed off. Phil wondered why his filter always showed up a few seconds too late when he was around Dan.

Dan looked scandalized in the best possible way. “And? Phil Lester, you spill right now. You ripped out the photo and what? What did you do with my photo, Phil?”

Phil’s cheeks turned a deep red. “I just, I just kept it.” He cleared his throat. “ In my nightstand.”

“In your nightstand!?” Dan had Phil by the shoulder and was shaking him back and forth while Phil struggled not to spill his coffee. “Oh my god. You wanked to me. You wanked to me! This is  illuminating. How often? How many times? Sorry, sorry, none of my business, but how often?”  

Phil covered his face with his hand and pulled his knees up, willing the earth to open up and swallow him immediately.

 He peaked through his fingers, looking to see if Dennis had heard. Mercifully, there was music playing in the front seat and it he didn’t seem to be paying attention. He put his forehead on his knees and hid.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to embarrass you.” Dan lowered his voice. “Honestly Phil, that’s hot. I’m flattered. Maybe that’s not the appropriate response, I don’t know. Really though, it’s kind of sweet.”

At that very strange assessment, Phil lifted his eyes, raising his brows. “Sweet?”

“Yeah.” Dan breathed a laugh. “You know, when I saw you in that bakery, you were like something... from a dream. My brain was like, hey there he is. There’s the guy. It was like I’d been looking for you, without knowing I’d been looking for you, and then I found you.”

Phil wasn’t sure he was breathing to he put a hand to his chest to be sure. “Dan.” He said.

“I winked at you because I couldn’t stop and I was nervous and my default defense mechanism is to try and look cool.”

“That wink,” Phil shook his head, “that wink stayed with me.”

“I thought of you all that night.” Dan continued. “I couldn't get your face out of my head. It’s a good face.”

“I thought of you too. It was your hands though. I couldn’t get your hands out of my head.” Phil’s heart beat with the memory of that starstruck thrill.

“My hands? You went home after I winked at you and thought about my hands?”

“Yeah. I did.” Phil wasn’t hiding anymore and Dan wasn’t laughing. They were breathing in sync and talking low, tension building with every confession. “I took the picture of you out of the drawer but I’d seen you in real life and I had that wink and your dimples and your hands. So I didn’t need it.”

Dan swallowed, he set his hand on Phil’s thigh, just above his knee, and rubbed his thumb slowly back and forth. “Didn’t need it for what, Phil?”

That was all Phil could take, he didn’t care about Dennis anymore. He couldn’t remember all the good advice he’d given himself. All he knew was the hand on his leg and those lips he couldn’t take his eyes off of. He leaned in, closing the space between them, and they kissed. It was a slow, deep kiss, not unlike their first but more knowing, they’d learned each other some. They ran fingers through each other’s hair, Phil's hand roamed over Dan's back, then Dan’s hand moved. It moved up Phil’s thigh and inside between his legs before Phil’s hand flew down to stop it. Dan pulled away, apologizing, and Phil took his face in hands.

“Dan, you are not making this easy.” Phil tried to steady his breath.

“I’m trying to make it easy,” Dan muttered, his eyes half closed.

Phil shook his head and smiled at Dan, taking his hand and settling back in to his seat.

“You’re the one that said we shouldn’t skip any steps.” He said, gently.

Dan leaned back and let his head roll to one side. “I know, I know. You’re right. I’m just...very ready for the next step, Phil.”

“Ok good cuz the next step is talking.”

Dan stuck out his bottom lip. “You’re no fun.” Phil just held his hand tighter.

 When the car pulled up, Dan looked to Dennis. “I’m gonna walk Phil in, ok?” Dennis gave a disapproving snarl in the rear view mirror. Leaning forward over the seat, Dan pleaded, “Please Dennis, I’ll go up the stairs, say goodnight, ten minutes. Fifteen tops.” Dennis rolled his eyes but nodded.

They rushed inside and up the stairs, holding hands. As soon as they stepped into the lounge, Phil turned and pulled Dan in, kissing again, filling every second they had. A gasp game from the sofa and they both jumped, splitting apart.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry!” Louise moved her laptop from her lap and jumped up in her stocking feet. She stood and curtsied deeply, looking at the rug.

Phil laughed. “Louise, what are you...get up you goof.”

Louise’s face matched the shade of her hair, pink. “But you’re the… You’re prince Daniel. Oh my god, Phil.”

“Seriously, you don’t have to do that for me.” Dan put his hand out, “You must be Louise, I’m Dan.”

She laughed a low maniacal grumble of a laugh. She couldn’t contain herself. They shook hands and she gave Phil a hug and a wide eyed, open mouthed look of wonder.

“I assume you didn’t get my text?”

Phil pulled out his phone and read, “In your hood, two hours to kill before my next meeting. Wanna hang?” then, “I’m coming over to drink your coffee and rest my tush on your sofa. See you soon.”   

Louise shrugged, “You didn’t answer so... I still have the key from when you went to that thing in Australia.”

“It’s totally fine, I wasn’t paying attention to my phone.” Phil said. Dan bit back his grin and shifted his feet, avoiding eye contact with a blushing Louise. They all stood silently until Louise burst out with, “Oh! I’ve got to uh...use the toilet...I’ll probably be a while in there...so take your time.” She sprinted out of the room.

Dan started to say that he thought Louise was a hoot, but his mouth was occupied before he could finish. It was a chaste kiss, soft and pressing. Phil held him there for just long enough then closed his eyes, their foreheads touching. “Goodnight Dan. Next time, more steps.”

Dan nodded. “Goodnight wonderful Phil.”

“Actually, it’s AmazingPhil.” Phil’s crooked lips pulled up at one corner.

“Yes, yes it is. I’ll text you.” He turned to leave but stopped and said, “Phil, I’m not gonna see anybody else, OK? Just you, I just want you.”

“I just want you too.” Phil beamed.  

Dan’s dimples dug in deep and he tripped on his own feet a little. Then he was gone. Within moments, Louise was there, smacking Phil on the shoulder.

“PHIL! Oh. My. God. Why are you coming home right now? Where did you sleep last night? What the hell is going on? I want details now!”

Phil plopped down onto his sofa. “Louise, he’s 18, he’s just a mass of pent up sexual energy. It’s so hard to resist.”

“So don’t! Are you mad? Help the poor man out!”

“I need a shower.” he saw Louise’s look, “it’s not like that! We went to a party, we didn’t do anything. I just didn't shower over there, that’s all.”

“Ok, dollface. I’m sorry, I’m just so bloody excited for you. He’s the prince for cripe’s sake. And he is lush. That arse alone.”

“Louise!”

“Sorry sorry sorry. I’ll be heading out before you get out of the shower so thanks for the use of your sofa and for introducing me to your boyfriend.” She shimmied her shoulders and began gathering her things.

“He’s not my boyfriend, oh my god. Good bye Louise.” He walked toward his room.

Louise called after him, “Bye Philly, remember the little people when you’re royalty!”

Phil slipped off his shoes and shuffled to his dresser, looking down at his feet in Dan’s socks. Smiling, he walked back to the door, then back to the dresser, watching his feet all the way. He could almost pretend Dan was walking with him and he loved it. He undressed for the shower, leaving the socks for last.

[festiveboydanielhowells]

figuring things out (chapter 3)

Summary: Prince Daniel of Eithoia has been seeing Lord Philip in private for years, despite his marriage to Princess Isabella. Up until now, it was never an issue for the three to be together. No one anticipated for the Princess to have an urgent announcement, and now anticipated that it would impact Dan and Phil and their countries as much as it did.

Warnings: pregnancy, implied/referenced smut, mentions of violence, swearing, vomiting,

Tags: fluff, eventual smut, royalty AU, polyamory, pregnancy

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Eleventh of January Junestown, Intora

“Look,” Isabella points out of the window at a large cathedral-shaped building. “Have you ever seen something so beautiful?” He looks at her with a look of adoration, “The woman I married is a billion times more beautiful.” There’s a beat of her blushing, and then she smacks his arm with a resonating ‘slap!’ and Dan has to pretend that it didn’t hurt as much as it really did. “Dumb motherfucker. I hate you,” She says, and her tone’s spiteful but Dan knows that she means otherwise. He’s learned that her saying “I hate you” really means that she loves him (usually). “I love you too,” Dan leans his head down to rest on her shoulder as more buildings pass by through the window. “It is beautiful, though. Junestown is breathtaking. If we didn’t have to live in Kings I would’ve moved here decades ago.” “What a scandal!” Izzy feigns shock, “The Moody King prefers the capital of Intora over his own city.” She gives him a look before turning her attention towards the window again. “I think the medicine is wearing off, when can I take another one?” Dan checks his phone’s clock. “In about an hour. You should be able to take another pill before the ball starts, if all goes according to plan.” Should there be traffic, of course there will be, or any other delay, they’ll need to adjust the medicine schedule a bit. Dan isn’t sure whether Isabella would rather suffer in the car or at the end of the ball. Doctor Yuu had warned against overusing medications in case Izzy suffered from an ulcer. Dan assumes that an ulcer while pregnant would probably certify it as a bad pregnancy, so he’s done all in his power to keep his wife away from downing too many pain-killers. Isabella puts her forehead against the window and takes a breath. “You don’t seem too upbeat.” He nudges his head into the crook of her neck and she threads her fingers through his hair in a steadying motion, “Yea, just sort of anxious.” He mumbles softly against her shoulder. “Wish we could go home, don’t really want to talk to so many people.” She nods in understanding even though he has his head down. “I know. We’re going to eventually have to break the news,” She tells him. “You know, we could tell everyone here.” She points out. “It’s your choice, love.” He reminds her. “I’m not the pregnant one.” “Your mood says otherwise.” She pokes his nose playfully, causing him to recoil and bump his head against the back of the seat. Isabella laughs and puts a hand behind his head, “Oh, dear, are you okay? I heard a ‘thump’ from that, it couldn’t’ve felt good.” She pushes his hair around before deeming him healthy again, “Well, you look relatively put together. As much as you normally do, at least.” “Thank you, Doctor Howell,” He pecks her cheek. “Oh? Is this some sort of roleplay you’re into?” She jokes, “Your wife being your doctor?” She lowers her voice by an octave in an attempt to be sexy, but it just causes Dan to laugh and lean his head into the space between their seats and the driver’s seat. “What are you going to do?” He says through laughter, “Oh, Doctor Howell?” She moves her fingers in a “come closer” motion and he obliges. “Need a prostate exam?” She whispers giggling. “Oh my God,” He catches his breath, “I want a divorce.” “But then you’ll have to pay child support!” She tells him, and he waves his hand. “So? I’m the Prince, I’ll just make child support illegal.” He points out, and she rolls her eyes at him. “You’re going to get impeached.” “Good, then I’ll be able to spend more time with my wife and boyfriend.” “No, because I’ll have divorced you by then, so you’ll only spend time with Phil.” She points out. She takes a breath again, this time shakier than before. “You okay?” He asks, moving his head from her shoulder. “Erm, yea, just a little uncomfortable. Not in too much pain.” “Okay, love.” He says, but he knows that they have a long car ride to go.

Phil has anxiety. Not diagnosed, no, and he’s well aware that this is just basic run-of-the-mill anxiety, but he still feels like crawling into a ball and never coming out. He hates any sort of public appearance he has to make. It involves too much dressing up, too much pretending to care. At least he has the excuse of needing to talk to the King to dip out of the “fun” time, and there’s also the plus of his two most favorite people (three? Does the baby count?) being there. He’s been forced to wear a navy blue three-piece suit (“Isn’t this a bit too fancy? I mean, it’s about Martyn and Cornelia, not me.” He’d attempted to argue, but Julia had just shushed him and reminded him the Lord needs to be the second-best dressed.) “Julia?” He asks, and she emerges from his bathroom with cufflinks and a tie. “Can you roll up my sleeves?” He asks sheepishly, earning a laugh from her. “Oh my fucking God,” she laughs. “You’re so incompetent, how did you get born into a job that requires competency?” But she obliges, despite her bullying, and rolls Phil’s sleeves up. She places the cufflinks in and pats his shaking hands. “Hey, it’s like you said, this is about the future king, not you. You’re still allowed to fall into the background, okay?” She assures him. “If you need help or if you start panicking, just come to me; I’ll be at the desserts table or I’ll be floating around offering drinks.” He pulls her into a weak hug and lets a tear fall down his face. “I don’t want to do this. You know how much I hate this,” He tells her. “I know, honey, but Daniel and Isabella will be there. You can talk to your father with them, you know? They might even announce the pregnancy here.” He lets out a half-hearted laugh and begins to tie his tie around his neck. “They’ve never been the type of people to have announcements. They’ll probably just slip the baby into conversation casually.” He explains. “Dan thinks that announcements are only for the people that you love.” “I’ll never get used to you calling them Dan and Izzy.” She laughs, but her eyes look a little sad. “If you move to Steeple with them, promise me you won’t forget about me?” She asks him. “Of course not, I’m taking you with me.” He says with certainty. “They wouldn’t let you.” “You underestimate how much I have that boy wrapped around my finger.” He points out and straightens his tie. “Okay, boy, now go out there and ‘woo’ your partners.” He pulls her into a hug. “And if anything happens,” she winks exaggeratedly, “you’ll tell me about it, right?” He blushes, but nods.

Izzy, for the first time since she got the two lines on the stick, wants to drink. She didn’t anticipate how it would feel to be sober around politicians of bigger countries. “If I get approached by one more member of the Intora advisory asking if I want to talk about ‘recent events’ I’ll fling my body into the chandelier and then the sun.” She threatens into Dan’s ear, and he nods. “Fucking go for it.” He’s holding a glass of water, he doesn’t want to drink if Izzy can’t drink, “I want to murder the Arch Duke Kieran. He asked if I would like to ‘confirm the rumors’. Like, damn, bitch, which rumors? There’s too many involving me.” He leans over and pecks her lips, earning her to groan. “I just put on my lipstick,” She said, and Dan pouts. “You have lipstick on you.” “Oh? Do I look good?” He winks at her, and she raises her middle finger to him under the table. “God, most of these couples are too fake.” He points out. “How many of them were arranged marriages?” “We were arranged,” She points out, and he waves his hand. “Yea but we were arranged because our mums saw us and were like, ‘ooh they want to get down’ and then decided to set us up.” He fires back. “We weren’t really engaged until I proposed, so it’s not like it was completely forced on us. It was more like a ‘suggested marriage’ and not an arranged marriage.” “You’re not wrong.” She agrees. At the moment, how fucking convenient, a maid comes up and offers them both champagne. Isabella is sure that they terrified her by their in-sync groans of frustration and then equally in-sync exclamations of, “God, no.” “We really live up to the Etithoian stereotype.” Izzy points out. “One, no we don’t, neither of us have killed anyone, and two, you’re Menian, not Etithoian.” He says the last part with sass as if to say that he’s the more official Etithoian. “Well, I just meant because we show our love through being assholes.” She pointed out. “We also cuss way too much for any other royal party.” “Are you sure? Because I’ve heard Phil speak and the boy has a mouth.” Dan points out. “Speak of the devil,” He gestures to wear Phil is making his way towards them. Every other royal party has decided to dress to the Heavens. But Phil is something else, he’s dressed for Jesus Himself and suddenly Dan feels as if his black slacks are a little too tight for him. Phil is beautiful, that’s the only way to describe it. His (dyed) black hair is pushed back into a neatly-styled quiff and his thick-rimmed glasses sit on the bridge of his nose and framing his bright blue eyes. Dan distinctly recognizes that Phil has applied minimal makeup and he wants to compliment every inch of him. His navy-blue suit is ironed to a crisp and dear God, would it be wrong for Dan to drag Phil to bed right this instant? Isabella speaks what they’re both thinking, “Holy fuck, how did we ever get this lucky?” And Dan just shakes his head in disbelief. Them getting together was completely accidental but fuck if that wasn’t the best accident they’d ever made, because now Dan has two of the prettiest people ever by his side. “Hi,” Phil says sheepishly. “You look,” Dan takes a breath, “fucking amazing.” “Beautiful,” Isabella supplies. “Angelic, even.” Phil blushes and looks down at his shoes, “Thanks, I didn’t want to wear all of this but Julia forced me to.” “Julia?” Dan asks and tilts his head to the side. “Oh! Julia, she’s my new personal maid. She’s super nice, but she told me I’d look great like this so I just sort of went with it.” “Well, we’re glad you did.” Isabella says happily, and she puts her hand on her stomach, rubbing circles onto her baby bump. “Laurie’s moving.” She tells them. “You can sort of feel it if you put your hand,” she takes Phil’s hand and puts it over her bellybutton, “right here.” Phil makes a face of surprise and then breaks into a smile, “Oh my God,” he says happily. “You can feel her moving around. It’s so weird but so cool. Dan, come here.” Dan humors Phil and places his hand where Phil’s was before and feels a little bump under his hand. “What was that? Is the baby kicking or is it just moving?” He asks, confused. Isabella shrugs. “I don’t know, this is the first time I’ve been able to feel it from outside of my stomach. Most of the time where she moves it’s just like a sinking feeling.” She explains, and a butler comes up to offer them all drinks, and they all decline, albeit, politer this time. Phil takes a sip of Dan’s water, earning a shove from Dan. “I can’t imagine what that’s like.” He sympathizes. “But in, what, seven months we’ll have a little one.” “We have to get married soon,” Dan says. “Unless you want to live at our palace while were engaged? I’m just thinking about making sure wedding dresses fit,” he shoots a look at Isabella’s belly, “and making sure the baby will get to see their papa. I read somewhere—” “Jesus Christ, you read everything somewhere.” Izzy mutters, and Dan ignores her. “—That the baby recognizes the voices it heard while in the womb. They’ll know who you are from your voice, but in order to keep that recognition they have to be exposed to your voice often.” “I think we need to get engaged before we can really plan our wedding,” Phil supplies, and he goes through his phone while they begin to chat about useless and meaningless things. They talk about their day, how much they’ve all missed each other, and names for the baby (although Isabella is dead set on Laurie). Another royal, Dan distinctly recognizes him as an Arch Duke of something, interrupts their conversation. “Princess Isabella, I heard that you’re not drinking alcohol.” He states slyly, and Dan resists the urge to deck him. The way he states it is so slimy as if the confirmation that she’s pregnant is something bad. “Oh, yea. Doctor Yuu said that I could drink some without harming the baby this early on, but I don’t want to risk it.” She says simply and continues to type something into her phone. “Baby?” He asks, still as slimy as ever. “Yea, baby. Didn’t you know that we’re expecting?” She says simply. “Aren’t you a little young to be having kids? I mean,” Dan can tell he’s about to say something shitty, “Lord Philip is nearly thirty-one and isn’t even in a relationship.” “Actually,” Phil says, which startles Dan a bit. “I am, in fact, in a relationship. With two of the best people I know.” “Two?” The ruler asks in such an annoying voice that Dan wants to rip his own ears off. “Who are these people? Is it going to end in an engagement?” “You’re speaking to both of them,” Dan supplies simply, and the Slimy Son-of-a-Bitch looks uncomfortable and recoils slightly at Dan’s harsh tone. “Oh. An Etithoian. I always expected better from the Intoran Lord.” He says with exaggerated disgust. Dan ignores the statement and looks over Isabella’s shoulder to see what she’s typing into her phone. In the notes app, she’s written, “I’m gonna break that son of a bitch’s fuckin face,” and Dan stifles a laugh. “What’s so funny, Prince Daniel?” The ruler asks with fake sincerity. “My wife is hilarious, is all.” He supplies, and kisses her cheek lovingly. She gives him a look, but plays along with the affection. They’ve never been huge on PDA, if they show affection they do it for each other and not to show off, but Dan really hates this man, so she plays along with it. “Philly, come look at what Izzy’s written.” Phil leans his head over Dan’s shoulder and Isabella quickly writes in her notes app, “just play along with the PDA babe.” “That’s hilarious Izzy,” He gives her a peck on the cheek, too. It feels a bit uncomfortable, and he’s sure someone got a picture and will post that in a tabloid tomorrow morning, but he hates the man who just waltzed over so he’ll out himself to spite him. It’s not like it’ll be a shock to anyone, anyways. They’re interrupted by the King making a toast to the crown prince and his fiancé. He tells the story about how they met, though it’s common knowledge between the three royals. Martyn had been a regular at a coffee shop that Cornelia worked at and eventually, he asked her out after she had accused him of only visiting on Tuesdays so that he could see her. Of course, the rest is history: they fell in love and eventually, Cornelia (what a twist) proposed to Martyn, and Martyn had said yes. Phil isn’t sure whether or not he imagines the sideways glance that his father gives him, but then he remembers that he’s still practically cuddling with Dan and Izzy, and quickly moves away as if he’s been burnt. Dan gives him a puzzled look but doesn’t question it too much. The rest of the night goes by without too much of a hitch; they wish Martyn and Cornelia a good engagement and marriage and they both thank them back and take seats at the table. “So,” Martyn begins. “These are the people my baby brother is absolutely enamored with.” Phil nearly chokes on Dan’s water at that statement, but he finishes the glass instead. “Oh, Daniel, I finished your water, I’ll go get you more.” And before anyone can argue, he’s up and gone from the table. Dan wants to die, he’s mortified. The only times he’s met Martyn were when he was little and Martyn was forced to babysit him and Phil. God, he hopes Martyn doesn’t remember what embarrassing children they all were. “He really likes you,” Martyn states, “both of you.” They manage a nervous nod, and Dan grasps Izzy’s hand in his own under the table. “I know about the baby,” Martyn says simply. “News spreads fast no matter now secretive on can try to be. Phil is scared about being a father, and you might not see it, but he’s anxious that this child won’t like him.” “Laurie will like him,” Izzy states simply. “He doesn’t know that.” Martyn says. “What I’m telling you is to be gentle on him, okay? He wants whatever you guys have to stay good, and I don’t want you to be angry with him over something he can’t help. I’ve seen you all grow up and I know how close you’ve all grown, okay? Don’t break that.” Then he leans back in his chair, and the mood lightens as Phil sits down again. “So, what’s the name list for the future heir?” “Laurie,” Isabella says. “And Anna, David, James, and Jordan,” Dan says quickly. “Isabella is just caught up on the name Laura, and she certain that the baby is a girl.” “The baby is a girl.” Isabella shoots back. “I never said it wasn’t, dear,” Dan points out. Cornelia laughs. “You’re both so young for kids, though. Are you ready?” “We’ve been married for seven years,” Dan points out. “I think we’re pretty ready for kids.” “We’re going on eight years in March,” Isabella says, and Dan looks at her lovingly. “That’s so long, you both were married young,” Cornelia says. “Was it a betrothal?” “Well, er,” Dan makes a face, “Sort of? Not really, no.” Cornelia doesn’t look like she’s buying it. “So you just decided to get married at eighteen?” “Well, I was nineteen.” Isabella provides unhelpfully. “We’d been best friends since we were little, and our mums knew how much we loved each other so they sort of, um, suggested it. It wasn’t a forced marriage, it was a suggested marriage.” He explains. “I’m glad they talked us into it, though, she’s my best friend, besides Phil.” “I like that I’m an afterthought,” Phil says, and Dan sticks his tongue out in retaliation. “Listen, old man, can’t I admire Isabella for a second without you getting all jealous? You know I love you, too.” Dan snarks back. “How did all three of you meet?” Cornelia asks, and all of these questions are starting to make Dan really crave a drink. Phil answers this one, “We had grown up together.” He says simply. “No, but like, all three of you. You obviously have a strong bond but how did you figure out all three of you liked each other?” She asks. “Honest answer or sugar coated?” Dan asks, and he takes a drink of the water cup Phil has brought them. “Honest.” She says. “Martyn, you’re not allowed to ever use this information against Philip. I forbid it.” She tells him, and he rolls his eyes. “We um, er, threesomes,” Dan said, but it came out like a question. Cornelia laughs, “Oh my God, threesome? You just all had sex one day and figured out you liked each other? That’s hilarious, I thought that the Etithoian stereotype was fake but apparently it’s not.” “No, it’s real,” Dan assures her. The five spend the rest of the night talking, and eventually, Martyn and Cornelia move on to other tables and they continue to chat and hang onto each other’s every word.

It isn’t until people begin to drunkenly be escorted out of the party that the King of Intora approaches them with a smile and kind eyes. “Hello, Prince Daniel,” He greets and Dan stands up to bow. “Princess Isabella,” she also stands to the King and curtsies, “Son,” Phil waves. “Hi, dad.” The King pulls up a chair and sits across from them. “Did you have a good time at the party?” They all nod. “I think they’re a lovely couple, truly.” “Of course, Sir. They’re truly meant to be.” Dan says. “Oh, please, Daniel,” The King says and Dan stiffens. “We’re equals, aren’t we? Different titles, yes, but you and I are both rulers.” Dan relaxes. “I’m sorry…” “Nigel,” He supplies. “I’m sorry, Nigel.” Dan apologizes. “So,” the King… Nigel, says, “What’s with this baby I hear about?” Isabella takes the answer. “Daniel and I are expecting a baby.” She says sweetly. “Congratulations! When’s your due date?” Nigel asks. “Sometime in July,” She says, “We’re hoping it’s a girl.” “You’re hoping it’s a girl,” Dan corrects. “I’m happy with whatever our baby is.” “And is the wedding happening before or after the baby is born?” Nigel asks. “I’m sorry, what?” Daniel asks. “Oh, did I misread the situation? I was certain that the three of you were planning a wedding.” Nigel sounds disappointed, and Phil speaks up. “You didn’t misread the situation, Dan’s just stupid,” Phil assures his father, and his father smiles at him. “Oh, son, you have no idea how happy I am for you.” Nigel says, and he tears up a bit. “I’m sure your mother is proud of you, too. Kath always wanted you to find love; she always thought that it would take a while, but it would happen.” “Mum…” Phil feels his throat close up a bit. “Mum would be proud of Martyn, too, right? She would’ve been proud of both of us.” “She would’ve, don’t worry.” His father comforts him. “Now, when is the wedding? Before the birth? After? He will be marrying into the Howell royal family, correct?” “I mean it’s up to—” Dan begins, but Nigel cuts him off. “Daniel. King to King, tell me to my face that it would be even remotely possible for you to marry into the Lester family without combining our kingdoms.” Nigel then sighs, dramatically. “I do refuse to join our countries, Daniel. As much as our trading has always been excellent, we aren’t even allies. One step at a time to breaking the stigma of our countries, correct?” “The stigma around Etithoia is true,” Dan states simply. “There isn’t one good thing about it, if I’m being quite honest.” “But that’s why you’re there. You’re meant to fix it.” Nigel says, and then stands. “You’re a young ruler, Daniel. You’ve got room to grow, and thus far your life has been laid out on a page for you. I’ll allow you all to think about the details of the wedding, the only thing I ask is that it not take the attention away from Martyn and Cornelia. Phil never did like the spotlight.” With that, the King exits and all three of them relax in their chairs. “Bullet fucking dodged.” Dan breathes out. “Come on, I think it’s bedtime,” Phil says, standing up and brushing off his slightly crumpled suit. Isabella is grateful Dan made them pack an overnight bag just in case they didn’t want to drive home so late. “Dan and I have overnight bags in the car, and we’ll need to give our chauffeur permission to leave,” she says, “but then we’ll meet you upstairs, okay?” Phil nods and kisses them both before the split ways.

When Dan and Izzy come to Phil’s room hand-in-hand, he’s already changed into a nightshirt and his pants and is in bed scrolling through things on his phone. Dan and Izzy both change into their night clothing and brush their teeth and faces before crawling into bed with Phil. Phil turns off the lights and crawls back into bed with them, giving Dan a kiss on the lips. Dan manages to deepen the kiss and nibble on his lower lip, eliciting a moan from Phil. Phil lets his mouth open into the kiss, and Dan takes the opportunity to explore his mouth with his tongue. Phil’s certain that boy men wouldn’t be against going further, but Isabella says, “Boys!” and they break apart quickly and hold Izzy instead. In the darkness, Phil swears to God that he sees something move past the window, but he’s too tired to think it’s anything other than a light shining in through the window causing a shadow. So instead of mentioning it, he lets himself be lulled to sleep, thinking of the people he’s sleeping next to.

[lillianlikestooread-blog]

No More Dreams

Notes: shut up I absolutely did not get this idea from “no more dream” by Bts. Fight me. Okay I totally did, but no judging. It's catchy. Word count: 1k Genre: fluff and angst. Warnings: bullying and mentions of death. ••• “Awww look! Danny's gonna go cry! Why don't you go mope to your audience!” Dylan yelled, immediately bursting out laughing. The kids around the school yard laughed as well, the girls and boys pointing at him as they cackled, enjoying seeing Dan cry. This was all making Dan feel even smaller, especially when he never feels that big to start with. Why did he deserve this? All he did was explain that one day he wanted to be an entertainer! Why should he be judged for his dream? Everyone had them, and to be fair, his was far more likely than a fairy princess, or an astronaut. All of those took thousands of years! Besides, his was too make a difference. As he walked home that day, he wiped his tears, keeping his head up as he remembered why he wants to be an entertainer anyways. ‘To make sure I help people that feel just like me right now.’ He thought to himself. ‘I'll make the world a happier place, piece by piece.’ ••• “What do you mean I shouldn't?” Dan yelled, tears rolling down his face as his mum stood on the bottom step, her hands placed on her hips, the toes of her heels clicking against the floor as she tapped her foot. She only did that when she was distressed or angry. “Look Daniel, im not saying it's impossible, because people do it. All I'm saying is being an entertainer will be hard. I just want what's best for you love, and I don't want you to be disappointed when you don't make it! Maybe you should just stick to law, like your dad! He's really successful.” She exclaimed, ‘“trying to make him understand.” As she called it. He called it ruining his dreams. “I'll think about!” He yelled, already making his way into his room. Why didn't she understand? He didn't want to do law. He glanced at his desk, a black and red camera sitting on top of his school books. Usually this sight helped him see that using that camera was what he wanted. What he inspired to do. Now all it did was fill him with rage. ‘Forget it. I'll never make it anyways.’ He said, slamming his arm across the desk. The camera fell to the floor, shattering across his carpet. Dan broke down, now his dream was truly over. He just wanted to help someone, to save people, but now, who's going to help him? ••• “Come on Danny boy, don't be stupid. You're here for law, stop screwing around with that friend of yours, and understand that laws going to be realistic. People rarely make it on the internet. Considering your grades, I highly doubt you make the cut. Stick to what we say is best for you. Otherwise your life will end sadly.” His Law professor explained. That night, he walked straight to his room, ignoring Phil as he told himself that maybe law was best for him. Even if it never made him happy. ••• “Ew fag. Why would anyone watch you.” “Go to hell!” Go die!” “Is he srs rn??& like lol who wood watch that lsr!11 lol Emos are hogt tho!11 congrats on being sexy11! Lol” “Okay, why are you doing this? You'll never be as good as Phil. Seriously just go loser. No one wants you on YouTube, stick to what your doing in college fag.” Sometimes, Dan really wanted to leave his dream behind. ••• “Thank you Daniel. I truly hope you find what you're looking for.” He dropped out. He did it. Oh no. His mother will be so mad. Imagine his father. Oh god. “Is never gonna make it. I'm gonna fail. I can't do this!” He sobbed. How did he let himself do this. He could never make it in entertainment. He wasn't strong enough for this. “You know, sometimes you don't believe in yourself. That's human, and understandable. However, what you said, is entirely false. I know you Dan. I have known you. I know the awful things they've said. I know that they told you it was impossible. That they said you weren't going to make it. If you could see yourself the way I see you, maybe, just maybe, you would understand why I believe in you.” Dan jumped, the voice behind him scaring the emotional boy. Phil sat down behind him, pulling him into a hug from behind, his back falling against Phils chest. “What do you see?” Dan asked, his voice small. No, someone actually believing in him? It was impossible. He could never make it. “You're strong Dan. You've been told you could never make it, that no matter what you would fail, and yet here you are, one million subscribers, thousands of girls and boys screaming for you, and dare I say, a pretty frickin great boyfriend. I see you as a role model, just as I know you see me as one. You made it Dan. You are an entertainer, and you help people. You are happy. Screw everyone else because you are perfect Daniel James Howell. I love you.” Phil said, smiling at the boy in his arms before tilting his head to the side to plant a soft kiss on his lips. ••• “Hello internet, today im going to be doing an internet support group, but before I start, I would like to say something. I've been told all my life, that my dream to be an entertainer was just that, a dream. Something I could never manage. Look at me now. To my mum, the bullies, the haters on the internet, and also the teachers, I made it. Never let anyone tell you that you can't be what you desire to be. That just means that they failed to fulfill their dream. You can do whatever you want. Always remember that.” As he looked out his open door, he noticed his boyfriend walk pass, his headphones on, swaying his little shakira hips. Grinning, he added on “sometimes someone needs to help you, for you to help people.” ••• The end

[victoronyuuri-blog]

Miraculously Alive: Chapter 2, Who’s the Cat?

Summary: Who’s the Cat? What’s his life like? How does he get through a regular school day? 

Rating: Teen and Up

AO3: http://archiveofourown.org/works/11501991/chapters/25915239

After the Akuma had been defeated, Cat headed home. As he jumped building to building, he thought about Ladybug. When he was little, his mother would tell him that one day he’d find a princess of his own, and run father’s business. But now, he knew the truth. He knew that he could never be satisfied with anyone other than his Ladybug. This was one of the main reoccurring thoughts that Cat had while heading home— to the Howell mansion.

“Plagg claws out.” He landed in the window sill and quickly shut his window and curtains.

“That was exhausting Dan, you know what-“ Dan knew where this was going, he sighed as pointed across the room.

“Fine. In the mini fridge there’s probably some left over. I’m going to take a shower.” Dan responded without even looking at his kwami. He threw off his shirt walking towards his bathroom.

“Another one of those showers? You really want your Ladybug.” Plagg mocked from the mini fridge.

“Plagg! No, not one of those showers.” He yelled back defensively. His face was almost the same shade as Ladybug himself.

“Are you sure about that, your blush says otherwise~”

“Even if it was, it’s none of your business.” He countered to the small black creature sitting on top of his desk.

“So you’re upset that he left right before he was going to change back?” He asked right before taking a bite into his camembert.

“… no.” He lied.

“You sicken me Daniel.” Plagg proceeded to eat the rest of his disgusting cheese in one bite.

Dan slammed the door of his bathroom.

—

The next morning Dan’s alarm went off. As he got up, he smiled. It’d been a year and a half since his life changed. First he found that someone had gifted him a small box containing his kwami, and his favorite piece of jewelry. Which ultimately led him to finding the love of his life, Ladybug. The same day, his father had decided to let him go to public school. Which led to making friends other than Chloe.

Speaking of Chloe, he had a text from her.

Good morning Dan!! I have a surprise for you today! <3

That wasn’t good. Typically, Chloe’s surprises for him weren’t the nicest. She typically picked on a nice boy named Phil Lester. Which was odd considering how sweet he was, and not to mention cute. He didn’t dwell on that thought though.

As he got ready he thought about how he’d approach whatever it was that Chloe had done. He didn’t want to hurt her, as for the longest time she was his only friend. But he didn’t want to see Phil hurt or upset. After that time with the gum, he swore on his life that he’d do his best to befriend the boy. He thought he’d succeeded by giving him the umbrella, but then every time he tried to make small talk with Phil, he’d stutter. Dan was sure for the longest time that he hadn’t forgiven him, but he later come to realize that it was just how he was.

He headed down to main floor to eat quickly. As he sat down at the excessively large table, Natalie came and explained his schedule. “Daniel, today you have a photo shoot at three, so make sure you’re ready to go directly after school. At five, you have your fencing lessons, and your Chinese teacher had to cancel tonight so you’ll have a bit free time tonight.”

As Natalie went on, he ate his cereal barely listening to her explain his day. “Thanks Natalie, I should probably be going to school now.” He spoke as one of the people took his bowl.

“Alright. Your driver should be outside.” He stood up, and pushed his chair into the table, and he walked out the door with Natalie directly behind him. Gorilla had the limo pulled up to the side of the stair case.

As he drove them to Ashbourne Dan worried. This happened often, although no one would ever notice, as he had to keep up the look of perfection. There wouldn’t be much for a rich kid such as Dan to worry about, right? A rich kid didn’t have to worry about much at all, but that’s not all he was. Chat Noir had to worry about the well being of all of London.

But unlike many times, this worry had nothing to do with London. This time it was about Phil, who he’d come to really care about. What would Ladybug do in this situation? He knows that Chat would do, he’d try to prevent whatever was going to happen. But unfortunately that was hardly ever an option. His lady would wait and be patient. He had no way of really knowing it was about him. If it was, he could do some Akuma prevention by talking to him.

As he stepped out of the limo, he saw that no one was outside yet. Plagg took this moment to pop out and wish him luck. “Good luck making sure that Chloe isn’t a bit-“

“Plagg, we both know that’s not how we treat a lady. How would my lady feel if she knew you were using that type of language.” Plagg spoke to him through his jacket pocket.

“Okay fine, but you swear all the time,” He waved at Gorilla as he drove away. “And don’t you think it’s a little weird that you call her ‘my lady’ even though Ladybug’s a guy?” He motioned for Plagg to quiet himself, as they walked in the building.

Chloe immediately jumped onto him. “Danny! Did you get my text?” She pulled off of him, quickly.

“Yeah I did, sorry I didn’t respond. You know how forgetful I am.” He answered, she smiled and rolled her eyes softly.

“I know. But you know who’s even more forgetful?” She smirked, Dan gulped. He knew exactly where this was going. She grabbed her bag, and pulled out a two textbooks.

“Why do you have two textbooks Chloe?” He asked even though he knew. He knew that one of them was Phil’s. He’s seen the bookmark before, in English.

“He forgot it in the classroom after class,” She bore a wicked grin. “And I figured it would be fun to see him have to explain in class why he doesn’t have his textbook. “

‘Oh no. She did not.’ He thought as she put it away. He’d have to get it back to him, but without Chloe noticing. He didn’t need Phil to become an Akuma, he’s seen enough Akuma’s because of Chloe.

“Chloe, why? Why do you hate him so much?” He already knew it was a petty grudge from years’ past, but eventually you have to let go, right?

“The brat has been making sure we can’t be together,” She started, already appearing royally pissed from just thinking about Phil. “He’s always taking my seat- which is next to you, or behind you,” She continued, getting red. “And he thinks he owns you.” Dan had to try his hardest to not laugh at that .

“Chloe, Phil hardly talks to me. Let alone owns me. Plus Phil, isn’t gay. He hasn’t shown any interest in me.” He thought out his next words. “In fact, I mostly sit next to Anthony. And you don’t want to start an Akuma just because you have a grudge.”

He walked away from her, and bumped into someone. He fell over, but he heard a little gasp. “Oh, I’m so sorry Dan!” It was Phil’s voice apologizing. With him covering the light so he could only see his silhouette, he noticed he looked a lot like his ladybug.

“It’s okay my-“ He stopped there. “ my friend.” He continued as Phil held his hand out to him.  He took it and watched Phil’s face go completely red. Phil helped him off the ground and picked up his books. “Thanks.” He said while studying Phil’s face. He noticed that he was very red, and his eyes, looked like the ocean about to swallow him whole.

“Oh it was n-no problem. It was my-my fault.” He rubbed the back of his neck and looked down.

“I heard you were looking for your English textbook?” He stated, but made it sound like a question. His eyes widened.

“Yeah, I am actually. I put it in my bag yesterday and after lunch yesterday I noticed it was gone,” He grabbed his back pack and put it over his shoulder. “Do you happen to know where it is.” Dan wasn’t going to lie to Phil. He hated throwing Chloe under the bus though. Even though she was the worst to some people, she was actually a really good listener.

“I have an idea, but I don’t think you’ll be able to get it.” He spoke without even thinking.

“You don’t think I can get it?” Phil looked a bit hurt at this comment. Dan wanted to bang his head on a wall.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. But I can make sure you get it by the next period?” He asked him if that was okay. Phil still looked a bit hurt, but nodded. The bell to go to class rang. Phil walked away from him.

‘Stupid! Of course he could get it!’ He knew that although Chloe was rude, if Phil was running at her, she’d immediately give in. Phil was a nice guy, but he was a bit intimidating. And if Dan was being threatened by Phil, he’d immediately give in. Not that Phil ever would.

He was about to walk into class when he heard a huge bang. ‘Please don’t tell me that there’s another one…’

“This is The StoryTeller speaking!” A girl, obviously turned Akuma spoke  

[sunshinedjh]

The Wolf of the Woods Part Thirteen

Word count: 1693

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Warnings: Nudity 

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Wattpad<<<

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Hey guys, so before you read this I just wanted to say that I need some art or edits for this fic that I can use for pictures on wattpad, you don’t have to obviously but it would be really cool and I could use and share them :)

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It was a few days later now. Dan and Phil had returned to the treehouse and after Dan’s offer Phil had moved in with him. He was settling in quite nicely, even consistently adding to place now that he had all his old stuff from his parents house. It had taken them many trips back and forth through the woods to retrieve Phil’s things and some of them (like Phil’s bed) they had outright refused to lug back. All in all though the treehouse was looking much nicer, various posters and nicknacks now scattered around the place. Phil had also had quite an amusing time trying to teach Dan how to use his laptop. 

‘But seriously why are there so many buttons?’ Dan had asked perplexed. It wasn’t like he was clueless about technology, he lived in the modern day after all, but his parents would never have bought him something like a laptop. 

'They’re keys’ Phil chuckled. 'You use them to type, look you press one and it makes a letter come up on screen' 

'So you can write messages and stuff? To the other people who have one of, er… these?' 

'Yes’ Phil laughed looking at the puzzled look on Dan’s face. 'And you can share pictures and videos too, it’s called social networking' 

'Hmm, my brain hurts’ Dan yawned and sprawled backwards onto his bed.

'You know Phil, we’re probably gonna have to go back to school soon’ he sighed. 

'What that hellhole? Well I guess so but come on, after everything that we’ve been through how are we supposed to just go back and live normal lives?' 

Dan thought for a second. 

'I don’t know but unless we want to live in the forest forever we’re gonna have to try' 

'Who says we don’t wanna live here forever, this place is awesome!' 

'Well, maybe for you but I’ve lived here nearly all my life. I’m going to be eighteen years old soon and I wouldn’t mind becoming something more than a deadbeat forest hobo' 

Phil couldn’t help snorting at that comment but then he composed himself. 'Yeah well maybe, I guess it’s just one more year and then we can leave school and get on with our lives with nothing holding us back’ he replied thoughtfully. Dan paused at that comment, he looked over at the moon charts on his walls and then up at the sky. 

'Yeah… nothing’

Phil seemed to get the hint. 

'Oh Dan I… I’m sorry I forgot' 

'No, no it’s okay I try to forget too’ he sighed 'I just wish I was normal’

'Don’t wish you were normal Dan, wish you were happy. We’ve both been through so much in our lives and now that my family are out of the picture and most of my problems are gone I want to do everything I can to help you through this' 

'Phil… I' 

'Come on tell me what I can do to help you. Anything' 

Dan didn’t know how to respond to that. He’d already opened up to Phil so much and he trusted him, he really did, but he didn’t want him to get swept away with him and caught up in all his problems. 

'Theres nothing you can do Phil, just be my friend that’s all I need’ Dan smiled weakly. 'Come on why don’t we go for a swim down by the lake? That’s always fun' 

'Okay' 

They reached the lake carrying towels and dry clothes under their arms. Dan had always come swimming here, ever since he was a child but it had only just occurred to him that he’d never been with anyone else before. 

'Hey Dan’ Phil had a rather mischievous look in his eye 'you wanted to have a little fun right? What do you say we go skinny dipping?’ Phil questioned a smirk rapidly growing on his face. Dan looked horrified. 

It confused Dan, it really did how Phil could go from being so sincere and serious around him to now wanting to swim around with no clothes on. 

But then, lots of things about Phil confused Dan, it was one of the things that he found so attractive about him, that he was this strange mischievous boy who just showed up in town one day. Dan remembered that day well, how stunned he had been just from Phil’s eyes. Had he really felt that way the second he met him? Damn how had he not realised how big his crush was from the start? 

'Dan?' 

'Hmmm?' 

Dan mentally slapped himself, was he really that distracted? 'Uh okay’ He answered. Shit. Being so lost in his thoughts he totally hadn’t been listening and only now did Phil’s words catch up with him. What had he just let himself in for? He couldn’t swim next to Phil with no clothes on, not if he wanted to keep his dignity! 

Phil had already began to take his shirt off. Dan practically spluttered as he lay eyes on him, blushing and turning away. It was stupid, he’d seen Phil shirtless before, but then that had been in a different context. Dan let out a quiet sigh, he couldn’t go back now. Besides, he’d been through worse, he was a freaking werewolf for gods sake, surely he could manage to go for a swim.

He began to repeat Phil’s gestures, taking off his clothes and trying his best not to look at the boy stood next to him. Only did his head turn when he heard a splash, confirming that Phil’s body was now somewhat hidden. 

'Come on in, the water’s fine' 

Dan wasn’t so sure, he looked down at his friend uneasily. 

'Are those goosebumps?' 

'Oh come on you wimp!' 

Before Dan had a chance to protest he felt Phil grip his ankle and pull him in. 'Ahhh!’ Dan cried 'it’s f, f, freezing you ass!' 

He was shivering so hard that his teeth had begun chattering together. He reflexively threw his arms around Phil trying to retain some warmth, shrieking suddenly as he realised what he was doing. He quickly backed away from Phil as a violent blush began to colour his cheeks. He had just hugged Phil Lester… while he was naked. Dan was mortified. Phil for some reason however seemed totally oblivious to this. 

'So Daniel James Howell, what do you say we play truth or dare?' 

Dan wanted a hole to appear right beneath him and swallow him up. He eventually accepted that it wouldn’t though so he decided to play along. 'When did you become so childish’ he teased. 'When did you become so boring?’ Phil stuck out his tongue. 

'Fine then truth or dare?' 

'Truth' 

Dan thought for a second. 

'Have you ever had a girlfriend' 

Dan didn’t know why that was the first thing that came to him but to be fair he had been wondering that for a while. 

'Nope' Phil answered without looking Dan in the eyes. 

'Really but why…' 

'One question at a time Daniel, one question at a time’ he smiled but something about him seemed a little off, perhaps he was ashamed about what he had just revealed. 'Truth or dare Dan?' 

'Dare' 

'Okay I dare you to dunk head right under the water' 

'But it’s so cold!' 

'Oh come on princess moan-a-lot you can do it’

Dan’s blush came out again for a second until he dived under the water in an attempt to complete his dare and to hide it. He reemerged a few seconds later and stuck his tongue out at Phil. 

‘Who’s a wimp now?' 

Phil seemingly ignored this remark 'You’re hair’s a mess’ he smirked, looking up at Dan’s soaking wet locks. 

Dan cleared his throat. 'Truth or dare?' 

'Truth' 

'Really again Phil?’ He teased 'hmmm, what did you think when you found out I was a werewolf?’ He asked, again he was genuinely curious as to what Phil would answer. 

'Well obviously I was a little surprised’ he laughed 'And the night after it happened I couldn’t stop thinking about it' 

Phil’s voice took a more serious tone then and as he began to speak it was clear that the subject had been on his mind for a while 'I wanted to ask you so many questions but I didn’t want to hurt you and I was sure you wouldn’t want to talk about it. The more I thought about it the more I thought about how horrible your life must have been, being so alone and having to go through an much pain and having no one to talk to about it. That’s why I want to be here for you Dan, to help you and hug you and comfort you' 

Dan felt like he was about to cry. He forgot that they were both naked, he forgot that they were just playing some stupid game. His love for Phil had just grown even greater, he wanted to wrap his arms around him and never let him go. 

'Dan' 

Crap. He’d gotten lost in his mind again hadn’t he? What were they doing again? 

'Truth or dare?' 

Dan tried to drag himself back to reality but he still felt so away with the fairies. 'Truth’ he settled on 

'Okay, what’s your biggest secret? Well I know you’ve already kind of told me that but what’s your second biggest secret?' Phil asked. 

Normally Dan would have got up and ran away right there and then, he would never have answered that question, no way, not in a million years. But in that moment he felt different. He felt like he could tell Phil anything, he felt completely safe and that he wouldn’t be judged for opening up. 

'Okay’ Dan said so quietly it was practically a whisper. 'Promise you won’t laugh?' 

'I promise’ Phil breathed softly.

 And then he said it. The words forming on his lips felt like clouds of vapour escaping him, his tongue speaking them so smoothly. He felt like he was dreaming, like he wasn’t really saying the thing he’d had bottled inside of him for so long. 

'I’m in love with you Phil’

[to4stmp3]

Believing In Magic

Prompt- Dan, Pj, and Chris all have a secret. Because of this they're not allowed to hang out during school hours. Pj and Chris are popular though. Dan is the loner hottie that never talks to anyone. Phil is the new boy.

Word count: 2198

Dan's Pov

"You doofus," I chuckle pushing Chris away from me. Pj laughs as well, until Chris tumbles into him. Instead his face turns bright pink. Yes Pj likes Chris and Chris likes Pj. But neither of them are brave enough to admit it.

They quickly dart away from each other, I just smile. I wish they'd get over themselves and date.

"Dan, school." Pj says, and I fall behind them as they continue off to join the popular kids. Instead I crawl through the hedges and make my way to homeroom.

Once seated in the back I pull out my phone and text Chris, 'i'm in class now. Did they see us?'

Chris, Pj, and their crew enter the room then. Taking their seats in the middle of the room. Chris turns to me quickly and shakes his head no, before turning back to his friends so nobody saw.

You see we can't be friends in school. Why? Because it's too dangerous. The authorities might recognize us as the runaways from a science lab. Then we'd be dead. Good enough reason, yeah? Besides we all have a secret we have to keep just that.

A secret.

. . .

Phil's Pov

I jerk awake at the sound of my mother's voice. Glancing at the clock I jump up and pull on a random pair of skinny jeans. A dark blue color, so I pair it with a black plaid styled shirt that has bright blue intertwined within it.

I pull my back pack on and race downstairs. I quickly tug on my black sneakers, grab a banana, and kiss my mum goodbye. Before running to school, hoping to not be too late.

I've already toured the school this weekend with the principal so I know where my classes are. I keep running until I reach registration. I stop outside the door, and take a deep breath. Readying myself for the stares.

Racing my hand, I knock.

"Come in!" A muffled voice sounds through the closed door. I'm guessing it's my teacher. I push the door open and carefully step inside. "Hello,you must be the new student. Philip, correct?" She asks.

"Yes. You're Ms. Ternan right?" I question.

"That's right." Ms. Ternan smiles. "Class we have a new student. His name is Philip." She gestures at me. "Philip why don't you tell us something about yourself?"

Clearing my voice I say, "okay. Well hi." I wave awkwardly. "I'm Philip or actually I go by Phil. I just moved here to America from England. I'm 18 and that's really it. So?"

I scan the room, taking everyone in, when my eyes settle on a boy in the back hunched over a notebook. His brown mocha colored hair covers half of his face. The part I can see shows beautiful bronze skin and a deep dimple in his cheek. He's gorgeous.

He's wearing black skinnies, a black shirt with a big white circle, and white converse. His arms are littered with band jelly bracelets.

"Phil, why not tell us about your hobbies?" Ms. Ternan breaks through my thoughts. I glance at her and blush slightly. I nod my head taking another gasp of air.

"I like reading fantasy books. I love the idea of super powers and good versus evil. The idea of princesses, dragons, and trolls. That in every story their be a hero. Usually a handsome prince, but sometimes someone completely unexpected. Maybe a giant, elf, or even a princess." I smile dreamily to myself. "I love how FairyTales always end with a happy ending. But I like that sometimes in other fantasies, they don't. How sometimes they show that a happy ending is overrated."

"Wow that was a very in-depth look. You must really like to read, Phil." I look around the room to fin everyone staring at me. Including the boy in the back, whose mouth had dropped open and was looking at me in disbelief.

"Uh, yeah. They just really...Um... in-interest me." I stutter. Then quickly Stan up straighter. Why should I be embarrassed by something I'm passionate about? "It's probably because I witnessed magic before."

"Haha, really? You witnessed Magic before?" The brown haired boy asks suddenly.

"Yes, yes I have." I say confidently.

He crosses his arms. "Well get on with it. Tell us the story."

I smirk, "fine Mr. Jerk face." A few people snicker and he glares at me before gesturing with his hand for me to continue. "I was 7 years old and went to London for the day with my class to visit a historical museum. I of course wandered away with my best friends Tyler, Troye, and Louis."

"Tyler and Troye soon disappeared to probably find a cupboard to snog in." I chuckle to myself. "Leaving me with Louis. Or so I thought. When I turned to ask her something she was gone. By now I was kinda scared. I was all by myself, in a creepy museum, and I was lost."

I look away from the boy in the back to see everyone hanging onto my every word.

"So I turned around to head back. Getting more frightened by the minute when I heard it."

"WHAT DID YOU HEAR!?" A boy in front with curly brown hair and light green eyes shouts in a entranced tone. I laugh quietly.

"A voice of a young boy. He kept whispering, 'helophonia' over and over. It was quite freaky to tell you the truth. But as scared as I was, I was more curious than anything. I followed the voice. Which was soon joined by two others. All three boys were whispering 'helophonia'."

The brown haired boy looked slightly uncomfortable, as was the boy who shouted out, along with a boy beside him. Strange.

"Once I finally located them they were all holding hands in the middle of the room. Continuing to whisper. I was about to ask what they were doing when a blinding light flashed and they were gone."

"And then what?" Another boy with brown hair asks, the same one who was looking uncomfortable earlier.

"I looked around but nothing was left. No sign any one was there. It's like they never really existed. I asked someone who worked at the museum about it. But they had no idea what I was talking about." I sigh, "to this day I still wonder what happened to them."

"Did you see what they looked like?" The boy in the back asks.

"No, all I know were they were boys, and all had brown hair." I answer truthfully.

"Well shit." The boy says after a long silence.

"Daniel Howell, enough!" Ms. Ternan snaps.

He huffs, "sorry."

She smiles at me. "Well Phil. That was something. But this is end of homeroom now. You all may leave." With that everyone heads off to class. Well besides the two boy in front who asked me stuff.

"Hey Phil. I'm Pj and that Chris." The green eyed on says. "That was a cool story. Wish I had been there." He chuckles, sharing a glance with Chris.

"So you believe me?" I question. Nobody ever believed me before. I'm kinda shocked they might.

"Of course! Nobody could come up with that on the spot, and you didn't make yourself out to be a hero. Plus you seem very honest." Chris answers for him.

I smile, finally somebody trusts me.

. . .

Dan's Pov

Fuck.fuck.fuck.fuck

He was there! Phil was there when we came to America!

WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK!?

Calm down, Daniel. Breathe in, and exhale... FUCK!

I really need to relax, I feel like I may faint. So I head out of the school building and walk behind the shed were everyone smokes, I choke on the horrible after smell. Lifting my hands I begin to let my self take control again. And do the only thing that could calm my rapidly beating heart.

I begin to move. (And no he's not dancing)

. . .

Phil's Pov

A lot of people ask me about the story, most thinking I made it up. So by the end of the day, I'm labeled, sadly, a liar. It doesn't really bother me though. That's what I've always been labeled as.

It's now my third day and I'm in a sort of, well snitch.

A boy name Jake has took it upon himself to personally make my life a living hell. Which I greatly appreciate, note my sarcasm?

But today is by far the worst. I kind of, uh... agreed to fight my bully. IT WAS ON ACCIDENT I SWEAR! He just got under my skin and before I knew it I blurted out to meet me outside after school...

So, um.... oops...

Dan seemed pretty freaked to tell the truth. He's quite strange if you ask me, but oh well. I'm weird myself.

It's currently last hour and five minutes before the final bell. Five minutes before I get my ass kicked. Gulp.

'blring'

Crap.

I slowly make my way outside, a crowd has already formed, and in the middle is the one and only Jake. I set my bag down and cautiously walk over. I intend to fight with all my will. Oh who am I kidding? I'm dead! Please attend my funeral, yeah?

"Ready, Lester?" Jake snarls.

"As ready as I'll ever be I suppose." I whisper.

Taking a step forward I get into my best fighting stance. But before I can even move Jake has his fist colliding with my jaw. I stumble back startled, only to trip and fall hard on my bum.

Jake laughs before kicking my in my side. Raising his fist to hit me again, until...

A huge branch flies past me and hits Jake causing him to fall back. A bunch of rocks suddenly lift around him and drops harshly, bruising his tanned skin.

I look around trying to figure out what's going on, when I see Dan. He's running to me his hands outstretched. I glance back at Jake to see my bully lifted in the air. I gasp leaves my parted lips. What the?

"Pj, Chris now!" Dan shouts. And suddenly Pj appears with water swarming around him and lifts his hands to wrap it around Jake's unmoving body. The water suddenly freezes and my bully let's out a girly screams.

Then Chris Kendall runs forward and raise his hands, fire erupting from his palms, melting the ice away, leaving Jake to helplessly fall the ground.

Dan towers over him and hisses, "Don't. Hurt. Phil. Again!"

Jake wobbly stands, sheepishly nods, and then runs away in fear. I slowly turn to Dan, Pj, and Chris who all seem scared.

Everyone around us is shocked, we all await an answer to the events that just took place.

"So yeah," Chris laughs. Pj smacks his shoulder and the boy groans.

"Sorry guys if we frightened you." Dan shyly says, twiddling his fingers nervously.

"You see, we all have special powers." Pj tries to explain. "I control water, ice, and air. And Dan has Telekinesis. Chris-"

"I GET TO PLAY WITH FIRE!" He interrupts happily. Proud of his talent.

I stare with my mouth hanging open.

"Phil, in that story you told on the first day." Dan begins. "Well that was us. We were escaping from a science lab under London where they experimented on kids like us."

"That's why nobody can know about our secret. Because then the authorities will take us away again." Pj adds.

"And the lab was scary. And the scientists were mean." Chris ends, shuddering.

I slowly nod. Understanding.... sorta.

"Guys we have to go. They'll be here soon. We need to try and find a place far away and hide out again."

"Uh... I think I know a place." I say, and for the first time I'm confident in myself.

. . .

"Thank you so much Phil." Dan thanks me profusely. They let me tag along to the old museum that I first discovered them. I knew it would be safe because it shut down a few years ago, and they secured it tightly.

"Its no problem Dan. I'm just glad I could help." I blush.

Pj and Chris are snuggled in another room, while Dan and I are taking here.

Dan shyly takes a step forward before cupping my cheek, and connecting our lips.

OMIGOD!

It was slow but passionate. Simple but elegant in a way. In other words, it was perfect.

"No thank you Phil." He whispers. "For believing in us, for helping us, for not pulling away when I Kissed you." He chuckles.

I giggle, "shut up Daniel." I scold before reconnecting our lips.

And I swear in that moment, the wonderful, perfect, and passionate moment. I believed in magic more than ever.

[glitterrhowell]

Time Ignites A Spark

Title: The Bully

Pairing:  Daniel Howell & AmazingPhil (Phan

Word count: 1.7k

Warning/Genre: angst. fluff

Summary: Prompt: Phil takes Dan to the park and Dan gets teased by another kid

Note:  Hi! This is going to be 5 chapters of little dan goodness! These are written for ficmas and the prompts all came from my lovely friend Christy (Fadingcrystalvoid). I will be posting one chapter a day leading up to Christmas so hopefully everything goes smoothly as I'm getting a new prompt each day without any knowledge of what they're going to be. These prompts should hopefully fit together to make one cohesive story. So I hope you enjoy and I appreciate everyone who reads!

Read on A03

Read on Wattpad

“Daddy, can we please go to the park?" Phil sighed softly and swiveled his chair around to look at Dan. "Maybe later kitten Daddy has to finish these emails ok?” He asked hoping Dan would accept his answer.

Tears started forming in Dan's eyes and Phil could tell he was on the verge of a tantrum.

Thinking quickly Phil formed what he hoped would be a solution. “How about this you go and watch one movie and when that movie is over we can go to the park ok?”

Dan face contorted as he thought. "Ok, daddy." He finally said.

Phil let out a sigh of relief.

Phil walked Dan out to the lounge and got him settled in.

“What do you want to watch princess?" He asked flipping through their DVD collection.

"Can I watch frozen plewse?"

Phil grinned Dan wasn't usually this polite which means he was trying really hard to be on his best behavior.

“Of course you can kitten." He said popping the DVD into the player.

Phil leaned over and gave Dan a quick kiss on the head before he turned to head back to his office.

~~~~~ Phil groaned surely there must be an end to all that emails. His eyes flickered to the screen noticing there were still fifteen unopened emails I'm his mailbox.

Eyes starting to twitch and hurt Phil took his glasses off and rubbed into his eyes perhaps a little harder then he should have as it seemed to intensify the headache he had already had.

A soft knock on the door got his attention.

“Daddy?" Dan questioned softly sticking his head in the door.

“What is it baby?" Phil asked turning back to his emails.

"Frozen over.” He whispered softly.

Phil glanced down at the clock on the computer. He couldn't believe over two hours had passed already. He sighed, “Alright kitten a promise is a promise go get your shoes on and we'll walk to the park ok?”

" Yay! Thwnk you Daddy!” Dan squealed.

~~~~~~ The walk to the park only took a few minutes since they didn't live that far. Dan buzzed with anticipation the entire time.

“I'm going to swing dawdy!" He squealed swing Phil's arm back and forth.

" That's nice baby,” he smiled.

They came upon the park and Phil walked him up to the swings. “Ok kitten daddy's going to go sit right over there, " he said pointing to the benches over on the other side of the swings.

" But daddy I want you to push me!" He whined.

Phil closed his eyes "Baby daddy isn't feeling too well, maybe in a little bit ok?" He asked knowing full well that Dan would probably tucker himself out before he remembered Phil had said that.

“Is daddy sick?" Dan asked suddenly worried. “ I don't want daddy to be sick!” Tears formed in his eyes.

“No daddy's not sick Darling just a headache ok?” He said trying to calm the boy down.

Dan looked at him skeptically before finally accepting his answer, “ok daddy I'll by myself for now. You go sit." Dan demanded pointing to the bench.

Phil chuckled "alright love I'll be right over there if you need anything. Have fun ok?”

" Ok daddy!” The boy screamed already leaving Phil alone as he ran to get on the swings.

~~~ Phil hadn't been sitting here long before a woman probably in her mid-thirties sat down beside him.

“Hello!" She bright exclaimed, “My names Victoria." She said extending her hand to Phil.

Phil really didn't feel like socializing but not wanting to be rude he extended his own hand, “Phil."

Which launched the women into a full-fledged bragging session about her daughter.

Phil sighed not really wanting to listen but being too socially awkward to saying anything to her.

Eventually, the conversation took a turn when the women mentioned some new kids show that had come out that her daughter loved.

“Dan loves they show as well!" He said.

“ Oh is Dan your son?" She asked. "Yeah,” Phil said not wanting to get into the logistics with this women.

“It's such a great show it taught Emily her ABCs in less than a month.” She gushed.

This lead them into an in-depth conversation about children's tv and the benefits it had.

~~~~ Dan watched his daddy talk to the women and sighed he wished his daddy was with him but his daddy didn't feel good. Getting bored on the swings he got off and made his way over to the slide. He patiently waited behind a boy for his turn to go down the slide.

While waiting his turn he felt a tap on his shoulder, ”Excuse me but what are you doing?” A young girl about a foot Shorter than him asked hands on her hips.

“Gonna go down the slide." He said shrugging his shoulders.

He turned back around because the line had moved. He was now second to next in line.

“You're too big to play!" The girl shouted. Startled tears started to form in his eyes. “What do you mean?" He asked lips quivering.

The girl stomped her foot, “ Your an adult you're too big to go down.” She said once again.

Dan was confused what was she talking about he was little just like her. His brain was too small to comprehend that what she was actually saying was his long limbs would definitely be a little long to go down the short slide.

With tears still in his eyes, Dan turned his back to the girl hoping she would go away and leave him alone. But instead of leaving him alone the girl kept yelling at him and by this time Dan was close to full in sobbing. He turned around to yell at the girl to go away when out of know where he felt hands on him and the next thing he knew was he was on the ground in the dirt.

This caused a very distressed Dan to have a full blown Panic attack sobbing and covered in dirt.

Phil was in the middle of telling the women how Dan had once fallen asleep in the middle of the store when he heard Dan scream.

Shook from his conversation Phil stood up and Sprint over to where Dan sat still on the ground. Once he reached him he got down on one knee, “Danny what's wrong?" He asked frantically trying to figure out why his boyfriend was a sobbing mess sitting in the ground.

Dan threw into Phil's shirt clutching the material of his t-shirt in his hand. Sobs wrecked through his body shaking him with every breath.

“She--sh-she pushed me, daddy!” He wailed pointing to a small blonde child stood next to him looking slightly frightened.

“Is this true? Did you push him?” Phil demand.

Dan clutched Phil's shirt tighter and buried his face into his neck as the girl spoke.

“Yeah, but I didn't know he be a big baby about it and cry.” She said the scared look on her face now gone.

“Why on Earth would you do such a thing?" He demanded.

Phil held on to the sobbing boy waiting for her to answer.

“Emily, what is going on?"

Phil looked up to see the Victoria the women he had been talking to run up.

“Is this your daughter ?" He asked.

The women wrapped her arms around the girl, “Yes this is Emily."

" Well, your daughter just pushed Dan down and doesn't seem to be sorry about it.” He snapped.

“Wait this is Dan?" She asked looking confused.

" Daddy I wanna go home!” Dan sobbed.

"Shh, it's ok baby we'll go home soon.” He said rubbing circles into the crying boys back

" Is this some kind of joke?" She asked still looking completely confused.

Phil was getting angrier by the minute. “Of course this isn't a joke! Don't you see him crying?" He asked pointing to the now whimpering boy.

The women and her daughter didn't say anything and just stared at them. Finally getting fed up Phil pulled Dan up with him and stood up “ I think you owe him an apology.”

"No way I'm not apologizing to him! What I said was true he is too big to be playing here. He’s a freak!” Emily shouted at him tears now forming in her eyes.

Phil looked at Victoria and the women wouldn't meet his eyes.

“Well, aren't you going to make her apologize?” He demanded.

Victoria looked at him hateful now. “I'm not making my daughter apologize to that freak! She screamed pointing at Dan.

This caused the bow hiccuping Dan to begin sobbing again.

Not even worried about an apology anymore Phil took Dan's hand and started walking away. He very much wanted to tell the women she and her daughter were being hateful and should be ashamed of themselves but his top priority at the moment was Dan.

Trying his best to soothe the clearly upset and crying boy Phil had wrapped himself around Dan again. Of course, making sure they were far away from the hateful mother and daughter.

Phil held the boy and let him cry and eventually his sobs subsided.

“Daddy?" A small voice questioned him.

Phil hummed, “What is it kitten?"

"Why was that girl so mean?” He whispered into Phil's neck.

Phil sighed “I don't know baby.” He answered honestly. "some people are just hateful I guess."

Dan sighed and shoved his face closer I to Phil's neck.

Phil just sat there hugging the boy when an idea came to him. “Hey, baby how about we go home and we can play princess?”

Dan perked up, “Really daddy?” He asked suddenly getting excited.

Phil chuckled “of course I know it's your favorite game.”

Dan squealed with excitement and shot up trying to pull Phil up with him.

Laughing again Phil stood up and took Dan's hand. Yes, he still had a headache but he today reminded him how important his baby was to him and all he wanted to do was make him happy.

So Dan and Phil made their way back to the apartment where Dan dressed Phil in a pink princess dress and covering his face messily in makeup with Phil enjoying every moment of it.

[glitterrhowell]

Trick or Treat, Sweets for My Sweet

Title: Trick or Treat, Sweets for My Sweet

Series: Spooky week 2018

Pairing:  Daniel Howell & AmazingPhil (Phan

Word count: 3k

Warning/Genre: little space/cute/slight angst/ trick or treating/ daddy kink/sweet/fluff

Summary: Daddy Phil takes little Dan trick or treating and the night doesn't turn out as expected.

Red on A03

Read on Wattpad

This is part of a collection of eight stories I have written over the last few months for Autumn/Halloween. I am titling this series spooky week and will continue to update every day up until Halloween day!

A huge thank you to my other half Christy (Fadingcrystalvoid) for being with me since the start of the series listing to me rant and proofreading for me. Also for last minute betaing all these stories for me!

Phil sighed as he thumbed through the hangers that held all the Halloween costumes in the store. It was extremely hard to shop for costumes for Dan as most of the adult costumes were to revealing and not very appealing to a child. Of course, Dan wasn’t a child he was a very much grown man but half the time he had a child's mind.

Phil had learned about Dan’s need for being little very early on in their relationship. It wasn’t something that bothered him, in fact, they both learned pretty quickly that Phil adjusted to the daddy role very easily. And Phil loved being Dan’s daddy as well as his best friend, business partner, and boyfriend.

He sighed as moved on to the next rack of costumes. He hoped that they could find something because tomorrow was Halloween and Dan had been looking forward to trick or treating for months now. And he would feel like absolute shit if they couldn’t find something. Because he was the one who had kept putting off this shopping trip. It wasn’t that he hadn’t wanted to go they had just been really busy recently. They had just returned home from their second tour and they had been working like crazy to get videos out to make up for when they were gone. So they hadn’t had time to much of anything.

“Daddy!” he was shaken from his thoughts at the call from his little.

Dan was currently in the children's section of the store, Phil not having the heart to explain to him that he would never be able to fit in a child’s costume.

“What is it love?” he asked walking over

“I want this one!” he pointed excitedly at pink princess costume. “Look it comes with a crown!”

Phil closed his eyes for a moment only opening them when he spoke to Dan, “I’m sorry love we can’t get that one.”

Tears welled in Dan’s eyes, “Why? You said I could get anyone I want.”

“I know baby and I’m so sorry but it’s just not possible. I don’t think it will fit you. Remember how we have had the discussion about you still have to wear big people clothes sometimes?”

Tears rolling down his face he shook his head.

“Well, this is one of those times.”

Phil wiped away one of Dan’s tears, “I’m sorry love.” he added again.

But instead of calming him down like Phil thought he yanked away and throw himself on to the floor. He was having a full on tantrum now kicking and screaming. This is not how Phil wanted today to go.

“Daniel you stop that this minute!” he said using his daddy voice.

“No! i-its not f-fair I w-want it!” he continued to wail.

Looking around to make sure no one was watching he bent down, “Daniel James Howell if you don’t stop this instance then you won’t be going trick or treating at all!” of course Phil would never really take that away from him but Dan didn’t have to know that. The threat seemed to work because he stopped kicking and went silent other than the occasional sob.

“Excuse me is he alright?” a concerned looking employee asked.

He sighed, “He will be fine he’s just upset because you don’t have a costume in his size.”

“Oh no, poor dear. What is it he is looking for?”

He didn’t really want to tell this stranger his boyfriend was looking for an adult size version of a princess dress, but the concern in her eyes told him that it was ok.

“He really wanted this princess dress,” he said pointing to it.

Her face lights up instantly “Oh hold on I think I might have something in the back. I will be right back.” she sprinted away.

He turned his attention back to Dan who was now sitting quietly on the floor sucking his thumb.

Phil reached into his pocket and retrieved Dan’s dummy. He pulled his thumb out of his mouth and before Dan could protest he shove the dummy in place of his thumb.

“Come on baby let’s get up off this cold hard floor.” he reached under his armpits and lifted him to his feet. Just at that time, the store employee can running back with a pink dress in tow.

“I knew we had something close to that, look it's almost the same!”

Phil had to admit the dress was very similar to the one Dan had been looking at. The bottom skirt was a light shade of pink while the top half was a darker pink. It had pretty white sleeves that all the way down the arms. And to top it all off it had a sparkly bow tied on the back.

“What do you think love?” he asked hesitantly afraid his question may set off another tantrum.

But Dan’s eyes light up and he popped the dummy out of his mouth, “It’s so pretty! Can I have this one daddy please?”

He looked the dress over one last time making sure that it was the correct size before he shook his head. “Of course love if you are sure this is the one you want.”

“Thak thak you daddy!” he squealed with excitement.

Phil chuckled and turned his attention back to the employee. “I can’t thank you enough for this..” he squinted his eyes and looked at her name tag, “Emily. You don’t know how much I appreciate it.”

She just shook her head, ”Honestly it was no problem I’m just happy I could help you out.” Phil smiled and thanked her one more time before he took the dress.

Before they left the store and when Dan wasn’t paying attention he also grabbed the small costume so he could get the crown from it. It would be a nice surprise for him tomorrow. He paid for everything and they headed home stopping for an ice cream cone on the way.

~~~~~~~~

The next day went by really slow Dan had to be told more than once that it wasn’t time to go trick or treating yet. But finally, by five pm, Phil gave him the go-ahead to start getting ready. And since trick or treating didn't start until six that gave them plenty of time to get ready.

“Daddy, can you help me?” Dan asked as he came dragging his costume out of their bedroom.

“Of course love come here.”

Phil stripped him of his clothes Dan giggling a little when Phil brushed his fingers across his sensitive tummy. He helped him into his costume and if Phil was being honest Dan looked absolutely stunning. His creamy soft skin went really well with the shades of pink and white. And the sparkles really brought out the sparkle in his dark chocolate brown eyes.

“How do I look daddy?” he asked as he spun around giggling.

“You look so adorable. My little princess.”

Dan giggled again as he ran to the lounge.

While Dan was distracted by something in lounge Phil retrieved the crown he had bought yesterday.

He walked into the living room to find Dan on the floor playing with his stuffies.

“Hey love I have a surprise for you.”

Dan looked up from his toy excitedly. The second his eyes landed on the crown Phil was happy he had decided to buy it. His eyes lit up with excitement and pleasure.

“Is that for me daddy!” he asked crawling over to Phil.

He chuckled, ”Of course princess.” he placed the silver crown on top of his head sitting in in the middle of his soft curly waves.

“Aww so pretty. My pretty little princess.”  Phil cooed at him.

Of course, Dan spent the next ten minutes admiring himself in the bathroom mirror adjusting and re adjusting his crown until he was happy. When Phil finally announced it was time to go Dan jumped and squealed with excitement.

So far everything was going well they were about halfway down their street his bag was halfway filled with candy and Dan seemed to be enjoying himself. Several children had stopped to compliment his costume while they earned several glares from the parents but luckily Dan hadn't seemed to notice.

“Daddy I want to go to that one next!” he pointed at a rather scary looking house. It had been defiantly decorated for Halloween it was dark and creepy. In the front yard, the occupants of the house had set up a graveyard and had a fake witch sitting on the porch.

“Ok love. I’ll wait here while you go up.”

Dan stopped and looked at Phil.

“What’s wrong love?”

He looked down at his feet, ”Me scared can you go with me.”

Phil chuckled, “Of course love, let’s go.” he took a hold of Dan’s hand.

That seemed to do it there was once again a smile plastered on his face. Once he reached the door he rang the doorbell.

An older looking woman answered the door with a sweet smile on her face.

“Trick or treat!” Dan yelled holding out his bag.

The women looked at them and a glare quickly replaced the smile that had just been there. “Is this a joke?” she sneered

Phil watches the smile also drop from Dan’s face because she was now glaring at Dan with hatred in her eyes.

Phil stepped in, ”No of course not. Why would this be a joke? He just wants some candy.”

“He's an adult he shouldn’t be trick or treating.” she spat out.

Phil saw Dan’s lips start to quiver. This woman was not going to ruin their night. “Listen can he please just have his candy and then we can be out of here.”

“I’m not giving him anything. Not only his he too old to be trick or treating but he is wearing a dress! A dress!” she screamed pointing her finger in Dan’s face.

Dan was sobbing now tugging at Phil’s sleeve, “Dad-ddy I wan-nna go home.”

Phil glared at the women, “You're a hateful old woman I hope you're happy you just ruined his night.”

The women simply continued to glare as she slammed the door in their faces. Dan now burying his face into Phil was still sobbing.

“Hey love it’s ok, stop crying,” he said trying to soothe him but nothing seemed to help.

Despite Dan being a 6’2 tall man he managed to pick him up and carry him to the end of the sidewalk. He sat him down on the ground and enveloped him in a hug.

“Shh it’s ok, don’t cry.” but he continued to sob and now hiccupping. Phil just held him and let him cry, not really sure what to do.

A few minutes later a small voice behind him asked, “Excuse me sir but are you alright?” he turned around and saw a little girl standing with who he assumed was her mum.

Phil turned to the girl, “He will be alright that lady at that house was really mean to him,” he said pointing his head in the direction of the house.

The girl turned her attention to Dan, “It’s ok she was mean to me too.”

Dan blinked the tears from his eyes, “She was?”

“Yeah, she said I shouldn’t be dressed like this.” She pointed down to her superman costume.

“Why?” Dan asked tears now starting to dry on his face.

“I don’t know, she said this was a boy’s costume and I should be dressed like a girl. But I told her I liked this costume and she yelled at me. She seemed like a very mean and lonely person.”

Phil was impressed this girl seemed knowledgeable beyond her years.

The girls mum who had been quite up until now spoke up, ”She told me I was a bad mother because I allowed her to wear this costume.” she said looking disgusted.

“She told him that he was too old to be trick or treating and that he was a boy and couldn’t wear a dress,” Phil explained to her.

The girl was shocked, “But I love your dress it’s so pretty!”

“Thank you.” Dan murmured to her.

The women shook her head, “It’s horrible how some people act.”

Phil nodded his head in agreement.

“I’m Natalie by the way and this is my daughter Cassie.”

Phil stood up since he had been kneeling on the ground to comfort Dan, “I’m Phil and this is my boyfriend Dan.”

Natalie bent down, “Hi it’s nice to meet you, Dan.”

Dan didn’t take too kindly to strangers so he just gave her a little wave as he buried his head further into Phil.

She stood back up and turned back to Phil, “I know you don’t know us but Cassie and I were just getting ready to go home. We would love if you two would join us for some hot chocolate and cookies?”

Phil thought for a moment he didn’t know them but they did seem like nice people. Before he could answer Dan tugged at his sleeve, “Can we go please daddy?” he whispered.

“Oh yes can he please come over Phil? We can watch Halloween movies with our snacks!” Cassie said with pleading eyes.

He rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled, “Well I guess I have to say yes now don't I?”

Both Dan and Cassie cheered and started excitedly talking about which movies they wanted to watch.

Natalie shook her head and smiled in amusement as she watched the two of them.

“Come on let’s go,” she said smiling as she took a hold of her daughter's hand.

They all chatted on the way to their flat, and the more they chatted the less worried he becomes that they might end up murdered tonight.

“Well here we are,” she said as she opened to door and motioned for them to step inside. Cassie drug Dan straight to the kitchen to get cookies.

Phil followed behind Natalie and when he entered the kitchen he saw Dan and Cassie excitedly talking over a plate of cookies.

“And see this one’s a vampire I decorated him all by myself. “ She proudly exclaimed as she pointed at one of the cookies.

“That is so cool! Daddy look at these cookies!”

Phil chuckled at his excitement as he walked over to take a look.

They got the “kids” settled into the lounge with their cookies and hot chocolate and popped Halloween town into the DVD player since that is the movie they had decided on watching. Natalie turned to Phil, ”Would you like a cup of coffee?” she asked smiling at him.

He graciously accepted.

Once the coffee was done they both sat down at the kitchen table.

“So I don’t want to offend anyone but is Dan special? “

Phil cringed at the word but he appreciated her asking instead of assuming. And she had been nothing nice to them all night so he didn’t see any harm in explaining.

“Dan is just like you and me most of the time other than when he is in his headspace. Dan is what you would call a little. He will retreat into a headspace when he is stressed or even when he is happy and that is when he is a little. He has a mindset of a child not always the same age but usually between four and seven. And I am his caregiver or as you probably heard him call me earlier daddy.”

She nodded her head encouraging him to continue. “I mean that’s pretty much it lots of people think it’s weird which is why I appreciate you and Cassie being so nice to him tonight.”

“Oh, it was no problem, Phil. I teach Cassie to love and accept everyone no matter what. When she saw Dan crying tonight she said to me, Mummy why is that man crying? I don’t want him to be sad let's go make him happy.”

A tear escaped his eye.

“I’m so proud of my little girl it warms my heart to know I have been raising her right.” She reached across the table and took a hold of Phil’s hand. “You and Dan are welcome here anytime you want. You both seem like really nice people and Cassie has seemed to have taken quite a liking to Dan.”

He wiped the tears from his eyes, “Thank you so much, Natalie. It’s hard to find people to hang out with because of this sometimes and it’s nice to know there are people out there like you and your daughter.”

They continued to chat about their life and various things for the next hour until Natalie stood up, “It’s pretty quiet in there and I think I here the credits rolling.”

The walked into the living room and found Cassie curled up on one end of the sofa sleeping and Dan on the other.

Phil smiled, “Well I guys I better wake him up and get home.”

When Dan was little and tired he was a bit of a handful but luckily tonight he wasn’t much trouble. They said goodbye to Natalie who made sure to bend down and give Dan a big hug before they left. Making sure to tell him he was welcome to come back anytime he wanted.

It was a quiet ride home in the cab Dan drifting in and out of sleep on Phil’s shoulder. When they got home Phil helped Dan out of his costume and into his PJ’s. As he was crawling in bed next to him Dan turned around to face him.

“I had a lot of fun tonight daddy,” he whispered.

Phil pulled him closer and kissed his head, “I’m glad baby.”

Dan sighed and snuggled his head into Phil’s chest. They both drifted off to sleep with smiles on their faces. Dan because despite the turn the night had taken he made a new friend and had fun and Phil because Dan was happy.

[allthephils]

Repose

Chapter 12

Rating Mature (adult themes, sleeping beauty au, implied sex)     

word count: 2604/35104 so far

Read on Ao3

Excerpt: “I see how you look at him, like he’s you’re whole world. I imagine it will come to you in time. But, I’ve learned that’s not for me to say.”Sitting here across from Dan’s mother, Phil felt he had nearly as much to lose as her. The conflict and confusion began to sort into neat rows of love and affection and devotion. He wanted to tell her, to tell Dan, but he knew he couldn’t trust this version of himself.

Dennis was different this morning. He seemed troubled, a subtle difference from stoic, but clear to Phil.

“Hey Dennis, How you holding up?”

Dennis kept his eyes on the road. “I’m fine, just fine.”

“Ok, you look, uh, worried. And well, you never look worried so that makes me worried. So, um, are you worried?”

“No, not worried, just tired.” Dennis replied flatly.

Phil gave up and watched the scenery go by, quietly chewing his lip the rest of the trip.

He settled into the chair next to Dan. His usual sunny disposition was hampered by lack of sleep and the tension that Walter had brought into the room but didn't seem to take back out with him.

“Hi Dan. I missed you.” He sat and listened as Chopin played softly from the radio. He didn’t feel like reminiscing. The story unfolding right now felt like enough. So he sat and held Dan’s hand, just held it, and watched him, knowing they were on borrowed time. When he heard the knock, he braced himself for anger, hostility, aggression, but there was nothing. No one came in. He stood and walked to the door, opening it. Princess Danielle, stood, a smile on her lips. She was the antithesis of those things. She was patience and strength, and love. She passed Phil and stood next to her son.

“Hello darling.” She stroked his forehead and leaned down to press her cheek to his. When she turned back to Phil, her arms were open. They hugged and Phil pulled up a second chair.

“Adrian told me you asked for me. I’m sorry I couldn’t come sooner.”

The shadows under Danielle’s eyes revealed an exhaustion that Phil could not fathom. He was sorry for asking her to come here. He wanted to get her a blanket and some tea. She should be the one sitting here with Dan, talking in her soothing voice, telling him tales from his childhood.

“Danielle, I’m so sorry to have bothered you, I’m not sure I know what I expected you to do. I guess, well, I was angry. The Prince, he, he was...”

“An intolerable prick?”

Phil stifled his shocked laugh.

“He’s hurting, just like me. Just like you. Unfortunately, he’s a right arse who was raised by a right arse and he can’t see past his own face. He won’t come around, Phil. He won’t. This family is ranked, in all the public ways you know, and in so many private ways you don’t. I am very low in the ranks, I just don’t have a lot of power here. But believe me, he’s my son, and he wouldn’t be lying there if I hadn’t… Well, I’m not giving up.”

Phil reached over and took Dan’s hand, like he always does but never had in front of anyone. Danielle’s eyes settled there, on their hands. “I’ve seen you, on the cameras.”

“The cameras?” Phil asked, confused.

“The security cameras.” She pointed to the corners of the room. “I don’t sit and watch them, don’t worry, but sometimes, Adrian and I do have a look, to see him. Coming in here was too hard before you came. So we just prayed, I felt I had to. But when I needed to see that he was still here, I would watch.”

Phil felt a little sick. Of course there were cameras, he had to have known that. He just didn’t think about it. This space was so intimate to him and knowing they’d been watched in those moments. The hand holding, the tears, the waltzing around the room, he felt invaded. Oh god, had she heard his stories?

“So you heard the things I said to him?” Phil asked, mortified.

“No, no, there’s no sound. But Phil, I could see the way you treat him. Tender, kind. What are your feelings for Danny, Phil?”

Hearing her call him Danny made Phil weak. It somehow brought him back to the sweetest of days. His eyes stung and he coughed. “I’m not sure. I hadn’t seen Dan in years before all of this. I care about him, but I don’t know that it goes deeper than that.” He wasn’t lying, he really didn’t know. He had feelings for Dan, but were they friendship, affection, obligation? He had no idea.

“Hmm, well, you certainly have shown him a great deal of care, setting up this room, leaving everything behind to come here. When’s the last time you spent all day offline, every day for a week?”

Phil shrugged, she had a point. But surely he’d do that for a friend in real danger. He watched Dan’s face as she spoke, hoping his mother’s voice would comfort him somehow.

“I see how you look at him, like he’s you’re whole world. I imagine it will come to you in time. But, I’ve learned that’s not for me to say.”

Sitting here across from Dan’s mother, Phil felt he had nearly as much to lose as her. The conflict and confusion began to sort into neat rows of love and affection and devotion. He wanted to tell her, to tell Dan, but he knew he couldn’t trust this version of himself.

“Danielle,” he began carefully, “what would that even mean? To Dan’s future, to your family? Would the queen give her blessing, hypothetically, to a marriage like that?”

Danielle’s eyes searched Phil’s. “The queen is a complicated woman. She comes from a different time. Walter has a great deal of influence over her now that his father is gone. I’m just not sure Phil.” She sighed, tired. “But whatever you decide, whatever he decides, you have my blessing. I just want him to be happy, loved. To live a rich and full life. I don’t give a rat’s arse about the throne or which of my children sit on it. I don’t truly believe Daniel wants to be king anyway. Besides, I think Adrian would make an excellent monarch. when he’s grown and his time comes. I think he’d tell his father’s political allies where to put their agreements.”

Phil smiled at her. More and more, he could see where Dan got his rebellious streak.  

She continued, “If Daniel wants to marry, it should be for love. The countess, Donata, she tried to save us from ourselves. We were just too stubborn to admit that we are miserable. I’ll never forgive myself for asking Danny to deny who he is, to marry for show and politics.” Her voice cracked and she wiped a tear from her cheek. Phil rushed to the table where he’d stashed a box of tissues a few days ago. Taking the tissue, she dabbed her eyes, then stood on tiptoe to kiss Phil’s forehead.

“You’re a brave and honorable man, Philip. I would be proud to call you my son. I’d be honored to sit with your mother at her table.

Phil embraced Danielle, thanking her. As the door closed behind the princess, he collapsed back into his chair but he didn’t take Dan’s hand. Instead he slowly rested his head on Dan’s chest, feeling him breathe. He could just see his eyes darting back and forth behind the lids. He closed his own eyes and let the fatigue of the last few days set in.  

  Phil showered and slipped into skeleton pajamas and his haunter T shirt. He wore one pumpkin sock and one bat sock. He sent Dan a happy Halloween message and went to make himself some food, leaving his phone on the sofa. He did not expect a response. Dan would be shaking hands and hitting talking points, too busy to be texting his boyfriend who was currently microwaving leftover pad thai. Phil popped in the Shining and settled into the sofa to eat, glancing at his phone. Turns out Dan wasn’t too busy.

Dan: Why am I here? This is the worst party ever.

Phil: Yes but it’s for a good cause, right? What’s the cause?

Dan: Childhood Leukemia

...

Dan: Well now I sound like a dick.

Phil: Lol You really do.

Dan: OK, I just think we could all give our £3000 per plate directly to childhood leukemia and stay home and watch scary movies with our beautiful boyfriends.

Phil: Now you’re talking

Dan: I wish you were here. Or I was there.

Phil: I wish you were here, with me, under this blanket.

My sofa is cozy and I’m about to watch Jack Nicholson try to murder his family.

Dan: That sounds so romantic.

Phil: You really were made for me.

Dan: <3<3<3 I believe that to be true. I have to go pretend I know what I’m talking about. Enjoy your movie. I’m crazy jealous but whatever. xoxo

Phil: Break a leg! Xoxoxoxo

Dan: Tomorrow, I expect you to turn every one of those xs and os into the real thing.

Phil: Every one? Wait…

...

Phil: xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Dan: So many kisses! I can’t wait.

Phil: The first row is for your lips.

Dan: What about the second row?

Phil: ;)

Dan: Fuck

Phil: Now go save the children

Dan: sigh

 The credits rolled to the familiar tune of Midnight, the Stars, and You. Phil hummed along as he went to the kitchen to clean his dinner mess. A sound broke through his crooning and he turned off the water. He wasn’t sure if he was just jumpy from the movie or if his heart was beating this fast because he had actually heard a knock. He froze and listened and nearly jumped out of his skin when it started again. Serious, determined, loud knocking. He ran down the stairs, feeling like he should have brought some sort of weapon, a knife from the kitchen or a vase like they do in movies.

“Who is it?”

“Candygram sir.”

Dan. Phil threw the door open and Dan rushed inside and up the stairs.

“Oh my god Dan you nearly gave me a heart attack! My heart is beating so fast. Feel.” He grabbed Dan’s hand and placed it over his heart.

Dan feigned a grave expression and said “that’s concerning.”

Phil laughed with relief and surprise. “What are you doing here? What are you wearing?”

“It was a costume party, I’m a bear.” Dan was out of breath as well.

Phil just raised his eyebrows in disbelief.

“Oi, fuck off. You aren’t getting the full effect. The makeup was professionally done, very impressive. I washed most of it off at the tube station.”

“Wait. You took the tube? Is that safe for you?”

“Definitely not.” Dan said, shaking his head.

“Why didn’t you text me, I would have met you.” Phil couldn’t believe this was happening.

“I ditched my phone. That’s how Dennis tracks me so I left it on the front desk at a hotel across the street from the benefit. They’ll put it in the lost and found. Usually I’d ditch it somewhere farther away but I didn’t wanna take the time.”

“Wow Dan, I’m impressed.”   

Dan shrugged, “It’s not my first rodeo.”

Dan was here, in Phil’s flat. They were truly alone for the first time ever, no friends, no Dennis. Phil suddenly had all sorts of ideas. Dan, on the other hand, just looked very uncomfortable. He was wearing furry pants and still had quite a bit of make up smeared on his face.

“Do you want to take a shower? To get all that makeup off?” Phil asked, trying to sound casual at the mention of Dan getting naked.

“Oh my god, yes. I’m so gross under this weird fursuit. Mum thought it would be so cute to dress as a bear. People remember me being called that as a child. I regret everything. I should have been something simple, like a vampire.”

“Ooh, vampires are hot.”

“Alright Buffy, take it easy. I’ll be quick.” Dan rubbed his blackened nose against Phil’s, leaving a smudge, and pecked his lips.

Phil gathered clean pants, joggers, and a his Sunnydale High t-shirt. He stacked them all neatly on a clean towel and walked into the steam filled bathroom.

“Here’s some comfy clothes and a fresh towel.” Phil said, keeping his eyes averted. He went to his room and sat on  the edge of the bed, tapping his foot nervously. He thought about dimming the lights and lighting candles, he thought about putting on music or pouring them some wine. In the end, he just chewed his cuticle, too excited to make a move. He heard the water turn off, then Dan’s shuffling steps. He appeared in the doorway and Phil’s breath caught in his chest. He hadn’t put on the clothes Phil had left. He stood with just a towel around his waist, biting his lip, his eyes boring into Phil’s, searching for a reaction.

Phil’s shoulders dropped, his body softened. Seeing Dan like this should have turned him on and he knew it soon would. But now, he just felt comfort and adoration. Phil had seen his body before, briefly, but this was something else entirely. Dan stood exposed, his eyes questioning, all that tanned skin glowing. His feet were bare on Phil’s carpet, his hair damp and curly, like it had been that night at the beach. That was the closest they’d ever been to alone, and now, that same sense of intimacy sat warm in Phil’s chest and grew overwhelming. He felt a lump in his throat and struggled to swallow it down, afraid of what Dan might think of him if he got emotional right now. Drawn as he was to Dan, he stood and walked to him.

“If this is too much, I can get dressed.” Dan said, timidly.  “We can watch a movie. But I don’t want to… get dressed.”

Phil slid his hand behind Dan’s neck and pulled him into a kiss. It was practiced, easy, they knew this now. Kisses had been all they’d had and they’d perfected the exchange, the push and pull, the move from soft and sweet to passionate to hot and wet. This kiss stayed sweet though, lingering in that moment just before the breathing gets heavy and the hands start to roam. Phil pulled away, his body starting to catch up to his heart.

He shook his head quickly. “Don’t get dressed.” Phil pulled Dan in now, holding him close, feeling his soft skin under his hands. He felt joy like childhood and he wasn’t sure how his small room was holding it all. Dan rested his head on Phil’s shoulder and held him just as tight.

“Are you ok?” Dan breathed into Phil’s neck and a shiver rolled through him.

“Yeah, I’m ok. You feel so good in my arms like this. It’s a lot.” Phil didn’t know how he would ever let go.

Dan nodded and whispered, “I want to tell you something.”

Phil wrapped his arms tighter, pressing his lips to Dan’s neck, just above his collarbone. Dan gasped and Phil parted his lips to taste with the tip of his tongue, his teeth lightly grazing and pulling at the skin. Dan’s words failed him but the soft moan he let out was enough. Phil’s hands skimmed over Dan’s back, his fingers slipped beneath the towel, knocking it to the ground. Phil reached behind Dan for the switch on the wall and now the only light streamed in from the hall. Silhouetted in Phil’s dim room, the angles softened. Phil wanted to forget where he ends and Dan begins.

“Let’s get into bed.” Phil took Dan by the hand and heard him murmur through a long slow breath.

“Fucking finally.”