Note You know when you see that terrible prompt that just screams 'pain' and 'suffering'? Well when I do, I just write it. Because you know, I enjoy making people cry and stuff. Also, the full prompt I used for this is at the end (because spoilers).
Disclaimer I own neither Dan nor Phil obviously. The art I used for the cover is by moreorlester on tumblr, go check her out, she's AMAZING.
Dan had gone past trying to deny it: Phil with a shotgun was disturbingly hot. The thought had first got to his head at the very beginning of this hell the world had slipped into, and hadn't gone away since. He had more important things to worry about anyway, so he had just accepted it. What he had also accepted is that no matter how attractive someone was, if you just soiled them, a little bit of dirt here, some dust there, a scratch or two at the surface of their skin, and had them wear equally scruffy clothes, god did they look hot. And Phil, well, Phil looked exactly like that.
So there, Phil was hot.
Not that Dan didn't think he was before. It just seemed so obvious now that everything around them had crumbled, and all he could hold on to was the reassuring presence of the older man. They'd joked about zombies and apocalypses and how cool it sounded, but they'd done that when they were still safe and unaware of how utterly terrifying and unpleasant it really was. When their daily routine was eating, browsing, eating again, sleeping and occasionally filming, when all they'd ever had was comfortable, of course the perspective of living a dangerous and extraordinary every day life, zombies everywhere and their only goal being to miraculously find a cure and saving the world seemed like a great thing.
But now that guts spilling and blood pouring had become so common that the sight did not even disturb then anymore, they had come to realise that no. A zombie apocalypse was no fun, and neither was having to kill to survive.
« Oh my god, Dan, look over there! » Phil's suddenly excited voice pulled Dan away from his thoughts
The taller boy looked where his friend was pointing, discovering an immense meadow, overflowing with flowers, stretching towards the horizon seemingly without ever ending. A tiny smile spread across his lips, something that hadn't happened in quite a long time. He looked at Phil, and his smile grew when he saw the enthusiasm in the older's face. Since the beginning, they had only seen grey. Grey buildings and grey roads, grey skies and grey landscapes. But these flowers were so colorful, they almost seemed surreal, their beauty completely untouched by the disasters that had slowly drained all color away from the world.
They immediatly agreed to rest there for a bit. Honestly, at the moment, Dan wished he could just lie there and forget everything, forever. Maybe he could try. He followed Phil as he ran towards the high grass, almost throwing himself on the groud, disappearing in between the stems. Shortly after, his head rose from the vegetation, as he hailed Dan to come lie down with him. He didn't have to ask twice; lying with Phil was a thing Dan really wanted to do right now.
And so he did. Both with their limbs stretched, enjoying a well earned break from their aimless travelling. Silence surrounding them, the wind gently blowing, as if it didn't want to disturb the resting boys. After weeks and weeks of killing, running, screaming, fearing, it was so good to be able to not worry. To forget. To have absolutely nothing in mind… Even though that might not have been the case for Dan. He had one thing in mind, one precise thing.
Phil.
Phil whom he had known for so long. Phil who had managed to keep going when reality was getting harder to bear each day. Phil who had saved his life so many. Phil whom he had saved the life of so many times. Phil who had always been so important for him.
Phil whom he was in love with.
« Hey, look at that », the blue-eyed boy said, patting Dan's shoulder
Dan rose up to see Phil proudly holding a flower crown in his hand. He deduced he had just made it. Honestly, he didn't know if he was supposed to find that adorable or be completely exasperated with the older one.
As Phil got closer and put the crown on Dan's head, on the other side, he decided it was adorable.
« How did you even know how to do that? » Dan asked, his hand feeling the flowers now decorating his head
« I read that on tumblr a while ago , » Phil answered. « I think it's cute. »
« Of all the things you could've remembered, you had to remember how to make a fucking flower crown, did you? »
« I'm guessing by "all the things you could've remembered" you meant survival tips, and at the time I read them, they didn't seem really useful... »
Dan was now sitting in front of Phil, who was lying on his front, leaning on his forearms. The brown haired boy smiled at his friend, a fond smile, one where he wasn't trying to hide how he felt, how much Phil meant to him and how much he wanted to kiss him right now. Yet he couldn't, because Phil was his best friend, that's all he ever was and all he'd ever be, and nothing more would ever happen between them, right? But he remembered that now they lived in a world where every day could be their last and so he thought "Fuck it".
He leaned closer, slow enough for Phil to have time to know what he was going for, to push him away if he wanted to. And when nothing came, he pressed his lips against the older one's, his hands instinctly brushing through Phil's black hair. It felt good, it felt right, but it didn't last so long. Their position was frankly uncomfortable, and so they parted, Dan's hands still clinging onto Phil's locks.
The weight of what Dan had just done suddenly hit him in the face, and he immediatly brought his hands back to himself, awkwardly moving away, stuttering words of excuses and rushed explanations, when he felt Phil's lips suddenly on his own again, in a much more comfortable position as they were now both on their knees, facing each other.
And this time, he didn't hesitate. This time, his hands on the back of Phil's head were pulling him closer. This time, he captured Phil's bottom lip in between his own, he let his tongue inside the older's mouth, timidly at first, but every instant growing more confident, his heart fluttering in his chest. This time, when they both broke away from each other, they looked at each other in the eyes and at this moment, while they were sitting in a field of flowers, Phil's hands on Dan's chests and Dan's fingers intertwined with Phil's hair, they realised that it had really happened and that none of it was a dream. And they were both so happy, oh so happy.
They should've known that in their reality, happiness could not last.
A loud, deep animal-like grunt made them both jump, and Dan saw the cadaveric being behind Phil, saw him emerging from the wild grass around them, saw him target Phil and aim for his exposed neck where it sank its teeth, deep enough for Phil to let out a pained scream, right before Dan hit it in the forehead, knocking it over, and shot it in the head, killing it in a single shot.
But it was too late. Phil had already been bitten. The marks were clearly visible on his pale skin, and he was looking at Dan, the horror visible in his blue eyes.
« Oh my god, Phil! »
Dan knelt down by his side, only able to stare at the wound that had already begun turning an alarming shade of purple.
« No, no, no, you can't have… No, I'm not letting this happen to you, I swear to God I - »
« Dan, » Phil interrupted him
« Shut up! I'm gonna heal this and we're gonna - »
« Dan. »
Fuck. He wasn't gonna cry now, was he? He hadn't cried since it had all happened, he had shut everything down so his emotions wouldn't be a pain in the neck. Phil grabbed his hand and squeezed it tight, looking at him in the eye, maintaining eye contact for what seemed like ages.
« You're gonna have to shoot me, » he said, his expression nearly blank
« Shut the fuck up, I'm not shooting you! »
« You have to. I'm so sorry. »
He was definitely crying now. That could not be happening. He wasn't loosing his best friend, his other half, his soulmate. Not when he could've finally been happy. He wasn't going to be alone again.
Only he was. Phil took the gun he kept on his belt and placed it in Dan's hand, giving him a faint smile.
« I love you so much, » Dan said, sobbing even harder.
« I love you too, you know. »
« I don't want to… You can't… I… »
« It's better for me. It is. »
Dan's hands were shaking now.
« Sorry to leave you like this. »
Dan put his arms up, aiming for Phil's temple, or trying to. He was shaking so, so much.
And Phil's hand was on his thigh.
« Goodbye Dan. »
Dan knew he had to do it. He knew that if he didn't, Phil would turn into a monster. He gathered all the courage he had left, thought about how much he loved Phil, thought about the kiss they'd just shared.
And he pulled the trigger.
Phil's hand wasn't on his thigh anymore.
"Imagine your OTP in a zombie apocalypse. They are traveling together and one day they find a meadow full of flowers. They decide to stay there and rest. Person A (the happier one) make a flower crown and give it to Person B, who is really flattered by that gesture, and kiss Person A for the first time. They are making out when a zombie attacks and bites Person A. They defeat it, but then A has to ask Person B to kill them. They do it, crying for the first time since the beginning of apocalypse." ( otpprompts on tumblr)