Disclaimer: I do not own Dan & Phil.
Phil hit the reply button faster than he ever had before. There was no way, absolutely no way, that he was going to let his best friend go so easily again.
Dan hadn't left his spot after he sent the email to Phil. He wasn't really expecting an answer-no he was thinking about when he had to leave Manchester for London with his mother.
"Phil..." The eight year old child was blushing and looking at the floor as the older one turned towards him.
"Dan?" His voice held all the curiosity a child of nine could have.
"I'm moving. Mum says that she can't afford to ride the train every day anymore so I can't go to school here. I'm sorry." The older of the two just stood there, too shocked to do anything other than stare.
And that's when the tears started.
Dan looked up in surprise as a quiet yet distinguished 'ding' signaled the arrival of an email. He had to wipe away the few tears he had shed at the memory so he could see the screen clearly once again. Phil had written back.
Phil stared at his screen for the longest time before giving up on deciding what to say and grabbed his camera. This would be much easier for him as it was something he did weekly-sometimes biweekly.
"Hey Dan, it's been forever! I can't believe how much I missed my bestest friend ever! I really want to get together one day so we can catch up with each other about what's happened these lots and lots of long years." He shut off the camera and sent the video with no editing whatsoever-after all, the only reason he taped himself talking was because he couldn't figure out how to put his words into text. Text just didn't seem to convey his emotions as much as the crazy arm movements he had intersected throughout the video.
He smiled as he remembered how he never quite grew out of that particular habit.
Dan clicked on the attachment and watched as Phil spoke and made wild movements with his body. He laughed as he realized that neither one of the two had managed to kick the irritating gestures and random noises. Then it dawned on him.
"WAIT-HE WANTS TO SEE ME?!"
Phil opened the email he got back almost immediately.
'Hey, I'd totally love to catch up sometime! I've really missed my bestest friend too. When are you free?'
Dan continued to type responses to his friend well into the night. He sighed when he realized it was three in the morning and had to stop conversing with Phil.
When Dan woke up the next morning he rolled over and landed on the floor. He got up slowly and made his way to the kitchen for some toast before waking his computer up and turning on some music for background noise. He heard his mother leave not long after that.
Throughout the day he talked to Phil and proceeded to get his room in order so he could find everything once again. It wasn't as if he didn't know where everything was-far from it. He always knew where everything was; he considered it organized chaos. It just wasn't worth listening to his mother nag at him about it all the time, and she'd been extra-naggy this past week.
Phil decided to clean his room. Well, he thought he decided to clean it. Now it was five in the afternoon and his room was just as messy as it was when he made that decision at noon. He sighed and started to pick up his laundry while he reflected on his day.
He had spent the entire day talking to Dan on the computer and replying to people on his various social networking sites. He had, so far, made the day of several fangirls and made plans for next weekend-Dan was coming over the next Saturday and staying the night.
He couldn't wait to see his friend again.
Dan walked out of his room and plopped down on the chair in the living room as he waited for the washing machine to be done washing all of his clothes. At least he wouldn't have to figure out which shirt was the cleanest-now they were all clean.
When the familiar buzzing sounded he pulled his thoughts together and went to switch the laundry over, putting in a load of his mother's clothes and stuffing his into the dryer.
With that, he started on making dinner.
The next five days passed in a blur for both men. Phil was busy making videos and shopping and getting his house back into order whilst Dan was busy packing and unpacking and repacking again and again and again when he wasn't in school. He just wasn't sure what he would need and what he would look good in and what would seem foolish. He finally gave up and settled for a few t-shirts, a pair of skinny jeans, and a bunch of socks and boxers. It would have to do.
When his mother asked why he seemed so happy, he told her he was planning on going to Manchester for the weekend and he was excited that his high school career would be over within a month. She didn't say anything about Manchester.
Phil on the other hand had to tell Chris no to spending the weekend over at his house. He had to say no despite all of the begging and bribing and blackmailing that was coming his way. He couldn't have said yes even if he had wanted to. But seeing Dan again by far trumped seeing someone he saw on a regular basis. PJ had been disappointed but when Phil explained it to him, he didn't try coercing him anymore. He had a sneaky suspicion that the two mischief makers had talked about it, as the begging and pleading texts had gone away after telling PJ why he wouldn't be spending the weekend with them.
They both went to bed early Friday night, wondering what the next day would bring.
The next day Dan got up early and left for the tube. He was nervous about returning to his old friend's life, but excited at the same time. Eventually he fell asleep on the way there and was woken up by a rather loud speaker announcing the last stop. Luckily it was the stop he needed.
He walked around a few blocks lazily, just enjoying the morning. He had been early enough to catch the express, meaning he had almost an hour of free time to kill before needing to start heading for Phil's flat. It was only half an hour later that he had finished drinking a coffee from a Starbucks he had passed and three blocks away from Phil's current living location.
He mentally cursed himself for always being early, whether he wanted to be or not.
His cursing was short lived as his phone vibrated only a few moments later.
'Dan, I woke up earlier than I usually do so if you're still one for being early (which I'm sure you are) then feel free to drop by anytime. The door's open, not like you ever bothered with knocking in the first place.'
Dan took a deep breath and looked up at the building he'd be entering shortly. His only thoughts were along the lines of hoping that the lift still worked because he really didn't want to walk up thirty-two flights of stairs.
Phil woke up at six that morning, an entire hour before he had planned on. Which meant he had almost an hour of just sitting around and waiting anxiously for his long lost buddy to come a-knocking on his door. He never was one to wait in silence.
So without further ado, he quickly turned on some music and started doing his daily routines; brushing his teeth, combing and straightening his hair, taking a shower, getting dressed, and eating. Not particularly in that order.
Even after all of that, and dressing himself more than four times, he still found that he had an extra thirty minutes on his hands. Hoping beyond all hope that Dan had somehow caught the express tube and not the regular one, he sent a quick text to the man.
He really wanted to see his old friend again.
If he tried to explain it to himself logically, he missed his friend. He missed the stupid things they'd do together, the bad cooking experiments, the idiotic things they'd try, the bad dares and painful truths. He missed being completely open with someone for once and not having to censor what he was saying because he was worried about being judged. Dan was just as weird as him so he always knew that no matter what he said, did, or confessed that Dan wouldn't judge him. It was just normal between the two of them to be so honest they felt like crying sometimes.
Sitting on his couch, he wondered if Dan still wore mismatched socks like he did.
Dan was walking towards the building slowly, as if he was afraid it would suddenly come to life and eat him. Shaking the feeling as quickly as possible-he really didn't need to be any more nervous than he already was-he sped his feet up. The pace at which he had been walking before was slightly faster than he was used to, so the sudden increase in speed was exceptionally dangerous for someone as accident-prone as Dan.
So, of course, he tripped and fell in the middle of the road.
He saw the whole world tilt before realizing what had happened. His last thought before his head hit the pavement was to call Phil. He must have spoken the words aloud as he saw his phone light up with the caller ID set to Phil's mobile phone.
Irony really was a bitch.
Phil had been doodling on a spare piece of paper when his phone rang. Picking it up, he answered with enthusiasm.
"Dan?! Where are you?" A car horn sounded on the other end of the line, followed quickly by a groan. "DAN?!"
A small voice, almost indecipherable, told him he was outside the complex in the street. The line went dead and Phil was jumping over the couch and running out the door before even considering what he was doing. It had been awhile since he had done any running, so he knew that his legs would hurt the next morning, but he didn't care. He called an ambulance for help while he ran down the stairs, three at a time.
When he reached the door, he heard sirens coming down both sides of the street. Not caring that there were people everywhere, he shoved his way through the crowd and hit the ground hard. Some random guy had managed to trip him, even though he had been watching to avoid falling.
But it didn't matter to him now.
He had fallen right in front of his best friend.
Dan opened his eyes as much as he could and barely noticed that he couldn't feel anything. Come to think of it, he couldn't hear anything or move either. He just barely registered Phil kneeling in front of him before blacking out again.
Phil reached out for Dan's hand. He had to stay with him now that he's found him again. He refused to let his best friend go again without a fight.
It was with great astonishment that he was allowed on the ambulance with him.
The entire ride there he was asked questions about Dan's health when he was a child and Phil didn't really have much to give them. He knew that Dan was clumsy and that was about it. He never really thought that he was allergic to anything, but that didn't mean that he wasn't allergic to something medicinal. He shivered every time he saw all of the blood pouring out of a cut on his head.
The medics had told him that it wasn't anything too major to worry about, that head wounds usually bleed more than anywhere else on the body and that nothing major had been broken other than skin. They told him that he could stay with Dan as long as he stayed in the waiting room until they called for him and if he stayed out of the doctors' and nurses' way. He agreed numbly, hardly noticing what was going on around him.
He was in shock.
When they wheeled the unconscious man into the hospital, Phil quickly sent a hopeful glance at the two double doors they were headed for. It quickly disappeared as the medic shook his head at him. He found a chair and sat down heavily.
A few hours later a doctor came in and called his name. He stood and followed him silently to Dan's room.
"I warn you...there might be problems, complications. We suspect a few due to head injuries being so unpredictable as is but...Just be careful when he wakes. The last thing he needs is to panic." Phil nodded his head and went to sit in the chair that had been provided for him that was right next to Dan's head.
He watched him sleep for several hours, until the doctor came back in with a few sheets of paper.
"Phil, I've got some bad news..."
When Dan woke up, he noticed that he was quite comfortable as compared to the last thing he remembered. He knew he had fallen on the road...and that had hurt. And he remembered seeing Phil. That was it.
He opened his eyes and realized that the only place that would have this much white was a hospital. Turning his head, he saw Phil sitting next to him. Seemingly talking.
Dan's forehead wrinkled in confusion. What was going on?
Phil looked over at the window after the doctor left the room. He wondered how anything would work out now. He just couldn't imagine it. It was simply too difficult to imagine Dan living like that-and Phil having to learn to adjust to it as well.
He sighed heavily as the door opened again, this time a pretty young woman with blonde curly hair. She sat down at the other end of the room.
"Hi, I'm Cassandra. You can call me Sandy. I'm a sister of one of the nurses that works here." Phil just politely nodded his head, not really wanting to talk to anyone. "Look, I know about his accident and what he'll be left without. I can help you two. I'm assuming that since you're either his best friend in the world or a relative of his that you'll still want to be able to communicate with each other. I want to help."
It was four hours later and Phil was getting frustrated. He stopped what he was doing in favor of telling Sandy that he just couldn't get it and that he never will because he felt like a failure to life.
It was then that Dan had woken up.
Dan wasn't sure what was being said, or if Phil was even using his voice at all. He did that sometimes when he had too many strong emotions bombard him at once. But somehow, Dan just knew that Phil was really talking and that he, for some reason, couldn't hear him.
And that's when it dawned on him that he couldn't hear any machines. No heart monitors. No clock ticking. No chair moving on the floor. No shoe shufflings. Nothing.
Dan couldn't hear anything.
That's when he started to panic.
Phil saw Dan's emotions in his eyes and heard his breath pick up. He didn't need any machines to tell him that Dan was starting to realize what was going on and was starting to panic about it. He leaned in and gave him the most awkwardly amazing hug he'd ever have.
It was awkward because Dan was still lying in bed and Phil had to hug him around lots of wires and tubes and pillows. But it was amazing because he was finally hugging Dan again. He was finally with his better half! It was amazing because he could feel that he had calmed the younger boy just with his presence, something that was flipped when they had been younger. Phil was always the shyer one and Dan always had more confidence than him.
But today, their roles were reversed.
Eventually he pulled away gently and reached for the notepad and pen that a nurse had kindly left behind. He had a sneaky feeling that the older female had been the eldest sister of Sandy.
Dan? He held out the pen and paper to the man and waited patiently for a response. He was surprised to hear Dan respond out loud, quite normally. Okay, slightly off key to most everyone else, but as normal as he always sounded.
"Phil, what's going on? Why can't I hear? What happened? How come you're here? When-" Phil put up a hand to signal him to stop bombarding him with questions. He quickly wrote underneath his previous line.
Dan, please don't freak out. If you do they'll kick me out and I don't want that. Apparently you tripped while crossing the street and before you could get out of the way a car hit you. You and your near-death experiences are really going to land you six feet under if you don't be careful!
The reason you can't hear is because when you hit the ground something to do with your nerves and hearing receptacles and much more medical stuff that turned into a lot of blah-ing in my mind were killed. Dan, you're deaf.
The lady over by the window is a signer and she's willing to teach you to sign so you can still communicate without a pad of paper for other people to write on. Dan, I'm so sorry.
Dan watched in mild interest as Phil kept writing and writing and writing in that little pad he had perched on top of his knees. He briefly wondered what could possibly be taking him so long to write out his response, but he quickly distracted himself by staring at the blonde in askance. He knew that she could see the curiosity in his eyes, but he also knew that she wouldn't do anything yet.
He was startled out of is musings when the paper was put into his and looked down to read it. He had to reread the paper several times over before the meaning finally sunk in that he really was deaf. He looked at Phil, shock and bewilderment clear in his eyes despite their natural dark brown depths.
"Phil...is this true?" He could tell the older man was hurt by the question.
He had always trusted him so completely before. But he also knew that Phil knew that being robbed of one's senses, any one of them, would render any human being as slightly apprehensive even in the best of situations.
He watched as Phil nodded. Before he knew what was happening, Dan was crying and being held by Phil.
His arms were comforting around him. Not demanding, but not awkward either. Just there as a comfort, a support for him to cling to as he slowly watched his entire world crumble around him. Everything he knew, everything he loved to listen to...it was all gone now. He let himself cry until it felt natural to stop.
Phil could see that Dan was ready to fall to pieces, so when he heard him ask if it was true he tried not to be too offended. After all, it would be extremely scary to lose a sense like that. Just wake up without any one of your senses. That would be too scary for Phil to deal with. At least for now.
So when he nodded, he kind of expected the other man to go to pieces. He was already out of his chair and on the bed holding the brunet before either one of them had processed the fact that he had moved at all.
But when he noticed that his arms were encompassing Dan's frame, he couldn't help but smile. Even with such destruction and hurt and uncertainties he could smile. Because he was currently holding Dan. And it felt right.
He couldn't quite explain why it felt so nice to hold the younger human in his arms like this. Especially since his shirt was now soaked through with tears and gaining more of the salty water by the second. It gave both of them comfort.
He could imagine what Dan must be feeling like. He could imagine that he was watching as everything he ever knew went down the drain...almost literally with all the tears. He felt how his hands clutched at his jumper, almost as if it were his lifeline.
And at this point, Phil wouldn't be surprised if it was.