Over the next few months he started to heal –more physically than emotionally, but he was getting there, slow and steady. Bruises faded until only a few remained, ones they were told would never be gone completely. Scars softened from red to white, and some from white to near invisible. His nose healed and he removed the splint, relieved to find there was no bump remaining like after the first time, and his ribs set well and breathing wasn't so difficult. His hair was fixed but kept a bit longer than it had been in December.

His boyfriend was happy just to see him starting to feel better.

Dan plopped down on the sofa next to Phil, watching him for a moment as he worked on editing a new video. He smiled; Phil had started posting again with a still insecure little video telling that he was back and was going to be alright, uploaded August 7th. Since coming home, he'd uploaded seven videos and was finishing up an eighth –"I need to make up for those months I wasn't uploading." That had made Dan a bit uneasy, that Phil seemed to still carry guilt for what had happened, but he was just glad that he seemed to be happy doing it.

Phil looked up from his work for a moment and smiled at Dan's smile before returning to editing. Dan tilted his head and continued watching. He had grown used to Phil wearing his glasses, and black insert in the lens over his blind eye to hide the damage. He knew Phil was hoping to get a glass replacement eye soon.

Dan reached out and gently flicked a finger back and forth against his headphones. Phil pulled them off and turned to his boyfriend, his attention refocusing. "Yeah?"

"Halloween's two days away. You know what you're gonna be?"

"Um, I made a Halloween video to upload tomorrow, but I didn't dress up or anything." He ran a hand through his hair. "I figured I'd skip the costume this year."

Dan pulled a humorously dramatic face at that. "Not dress up on Halloween? Of all people in their late twenties who-"

"Late twenties?" Phil laughed, half-offended.

Dan laughed with him, knowing that would get him. "Fine, mid-twenties."

Phil shook his head, smiling tightly but fondly. "This is what I get for dating a kid."

Dan smirked and leaned in to kiss his lips sweetly, letting them linger as Phil kissed back. It was chaste and short but full of love, and both pulled back smiling. "Anyway, of all people in their mid-twenties that I'd expect to dress up for Halloween, it would be you. Why don't you wanna wear a costume?"

"Well, I already made the video, and I didn't plan on… going to any parties or anything…"

"No, babe, we're going to a party." He scooted closer, knowing why Phil wasn't planning to go out on Friday, but he tried to not leave any room for protest. He grabbed Phil's hand, intertwining their fingers and looking him straight in the eye. "We're gonna go, in costume, and we're gonna have fun with our friends. And then we're gonna come back here piss drunk and kiss and enjoy the rest of the night alone, cuddling and watching 80s horror movies til the sun comes up."

Phil smiled at Dan's plan. "Sounds perfect…" he mused, looking back to his computer screen for a moment. "… Okay, let's do it."

Dan grinned brightly and kissed his cheek. "I have the perfect idea for costumes, too."

Dan smiled as he walked down the street with his boyfriend for the first time in months.

It took about a half hour of convincing, begging and bribing to get Phil to leave the house. He'd been afraid to go out and in all seriousness hadn't left since returning home from the hospital. Anything he needed, Dan gladly went to go get (usually requesting another friend's company so he wouldn't be alone and bored out in the city), but it was time for Phil to finally get out of the flat.

Dan squeezed his hand tightly all the way they walked; his boyfriend was smiling but visibly anxious, eyes darting every which way as if he expected his attacker to come jumping out at him. It broke Dan's heart that that was probably exactly what he was thinking.

"I'm excited," Phil murmured, pressing himself closer to his boyfriend as they walked down the street, not caring at all who saw their hands laced so tightly together. "Thank you for dragging me out."

Dan laughed and kissed his cheek. "My pleasure."

They'd gone dressed as each other. It had been Dan's idea, and he'd been left to put most of it together himself. Phil sort of regretted not pitching in when he had to wear Dan's leather shirt, but it was worth it when Dan proved it to be evened out by wearing Phil's blue starry shirt, the one Dan said look like a little boy's pyjamas. Dan was obviously a bit taller and skinnier in build, so the shirts didn't quite fit right on each other. They were wearing matching black skinny jeans and each other's most eccentric pair of sneakers, parted their fringes to the opposite sides, and Dan had put temporary black dye in his hair. They'd tried to dye Phil's brown for tonight, but it hadn't shown through.

The party was a lot of fun, and friends were commenting on how their costumes were "the most blatantly matching couple costumes" they'd ever seen. Both men decided to take that as a compliment.

They were talking with a few friends when one girl they hadn't seen in a while patted Phil's shoulder. "Good to have you back. Want a drink, sweetheart?"

And Dan knew he would need to interject there. He stepped between them, not trying to come off as rude but needing to separate her from Phil. It was too late, though.

'Sweetheart' was the major trigger word for Phil, what his abductor had called him and something Dan had accidentally used once, and made sure to never use again. The mild alcohol in Phil's system couldn't be helping, either, as he slipped deep into flashback. He stood there in the sea of people, looking stunned and breathing shallowly.

"Phil?" Dan prompted cautiously, being sure not to touch him because it would only make it worse. He worried that with the trigger, alcohol and confined space, Phil would have a panic attack. "Phil, look at me. It's me, it's Dan, I'm here." He pushed his fringe back to the other side, messy but making himself a bit more recognizable in Phil's one good eye. "Babe, it's me. You're here with me, you're safe." Phil's lack of response was the worst reaction he could probably be giving right now.

After a few minutes, Phil started to calm down and slowly brought his eyes up to meet Dan's. He looked so tired, but not fearful. Dan let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. People were starting to stare at them, but he didn't give a damn. "Do you wanna go home, baby?" he asked as softly as he could over the music.

Phil nodded silently, taking Dan's hand and running his thumb over the knuckles as he let himself be led out. He tried to call a thank you out to the host, but nothing came out.

Back at their flat, the two of them just curled up on the sofa like they'd planned too, though considerably more sober. Phil was sitting upright; Dan sat against the arm of the sofa with his legs over Phil's lap. They were sharing chocolate kisses, in both senses. They weren't in a constant lip lock as they sat there watching bad horror movies, but every now and then one would give the other sweet peck.

One film ended and before Dan got up to put on another, he had to address something. He got Phil's attention with a gentle kiss to his cheek. "Baby… about what happened at the party… are you okay? Are you… alright?"

Phil took a moment before nodding. "Yeah… I think it's… getting better."

Dan bit his lip, relieved that he hadn't been put into too poor a state , but feeling a question he'd been suppressing rising to the surface and slipping past his lips. "Will you talk to the counselor?"

Phil tensed and shook his head, forcing a smile. "No, Dan, I'm fine. I'm getting better, really. Don't worry about it, I don't need to talk to a shrink, I'm not… I'm not crazy."

"Phil, getting help doesn't mean-"

"Dan, I'm sorry. I know you're just trying to look out for me, but I don't want to do it. I'm healing and you can see it, right?"

Dan nodded slowly.

"See? I mean, it'll take time but I'm gonna be fine. I swear it."

Dan decided to let it go, not wanting to argue. He pressed his face into Phil's shoulder and couldn't help but smile when he felt him kiss the top of his head.

"Thank you, though."

A/N: Reviews = quicker updates!