After laying dormant in his assigned room for a couple hours the following morning, it was finally time. Time for him to go back home. Leave behind the boring, bland walls and replace them with the vibrant and cozy furniture of their apartment. Sure the place wasn't perfect, but it was where Phil was. Where he belonged. And that's all that mattered.
He didn't really know how the the whole procedure was to work, after all, it had been quite a while since he had had to visit the hospital. He would have liked to keep it that way, but he supposed fate had other plans. Not really knowing exactly what to do, Dan just waited in his bed, sitting upright, watching the clock tick on by. The man wasn't really sure what he was waiting for, but he just hoped that whatever it was, it would come soon.
Knock knock.
He leapt up in surprise and glee, the numbness of his broken limbs feeling awkward alongside the others. Dan checked the time on his phone next to him: 12:55 pm. While he didn't really know for sure who was at the door, he was nearly certain it was someone that could take him back to his lovely apartment. So, with nothing but excitement littering his tone, he yelled fondly at the door, "Come in!"
Just as he had expected, Phil stood in the doorway, a handful of pink roses in his left hand. His other hand had a small balloon reading "ready to come home, dan?" in stick on letters. Dan wondered how long it took him to make the message look just right.
"Early afternoon Danny! How are you feeling?" Phil asked as he slid to his friend's bedside, putting the roses in a vase on the table next to the bed.
"I'm feeling great actually! My limbs are too numb to feel anything anyway, so I guess that's the biggest plus I'm gonna get on that end of things. How about you?"
Dan wasn't at all lying about how he felt, for the first time in a long time. The simple presence of his friend made even a place this gloomy feel cozy, and that was the greatest gift he could ever ask for.
Phil almost looked nervous, the slightest tint of rose tinting his pale white cheeks as he rubbed the side of his arm. But Dan shook off the thought and gave him a big grin, tinting his head off to the side in curiosity, begging him silently to answer.
"Well I've been trying real hard lately to get everything ready for when you finally came back! You could ask any of my houseplants and they'll tell you the same thing! The place looks even nicer than when we first got it! I can't wait for you to see it."
"How can I ask them if they're dead?" Dan asked with a sort of fake innocence, his voice laced with mischief.
Phil simply snorted in response. "Well, that's another thing actually. My plants are doing fine ever since you left. Maybe you were infecting them with your negative energy."
The two glared at each other angrily for a second before bursting out into laughter, Phil doubling over onto the floor. Dan collapsed back into the sheets of the bed, his cackles bouncing off the walls and down the halls. The nurse just outside his door, about to walk in, just smiled and let out a small giggle, walking away. Maybe it was best to let the two have a moment on their own.
After a solid minute of laughter, Phil still laid flat on the floor like a starfish, dirt now covering the backs of his black skinny jeans. The two fell into a comfortable silence, wide smiles across both of their faces. It had been a while since they had shared a moment like that together. With everything going on recently, it was nearly impossible to find time for the banter they were used to. The sheer thought of feeling like this everyday all over again only made the happiness shine brighter inside the brunette's mind, the sun giving life to a new era.
Phil stood up again and stretched, brushing his hair back into the usual quiff. After fiddling with it for a few seconds, he made his way over to the bed, plopping down next to his friend. Dan moved over a bit to make room for him to sit semi-comfortably, contently snuggling into the warmth of his hoodie. In his tiredness, the younger man weakly wrapped his arms around his friend's and moved slightly closer, resting his head on his shoulder. Mere moments afterward, he fell asleep.
The ravenette had been watching him in awe, unaware of the slight blush now flushing over him. Messy curls now tickling his neck, Phil let out a long sigh. What did he ever do to deserve someone so perfect? Sure the duo didn't get along perfectly, but who did? They had as pure of a friendship as it came, and they had a bond stronger than the word could even define. To think a little black and white camera in a cereal box could lead to all this. Maybe this wasn't the dark timeline after all.
Knock knock.
Phil was awoken from his thoughts by a soft knock on the door of the room, and then a quiet creaking of an old door. In the doorway stood a uniformed nurse with a clipboard in her hand and a pen behind her ear. Her hair was pulled back tightly except for a few stray strands, those of which framed either side of her face. Her heels clicked on the old tile as she paced towards him, her face contorted into a natural looking smile. She then stopped at the bedside and cleared her throat quietly, knocking him out of his trance.
"You're Phil Lester, correct?" her voice smooth and calm.
Phil nodded his head slightly, afraid he might say something wrong if he voiced his response.
"As your friend seems to be asleep, would you mind filling out these papers for his release from the hospital? It's listed here that you have the same authority as him on the matter."
The man gave her a small smile and a nod, taking the pen and clipboard from her. The nurse pulled a chair from beside the nightstand and sat down, waiting patiently for him to finish. Phil started filling out the papers mindlessly, the pen strokes being the only noise in the room beside the ticking clock. The silence was comfortable, the nurse pulling out her phone as she waited for the man to finish filling out the monotonous work before him. However, as the three sat there in perfect silence, the nurse decided to try and spark up a conversation.
"You two seem very close. How did you two meet?"
Her voice seemed very kind and understanding, so Phil decided to tell the truth, still half focusing on filling out the mindless paperwork.
"Well, Dan and I actually met online, back in 2009. He would follow me on social media and comment on a lot of my content, until we eventually ended up talking over Skype. Dan was 18 at the time and I was 22. It was only really video chats and texting until we finally ended up meeting on October 19th of the same year. Some more time passed and we ended up moving in together. One thing leads to another, and now we're two popular YouTuber soulmates that have lived together for almost a decade."
Phil spoke without really thinking, saying the words as they came. In the time it took him to process what he had just told to the nurse, he handed the nurse back her clipboard with a smile. Her mouth was gaping open in shock, but it only took her a moment to regain her composure. A mischievous glint in her eye appeared as she glanced over at the ravenette again, the words finally processing in his head.
"Well, Mr. Lester, that's quite the life story. Now about the paperwo-"
She was cut off by a deep and long sigh from the man before her, causing her to tilt her head in concern. Putting down her clipboard, she reached a comforting hand over his shoulder and gave him a gentle smile, offering a bit of comfort for whatever was going on in his head. "Are you alright sir?"
"Yeah, it's fine. I've just never really talked about this with a stranger before, ya know? It feels strange to me that you took it so well." The nurse just nodded her head, not acknowledging the slight stirring of the gently dozing man beside the one she was holding a conversation with.
"So obviously, after having that sort of a long relationship with someone, it really hurt when all of this started to unfold. I started to think it was my fault in a way, and that thought tends to come and go. I know it isn't, I really do, but I just wish I could have done something. Dan has really been everything to me for almost a decade, and I have no idea what I would do without him. He's my stability and I'm his…. and that means a lot." He took a breath. "People tend to say we're soulmates ya know? And honestly I can't really deny that. We fit together like puzzle pieces and barely ever leave each other's side. People tend to think that a connection like that couldn't possibly be platonic right?" He paused. "Well, I wouldn't mind either way, but the real answer is that I have no idea." Another breath. "Well, I'll stop ranting now. Sorry if I delayed the release a bit, I just haven't had anyone to talk to in a while. Especially about something like this. Thanks for being my makeshift therapist."
It was clear that the nurse had no idea how to follow that up. She wasn't trained to know how to deal with this. She tried to mask her confusion by having a smile supporting smile on her face, once again choosing not to acknowledge Dan's stirring. That was a conversation she really didn't want to be caught in the middle of. "Well, sir, I'm glad you finally had a chance to get all of that off your chest. You know, maybe it'd be a good idea to talk about this over with Dan? I'm sure he would understand how you felt. In fact, I'm almost certain he feels the exact same!" She giggled into her hand at the last part, now finally picking up her clipboard again. "But now that we're done with all of that, are you ready to get your friend out of here?"
Phil's mood instantly perked up, him practically bouncing with excitement. "Of course!" He went to shake the man next to him, but it appeared that he was already reasonably awake.
Dan stretched slightly, releasing his grip on his friend's arm. With a yawn and a shaking of his free leg, he finally spoke up. "I'm ready whenever you are. But one more question before we get out of here. Will I have to use a wheelchair for the 7 weeks or will crutches be fine?"
The nurse stood up from her chair and reached her hand out to Phil, helping him up off the bed. "While I would recommend a wheelchair, it is definitely possible for you to use crutches. It would be a bit awkward still…. but is that what you would prefer?" Dan simply nodded his head.
The nurse walked over to the corner of the room and grabbed a pair of crutches, walking back over to the bed and handing them to Dan. Taking a deep breath, the crippled man stood up. He stumbled at first, but steadied himself on the wall, closing his eyes with focus. With his free hand, he gave a thumbs up.
"Alright cripple, let's get out of here." Phil remarked fondly, walking over to his friend to help him stay steady. The duo then hobbled over to door, Phil opening the door for his friend as he let him pass in front of him. Before turning away, the elder mouthed the words "thank you" to the nurse, her responding with a nod and a smile. It was nice to know there were still good people out there.
Down the halls and through the elevator they went, eventually stopping at the front desk.. After a slightly awkward exchange, Phil was handed a box including the belongings Dan had had on him the night he had been in the crash. He looked at it with an unreadable expression for a moment before thanking the worker and walking off, Dan following close behind. Dan didn't think much of the interaction overall, but couldn't help but be a little bit worried for his friend. The situation was certainly stressful to say the least.
Dan, half leaning on the crutches and half on Phil, made his way into the nearby bathroom, wanting to get changed out of his hospital clothing as quickly as possible. After leading him inside a stall and putting the box down on the ground, Phil took the time to walk back outside the room to clear his head. His mind was swimming with conflicting thoughts and feelings, not knowing how to deal with nearly any of them. The problem of having to deal with their ever changing tattoos still stood, Phil practically biting his fingernails over the inevitable. He had to try his hardest to prevent another argument. Sure, Dan couldn't exactly run away from him this time, but he could certainly refuse his care. Phil knew all too well that his friend was stubborn enough to do such a thing.
He put his hands together and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, allowing his mind to clear and drift. He slid down the wall in his concentration, plopping down on the floor next to the door. He thought back to a time when he was young, something his mother had told him long ago.
"Life has a way of messing with you. It never wants to just sit down and admit defeat. It'll give you shallow promises and signs that lead to nowhere, good omens that turn out to be bad ones. But always remember. Life also has a way of working itself out. Keep going, and keep staying strong, and eventually things will turn out alright. Even if it wasn't what you were…. Expecting."
He hadn't thought much of it at the time. His mother was a known skeptic after all. But linking up the situation he was in now to what his mother had said, it all seemed to make sense.
"I'm overthinking all of this. Dan's my best friend, he wouldn't care about how we handled all of this anyway. Let's just keep going and see what happens. Just like she said, things will work themselv-"
He was cut off from his thoughts with a jab to his side. Opening his eyes and looking upwards, he saw a well groomed Dan with a huge smile on his face. Phil looked up at him and grinned, not hesitating in the slightest before pushing one of Dan's crutches back slightly. The action caught him completely by surprise, the man losing balance and falling forward. Dan squeaked slightly as he fell, dropping the crutches onto the floor. The troublemaker then extended his arms into the drop zone, catching Dan just before he hit the floor.
The curly-haired man was at a complete loss for words, staring at Phil in disbelief. His chest was heaving wildly, his eyes like a deer in headlights. The crutches now abandoned on the floor, Dan slightly relaxed into his friend's arms, his breathing slowing down to some sort of normal.
"Never. Do. That. Again." Dan breathed out, each word being emphasized due to his breathlessness.
"Hey, you deserved it."
"Touche."
Phil then gently laid his friend down against the wall, standing up and grabbing his crutches. He extended his arm out to Dan's free one.
"Ready to go home pretty boy?"