PHAN -Save me, please.

Chapter 31

„Are you ready?" Phil whispered, while he held Dan in a tight embrace.

Suddenly, the room was barren. A few left-over boxes were surrounding the couple, the bed had been stripped down to the mattress, the walls had been painted over and the shelves were empty. If someone would have looked into this room from the outside, it would've been easy to believe that no one actually lived in this room.

This was supposed to be Dan and Phil's last hug inside of MIR before they actually moved out today. Dan was wearing one of Phil's old leather jackets that he brought him because it didn't fit Phil anymore. The jacket was still a little too big for Dan, but he liked it so much that he believed he'd grow into it. It smelled of Phil and it kept him warm.

Dan slowly pulled away and looked into Phil's eyes, before nodding slowly. Phil called for Scott, and every one of them grabbed box. As Dan was reaching for one, Phil quickly chimed in. "Take the light one over there, I'll take this one!"

"Phil, I'm not sick or pregnant, I can handle this!" Dan said with a chuckle and grabbed the box from Phil's arms, who looked resigned.

The three of them walked out into the long white hallway that Phil already knew so well. It felt so surreal to finally leave this place for good. The hundreds of times that they walked the halls before this, were just so that they would reach the park, the cafeteria or the doctor's office. But now, with the knowledge that he would hopefully never have to see this cold building ever again, it was a big relief to him, but probably also to Dan.

All the way to PJ's office, Phil was lost deeply in thought. Somewhere in the distance, he heard Dan and Scott chat away, Scott telling him how much he would miss him and that he would visit them and so on. However, Phil just focused on his thoughts, on the fact in just about an hour, him and his boyfriend will have left this building forever and start a new life together.

As much as he was looking forward to a future with Dan, he also felt a lot of anxiety. The conversation he had with PJ was still stuck in his head. After all, PJ was right and Phil wasn't a doctor. Sure, he had to put up with a lot of Dan's problems while he was at MIR, but Phil was concerned about what would happen if Dan actually had a panic attack or a breakdown. Phil didn't know what he could do then. For once, Phil was afraid that he wouldn't be able to protect Dan as much as he would want.

"You will be good from here?" Scott asked, as they reached the exit and he sat down the box he was carrying.

"Of course." Dan answered. "Thank you Scott... for... everything!" Dan almost started tearing up as Scott pulled him into a tight hug.

Phil was in total awe because of the picture in front of him. In all those years, Phil had been the only person that was ever allowed to hug or touch Dan in any way. But now, that he was holding Scott so carelessly with a smile on his face, it made Phil incredibly proud of what Dan had achieved.

"You can call me any time you like okay?" Scott demanded, holding Dan steady by his shoulders. "Maybe you could come visit me and my fiancé sometimes, if you want?"

"That would be awesome!" Dan answered, after glancing at Phil.

"And you... Mister Lester!" Scott exclaimed, acting strict. "You will better protect Dan at all cost or else..."

"Sure thing Scott, don't worry about that!" Phil chuckled. "I will do anything in my power to be the best boyfriend in the world!"

Dan quickly smiled at Scott a last time, before Scott made a salute and walked off in the long long hallways of MIR.

Phil silently grabbed Dan's hand and led him to one of the white doors that Phil had only been to on his first day, when he decided to adopt Dan. Behind the door, the same short man that greeted him every day at the reception already waited for them. He was typing away on his computer and looked up with a smile, as soon as he saw them enter the room.