DEADROSES | PHAN

-ˏˋ forty four ˎˊ-

☾ ☽

dan bit his lip, even though it was already so bitten down that the skin was ripped and painful. he glanced at phil, then back at the man in the doorway.

"what does that mean?"

jarvis sighed, as if this was boring for him.

"it means," he said slowly, as if they were small children, "that you each get one question. about dan, about where you are, anything. because it won't matter in the long run."

dan's breath caught. they could ask anything? dan had so many questions, he wasn't sure how he was supposed to narrow it down to one.

the room fell silent, and dan was sure the other two were trying to think as well. he pressed his lips together.

"why am i like this?" he blurted finally, cutting into the silence. jarvis raised an eyebrow and dan blushed, hugging himself tightly. "i mean, why can i do these things..."

another moment of tense silence.

"because your parents were stupid," he said finally, his voice harsh.

"what does that mean?"

he shrugged a bit. he moved like some kind of insect... like a praying mantis, really. long, spindly limbs; smooth but twitchy at the same time. dan was surprised he hadn't noticed it before now.

"i worked with them. they were always breaking the rules for their dumb experiments..." he paused. "and they wanted you to be just like them. they brought you in one day, so you could watch them and maybe learn something. you were so young..." his brow furrowed. "i don't know what they were thinking."

dan was listening with bated breath, soaking up every word slowly and timidly. the air was tense, and dan felt like he couldn't breathe.

"and...?"

"and..." he shook his head, as if a bit disgusted. "you got into one of their fantasies. some kind of formula they had figured out, to help any crops and gardens grow without the use of water or sunlight. i guess they thought it was harmless."

dan's eyes were trained on the wall as he listened. he wasn't in the same world as phil, or eliza, or jarvis right then. he was alone in a stone cold room, with his thoughts. lost.

it was their fault he was like this? dan had always figured it was some strange coincidence, and some days he even dared to hope that it was something passed down through the family. not that it was a case of carelessness, a baby getting into an unfinished science experiment.

"dan?"

somehow phil's voice broke through his consciousness, right before he collapsed. phil stepped over just in time to catch him, holding him up. just in time.

"so i'm an accident?" he asked after a moment, his voice weak and soft. he could feel tears stinging his eyes but he ignored them. he didn't care if they saw him cry.

jarvis nodded. "i guess you could put it that way."

"what about my parents? where are they?"