By: howdoesonewrite on ao3
Word count: 3,710
Summary: Soulmate AU where soulmates can appear in your dreams, but Dan's too shy to say hello until Phil has a nightmare. (Or several nightmares, and after a few Dan finally builds up the courage to help out.)
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The room was dark and cold. Dan couldn't see anything, not even his own hand in front of his face. There were screams in the distance that made Dan's skin crawl. Whoever was making that noise was in pain.
Dan took a slow step forward. His barefoot sank into a pile of mud that hadn't previously been there. He clenched his hands together and moved his other foot. He made steady progress forward until his toe hit a wall. He reached out with a shaking hand and grabbed a warm doorknob.
The door creaked as he twisted it. Immediately, the room was lit up in bright light, heat was emitting everywhere, and smoke overtook Dan. He squinted his eyes at the flames, taking everything in. He began coughing and waving his hand in front of his face in an attempt to get air. He brought his shirt collar above his nose and took shallow breaths.
His eyes focused to the scene. Across from the doorway he was in, a boy sat on the stairs. Fire was surrounding him. His head was in his hands and his small shoulders shook. Dan could tell he was crying.
Dan opened his mouth to call for the boy, but the world turned into a ball of orange. He began coughing harder, tears welling in his eyes.
He woke with a shock. His room was dark, save for a small night light by his closet. He got up, and he walked to the door. He twisted the knob quickly. Instead of fire, he was greeted with dark emptiness, and the sound of a ticking clock.
Dan closed the door slowly and climbed back into his bed. He lay looking at his glow-in-the-dark star covered ceiling. He wasn't quite sure how he felt about the dream he just experienced. He did know one thing though, his soulmate was having a horrible night tonight.
*******
4 years had passed since that night. His soulmate's dreams had become bland after that time. There was no longer any joy or magic in them. Dan missed it, but he never asked the other boy who filled his sleep: why?
He stood in the dark room again, his eyes adjusted to the black light. He walked to the door and held his breath, he already knew what would happen. The orange light overtook his vision and he began coughing.
Once again, he saw the boy on the steps. He was older now, his shoulders broder, his hair black. Dan took a step forward and the boy turned around. He had tears in his blue eyes, and a streak of ash on his cheek.
"Go away," he croaked, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand.
"But-"
"Leave!" the boy shouted. He stood up and the world around Dan faded.
*******
The following night, Dan found himself in the room again. He quickly opened the door and saw the boy on the steps.
He looked up, tear stains down his face. "Why do you keep coming here?" he asked.
"You tell me," Dan said. He found the smoke of the room no longer affected him. He began walking forward and leaned against the stair railing.
"I'm sorry," he said, shaking his head. He turned away from Dan, and stared down the steps.
Dan went to sit down next to him. The boy scooted away a little, and Dan let him. They sat in silence for a bit until the house had burned around their bodies. The only structure left was the stairs in the middle of an empty field.
"How do dream physics even work?" the boy chuckled. He stood up from the steps and made his way down.
Dan watched him stand under the stars. He looked pretty.
"Are you coming?" he called from the ground.
"Yeah, I suppose so," Dan said. He wiped his jeans off as he made his way down the stairs. He stopped when he stood a couple feet away from the boy. "Where are we anyway?"
"We are at the farm my grandparents lived in," the boy said. He began walking across the field without looking to see if Dan was following.
"Why here?" Dan said as the came to the middle of corn crops.
"Isn't it obvious? My grandparents died here in a fire 4 years ago," he said, shaking his head. He sat down in the dirt and took a handful, letting it fall through his fingers. "My dog also died," he whispered, more to himself than to Dan.
"I'm sorry," Dan said, sitting down next to him.
"Don't be."
"So, you're my soulmate then?" Dan said, looking at the boy's knee.
"Guess so," he said.
Dan nodded and looked out into the field. There was sliver of light at the horizon, the sun preparing to come up. The boy saw it too and smiled.
"My alarm will be going off soon," he said. He looked over at Dan and placed his hand on his shoulder. "I'll see you tonight, maybe?"
"Yeah," Dan said. "Maybe."
They watched at the sun appeared across the sky and then all at once, the dream ended.
Dan woke up 5 minutes before his alarm went off. He unplugged his phone from his charger and held it close to his face as he cleared his notifications that had piled up over the night. The night's events hadn't yet sunk in. Soon though, all he could think about was the pretty boy with black hair, and striking blue eyes.
*******
During his morning shower, Phil had begun crying. They weren't the type of sobs from when he first learned his family members had passed. These tears were more silent, and they didn't shake his whole body.
He sat down in the the tub while he finished up washing himself. He wasn't in the mood to continue the cleaning process. The water eventually washed away what little soap he had lathered on, yet he remained in the shower. When the water turned cold, Phil decided it was a good time to get up.
He turned off the water with his quickly numbing fingers, and wrapped his slender body in a huge fluffy towel. The family he was staying with was kind enough to let him pick it out.
He hadn't told the boy the whole story of the farm. His family was staying with his grandparents for the summer when one day, they set a stew to cook overnight, and someone forgot to turn the stove on low. By 2am, the entire estate was in flames. Everyone had died, his mom, dad, older brother, his grandma and grandpa, and his dog. Phil was the only survivor.
A bang on the door made him jump, effectively pulling him from his thoughts
"Phiiiiil," a small voice whined, "mummy says we have to go to school now."
"I'm coming Ellie," Phil said through the door as he pulled his shirt over his wet hair.
He rushed out and grabbed his bag and a banana, and made his way to the car.
"Good morning Phil," his foster mum's voice was light and chirpy. She smiled at him through the rearview mirror and started backing out of the driveway.
"Good morning," he said, buckling up.
He sat in a car with 4 other kids. The oldest, Briana, sat in the passenger's seat. He sat in the back behind the driver's seat and to his left was Ellie, 5, and Fiona, 11. His foster mum drove a modest mini van, but nobody sat in the very back unless her husband, Mr. Thompson, was in the car.
Mrs. Thompson began fostering kids 6 years ago. She was pretty young when she started, 32, and wanted a family. She had no desire to give birth, however, and the next best thing was to take care of foster kids. Her first was a boy named Jamie. He stayed a few months before moving on. Briana had been in her care the longest. It was her last year before university. The Thompson's had offered to let her stay until she went off.
Next was Ellie. It was coming up to her second year. She was the first kid to be adopted by the Thompson's a few months back. Briana had been furiously jealous, but she had realized it was no use to be adopted for merly a year.
Fiona had been here for 3 months, since the first day of school. She kept to herself mostly but loved living here.
Finally, Phil. He had come just 2 weeks ago. His parents had been dead for 4 years, since he was 12. He had been in many homes before, but none more loving than this. He almost hated himself for distancing himself from everyone. Almost.
*******
Phil fell asleep at 8, right after dinner. He was always tired to do much else than sleep. That night, he tucked himself in with a small hope that he hadn't felt in a long time. Hope that belonged to his soulmate.
*******
Dan went to bed at 10. It was early by his standards. He believed, as a 15 year old boy, he was obligated to stay awake until at least 1am every night. He was just eager to sleep that night because of the boy he saw hours ago. He bid his family a good night and sank deep into his pillow.
*******
The dream started differently this time. Phil usually awoke in his (former) bed, his lungs burning. Then, he made his way to his parent's room only to find their side of the house all burned up. He would turn to the stairs and begin crying on the steps. The boy always found him there.
Tonight though, he was already outside, watching the fire burn within. He took a seat in front of his granddad's truck and begin lifting handfuls of loose dirt, a newly formed habit of his. A few minutes later, it seemed, the boy walked out of the house.
"You weren't in there," he breathed, walking closer. "I thought you weren't coming."
Phil smiled at looked at the boy. "I would never miss a chance to see you."
The boy smiled back. However it faded quickly and he let out a groan. "I wish I could tell you my name!"
Ah, that issue. A long time back, it had been made illegal to share names between soulmates, or else it would be all too easy to find each other. It was supposed to be a challenge apparently.
Phil gave the boy a warm smile. "We can start with other things instead. For example, I'm 16."
"I'm 15," the boy said, a blush on his cheeks.
They spent the rest of their dream time sharing useless information about each other.
********
Dan wore a permanent smile for the next week. Each night, the two met up outside the house and spoke until night's end. Dan learned that Phil liked the color green, and that he used to want to be a weatherman. He knew the boy's new dream was to become a filmmaker. Dan also knew that wherever this boy went, he would follow.
His parents noticed he slept earlier and earlier, and they shared found smiles, remembering their time as kids when they would spend their dreams out by a lake.
It was saturday night when Dan couldn't sleep as early as he would have liked. He had to be up to celebrate his brother's birthday. When he finally closed his eyes, it was close to 1am.
*******
"I didn't think you were coming," the boy said to Dan.
"I'm sorry," Dan replied, walking over to the boy. He realized that they weren't on the farm during the fire. It was light out, for starters. They were also out in some meadow, flowers growing everywhere, and a tree in the distance. "Where are we?" he asked.
"I was hoping you'd know," he said, shrugging.
The boy took his hand and began walking to the tree. It was a big oak. The leaves were still green, even though it was mid winter in the real world. They sat under it, Dan's head resting on the boy's lap, enjoying the shade.
"I have something to tell you," the boy told Dan as he caressed his hair.
Dan hummed and turned to look at him.
"It's um, it's about my past," he said softly.
Dan sat up and looked and him, taking his hands into his. He didn't speak, just waited.
"Well, the other day, I didn't exactly tell you the truth and I want to tell you this because you're really important to me, and I know we haven't known each other long, bu-"
"Hey, hey," Dan said, placing his hand on the boy's cheek. "It's okay."
"Yeah, yeah you're right," he said. He took a deep breath and started over. "During the fire, my whole family was in the house. My brother, my dog, my mum and dad, and my grandparents. They all died. I was the only survivor," he said softly.
Dan wiped away the tears that had started to fall and cupped the boy's face. "Everything will be okay," he said, pressing a kiss to his temples. "You're safe now."
*******
Phil didn't realize he was crying until the boy's thumb swept a tear off his face. He let the boy kiss his forehead, and allowed himself to be hugged. He cried into the boy's shirt, while he whispered sweet nothings into his ear.
Finally, when he had cried himself out, he pulled away, looking into the boy's eyes. "I miss them," he said, hiccuping.
"I know," the boy said, wrapping him in his arms around him once more. "I'll be your family now," he said, squeezing Phil closer.
Phil should have been creeped out, scared. But he wasn't. He wasn't because this boy felt like home. He grasped at Dan's tshirt, willing their bodies closer. "I would like that," he mumbled into the cloth.
******
Phil woke up the next morning lighter than he had in years. He went downstairs early and found his foster-mum and Briana cooking breakfast.
"You're up early," Mrs. Thompson chirped. She grabbed a mug and poured Phil some tea.
"Thank you," Phil said as he took the warm mug and brought it to his lips. He moved a seat on the breakfast bar and sat down.
"You can be the taste tester," Briana said. She was cooking sausages on the stove and keeping an eye on the waffle Mrs. Thompson had abandoned.
"So tell me, Philip, has a special someone got you so cheery?" Mr. Thompson asked as he walked into the kitchen. Mrs. Thompson and Briana greeted him, while Phil turned a dark shade of red.
"Pardon?" he replied.
"I remember when I was younger. The Mrs over there was quite a little fire ball in my dreams. Stressed me out most days. It was really endearing though," he said, plopping into the seat next to Phil.
"Oh, shut it Howard," Mrs. Thompson said, poking his side.
"Anyway, enough about me. Phil, how's your soulmate?" Mr. Thompson pressed.
"He's lovely," Phil mumbled while attempting to chug his mug of tea.
"Philly likes a boy?" Ellie chimed as she walked in.
Phil let out a small squeak and stood up, gathering his mug and phone. "Call me when the food is served," he said as he walked out of the room.
*******
"Peej, I don't know what to do," Dan whined on his best friends bed. PJ was fluffing his pillow, preparing for a sleepover at Dan's.
"Dan, it'll be okay," PJ said, rolling his eyes and making his way to turn out the light.
"That's easy for you to say! You got lucky! Chris was in your primary school. You met him the first day of grade 2!" Dan said, pulling the covers over his head
PJ sighed and sat down next to Dan. "It's not impossible to find each other. Promise," he said. "Go to sleep and visit your boy. I'm sure the two of you will work something out."
*******
It wasn't until next week that Dan managed to 'work something out'. After hours of google searching and reading stories on the weird side of reddit, he learned just how easy he could control his dreams.
He planned that day for a flawless night. He woke up early on Saturday and made sure he wore himself out, so that come night, he could easily fall asleep and stay asleep. He went to bed at 8. Early. He knew the boy didn't sleep until 9:30 at least, so he had time to prepare.
Dan dreamt up his neighbourhood. His school, the park, the shops, and finally, his own home. Then, he sat on the familiar grey bench at his school, and waited.
The dream sun had started to set by the time the boy came wandering from around the building.
He smiled when he saw Dan and waved. "Got lost," he called out, walking closer to Dan.
"Glad you found me," Dan said, standing up.
"Where are we?"
"My school," Dan said, a small blush creeping up on his face.
"You're kidding," the boy said, a small laugh escaping his mouth.
"No?"
"This is my school's rival school," he said.
Oh my god
"Wait! Does this mean-"
He didn't finish the sentence because the boy has flung his arms around Dan and was holding him close.
"We've lived, at most, 30 minutes away from each other! How silly," he said to Dan's shoulder.
*******
Phil was guided through the neighbourhood, holding the boy's hand the whole time. They had finally found a way to meet, and Phil knew exactly how to get to the boy's house. They walked down to and from the school a total of 4 times, he had counted.
When they felt the dream fading, Phil left the boy with a tight hug, and a promise to see each other soon.
*******
Dan sat anxiously in the dining room all day. He had told his parents of what he'd done, and instead of being mad like he expected, they were understanding, and offered to give Phil a seat at the dinner table that night.
Dan waited and waited. It wasn't like he could just fall asleep and be connected to the boy. That's not how soulmates worked.
(He had tried....multiple times).
Finally, a little after 1pm, there was a knock on the door. Dan crawled out from his spot underneath the dining room table. He stood up and peered at the door from behind the entryway. His mom opened the door with a warm smile, and suddenly, Dan couldn't breathe.
In front of him was the most beautiful boy he'd ever seen.
*******
Phil fidgeted in the doorway. He looked around and didn't find the boy in his dreams. He turned bright red at the thought of being at a random person's house.
"Hello, dear," a woman with light brown hair smiled. "You must be here for Dan."
"I-um, yeah," Phil managed. He still didn't his soulmate's name and prayed this 'Dan' kid wasn't some random boy who's mom thought Phil was his friend. It would be a shame, really, because Dan was a pretty name.
"Daniel," she called.
From behind one of the walls leading away from the hall, a boy with brown hair appeared. He looked like he did in the dreams, but a hundred times better. He was more perfect in real life than Phil could ever imagine.
"Hi," he breathed, walking closer to Phil. "I'm Dan," he said, holding out his hand
"Phil," he said, pulling Dan into a hug instead.
Dan wrapped his arms around Phil and held him close. "God, it's so good to know your name."
"It's better now that I can actually feel you."
********
Phil spent the night at Dan's house. Dan's mum had offered to make a blow up mattress for them, but both he and Phil declined. They brushed their teeth together, and Dan let Phil borrow his favorite Captain America t shirt.
They laid in Dan's bed, sides touching, looking at the glow in the dark stars on Dan's ceiling.
"Isn't it crazy," Phil said, "that the universe is infinite. And yet, here we are."
"We're soulmates, aren't we? Always destined to find each other," Dan said, looking over at Phil. He was gazing at the stars, a small smile on his lips. He reached for Dan's hand without looking and brought it to his lips.
"I'm glad I found you," he whispered, bringing Dan's hand to his smooth, warm lips, placing a gentle kiss on the back of it.
"I'm glad too," Dan said, moving to rest his head against Phil's shoulder.
Phil stroked his hair softly, until they both fell asleep.
Epilogue
"Dan! Dan! Danny!" Phil yelled as he ran upstairs to Dan's room. He had gotten a key to his house for Christmas the past year.
"What is it?" Dan said, walking out of his room wrapped in a duvet, his hair everywhere.
"I have exciting news!" he rushed past Dan and sat on his bed.
Dan walked over and sat down. "Are you going to tell me?"
"I got adopted!" Phil said, beaming.
"Wait?! Really?!" Dan said, standing up quickly. He grabbed Phil's hand and pulled him up. "C'mon, this deserves a celebration!"
*******
Dan took him over to the window. They climbed out of it like they had many times before and sat on the roof of the house.
"I can't believe they adopted me at 17! They didn't even adopt Briana at 17!" Phil bubbled.
Dan smiled at Phil, everything was so right. From the birds chirping, to the gentle breeze bringing the smell of flowers, to the morning dew, it was perfect. The boy with black hair sitting next to him was perfect.
He turned to Phil and placed a hand on his cheek. "I love you," he said, bringing his lips to Phil's. He felt Phil's breath meet his own. The slow exhale of it in his mouth and into his own lungs was brilliant. Phil brought his hand to the back of Dan's head, deepening their kiss.
"I love you more," he breathed against Dan's lips.
"I love you most."