"So? How did it go?"

"It was alright. He says he's diagnosing me with depression and anxiety, but I already figured as such."

"Did you tell him about me?" Phil looked at Dan as he took a bite of his pizza. Dan had asked to go out, but Phil refused to leave the house.

". . . No."

"You hesitated-"

"Are you ever gonna leave the house?" Dan questioned, changing the subject. He set his food down, blocking out the TV. "Are we just gonna eat delivery food forever?"

"I'll go out when it's safe."

"And when is that?" Dan furrowed his eyebrows. He didn't want to get angry, but it's been weeks now. He wanted answers. "And when will it be normal again? You haven't touched me since you came back, haven't even looked at me in a lustful way- did you go to someone else? Did you cheat?"

"Jesus Christ, Dan, you're being selfish. That's not what happened." Phil stood up, running his hands over his face and pacing the livingroom.

"I'm being selfish?" Dan got up too. "Phil, you're making me insane. I'm so lost, I'm in the dark and you've taken the batteries out of the flashlight. Did you see the corkboard in the trash? All that work I did to try and find you? I had clues, and now it's like you fucking wiped them all away. Why did you come back? How did you come back?"

Phil whipped around, fists clenched."Stop fucking asking me all these questions!"

Dan got closer to him, eyes watered as he shouted, "why! Tell me why! Tell me one fucking reason to any of this!"

"I cant!" Phil screamed. Silence followed. Dan laughed coldly, turning away and putting his uneaten pizza in the box.

"I've lost my appetite," Daniel mumbled, going into the bedroom and slamming the door. He passed the time watching old videos of him and Phil, noting the changes from the past to the present. He wished he could go back and somehow save Phil from ever disappearing. Save him from ever leaving the house.

"Phil? Could you come in here?" Dan called as he shut his laptop. Phil appeared, the atmosphere tense. "I have a proposition."

"Hm?" He said, sitting at the edge of their bed.

"Maybe we could go on a vacation?" Dan started, sitting closer to his boyfriend and leaning his head on his shoulder. "I think it could ease our stress and that way we could go out without you knowing anybody. We could go to some island, you know?"

Phil breathed slowly, thinking. "Okay but you-"

"Can't tell anybody. I get it," Dan shut him down. "I'll look up flights tonight, okay? For now, we should sleep."

☈

A few days later, they found themselves landing on an island. They were swarmed with locals bargaining for deals and experiences, but Phil wanted it to be just them two. Dan hoped that he'd get answers tonight, or at least some point on this trip.

They stopped at their house, a rented beach house all to itself. It was nice, a two-story with a hot tub and bar. Dan was sat in the water, watching the sun go down as he sipped on a cocktail. He felt a hand touch his shoulder suddenly and he jumped, spilling a bit of his drink on his thigh. It was simply Phil, who began giggling at his boyfriend's reaction.

"Sorry," he forced a smile, climbing into the tub. He looked out at the sky for a moment, listening to the ocean breeze and pelicans chirp from afar. Dan stared at him the whole time, thoughts flooding his brain. "You gonna enjoy the view?"

"I am," Dan flirted. Phil rolled his eyes, playfully shoving him. "You seem like you're in a good mood. I'm gonna get another drink, do you want anything?"

Phil responded with a yes, and it wasn't the last drink. Soon enough the two men were drunk, babbling until the sun went down and the moon peeked up. Dan went in to kiss him, and Phil let him, and they kissed for a long time.

"Dan," Phil exhaled. Dan thought he was simply saying his name, so he kept mouthing at his neck. Phil repeated his name and Dan stopped, pulling away and looking at him. "What would you do if. . . if I hurt someone?"

"Did you?" Dan asked.

"No." The reply was sharp. He stood up, moving away from Dan. The brunette followed him though, angry and frustrated. Too many times had Phil been on the verge of ending his confusion. Too many questions Dan had unanswered.

"Did you hurt someone?" Dan snarled. Phil kept his back to him. "Would you just answer me? Please! God dammit, Phil, I do so much for you. I've been as patient as I can be, but you were missing. Missing for years. No clues, no hints, no search parties. You were presumed to be dead, we had a fucking funeral- a casket with no body in it. What happened, Phil?" Dan shouted, grabbing at his shoulder.

"Get off me!" Phil snapped, going to shove at Dan but he slipped. He slipped on the stray water from the hot tub and scraped his leg, blood instantly beginning to appear.

"Shit!" Dan hissed, kneeling down and looking at the wound. Phil just groaned in pain. "We need to get you to a doctor- you need stitches-"

"No-"

"But you're injured!"

"I dont wanna go to the fucking doctor!"

Dan remained silent for a bit, stunned at how aggressive his boyfriend was being. He just wanted to help, that's all he ever wanted to do. "I'll. . . I'll go get the first aid kit," Dan murmured, tears welling in his eyes. Phil didn't seem to notice his boyfriend was crying, holding his crimson-covered leg.

Daniel came back out with the bandages, cleaning off the blood and wrapping the wound. He helped Phil back to their bed, and tension reoccurred.

"I'm sorry," Phil mumbled. "You just have so many questions that I'm unable to answer- some I don't want to answer. Please just forget about me disappearing. I'm here now, stop focusing on the past."

Dan shook his head, tears silently spilling down his cheeks. "You tried to shove me."

"What?"

"When I touched you, you tried to shove me. You tried to hurt me."

"Dan-"

"I'm your boyfriend, I'm not the enemy or whatever the fuck you encountered when you were gone," Dan sniffled. "Maybe you're the enemy here."

"Baby, you know that's not-"

"Don't 'baby' me. Not after what just happened."

"Dan," Phil corrected. He paused. "Just come here, please. I'm tired of fighting. No more fighting, especially not on this getaway. We came here to feel better, right? Let me make you feel better."

"How do you plan on doing that?" Dan pouted. Phil said nothing, just kissed him, and Dan got the message. He hoped things would always be so gentle like this.

However, all good things come to an end.