Heyo!

So I've had this idea in my head for a looooong time, so I decided to write it down!

Summary: Dan is mute and Phil is deaf, which, as it turn out, works quite nicely.

Word count: 3750

Phan status: not together… yet.

Warnings: extreme bullying, swearing and brief mentions of how Dan became mute.

—

Dan sighed inaudibly, another school, another hellmouth.

His parents had recently gotten transferred halfway across the freaking country. It didn't really matter to him though, as Dan had no friends or even acquaintances to speak of back in Reading.

All his friends left after the accident - they said it was just to hard to communicate now that he couldn't speak.

About five years ago, a drunk truck driver smashed into the car and Dan was the one who retained the most injuries, the most notable one being his vocal chords were rendered useless.

Every time he tried to speak, he started spitting blood and he could feel the vocal chords scraping along his throat, like two serrated blades clashing together.

Not fun.

Now Dan can only speak through his hands - sign language or writing down things on the notepad he carried everywhere.

Dan's shoes squeaked and echoed throughout the ominously empty corridor as he made his way to the front desk.

He rang the bell nervously.

The woman behind the counter looked up from her magazine and smiled at him. "Hey, are you the new guy?" She asked cheerfully.

Dan nodded, and she glanced over the sheet with all his information on it. Her eyes softened when she reached the end of the paper, and Dan knew she had read the current status of his voice.

"Here's your timetable" she said softly, passing him a slip of paper "and here's your sport and club options."

Dan scoffed silently; sport, like he would ever willingly participate in that.

Dan nodded his thanks and made his way to the period one class - history.

After knocking on the door, Dan warily made his way inside the classroom.

You could hear a pin drop.

Everyone's eyes were on him, gaping and incredulous - haven't these guys seen a new student before?

"Ah yes, Daniel!" the teacher exclaimed when she saw the lanky boy standing in the doorway. Dan pulled out his notepad;

'It's just Dan, thanks'

"Cool. No problem, I was alerted of your current… situation, welcome to Morwood High!"

Dan smiled in response, she seemed a little skittish at first but he could tell she had good intentions.

"You can sit next to…." she scanned the room before finding the empty seats "Phil! seeing as the only free seats are around him - come on guys, you shouldn't exclude Phil. It'll be counted as bullying."

"But Miss" someone piped up, smirking "Phil likes it like that - if he didn't, don't you think he would try and make friends?"

The teacher glared scornfully at the outspoken teen and nudged Dan forward, indicating for him to go and sit down.

Dan bit his lip as he took his seat.

Should I try and get his attention? Should I not bother? Will this be like my last school?

Dan was jerked out of his thoughts when a note landed on his desk. He looked up to find Phil smiling at him.

Hey, sorry you had to get stuck with the deaf guy

Dan's eyes widened, he was deaf? That might mean he knows sign language!

It's ok, sorry you got stuck with the mute guy, Dan wrote back

Phil's reaction was much the same as Dan's, and Phil raised his hands tentatively and began to sign;

Do you speak sign language by any chance?

Well, I wouldn't call it speaking

Phil laughed. It was a wobbly, broken noise but Dan smiled nonetheless. It was nice to have someone in school that he could actually communicate properly with.

It's funny, now that I can talk to someone, I don't know what to say, Phil signed sheepishly

Dan gave a silent chuckle, then his smile dropped off his face. He hated not being able making any sound. He hated that when he laughed, he couldn't feel the reverberations in his throat, he couldn't hear his mirth in the air.

Phil touched his shoulder softly. Are you okay? he asked

Yea, Dan replied, it's only been a year since the accident and it's just weird not being able to make any sound.

If it makes any difference, I wouldn't be able to tell whether or not you were making any noise, Phil shrugged.

Dan smiled and nodded. I guess that's true, huh?

Phil smiled in return and laughed that wobbly, inexperienced noise again.

"Boys, if you don't mind" the teacher called, trying to seem serious but she was smiling, glad that Phil had someone that he could speak to properly at last.

Seeing Dan's head snap to the front, Phil turned to see the teacher's lips moving.

After she turned back to the front, Phil tapped Dan's shoulder. What did she say? he asked

Dan's shoulders shook a tiny bit as he laughed. She told us to stop signing and get back to work basically, but she was smiling so I don't think she could've been too mad at us.

Phil grinned and turned back to the front, writing down the notes Miss Henrys wrote on the board. Phil had the sheet of notes she had printed out for him at the beginning of the lesson, but he could never understand half the things on there.

Phil placed his head in his hand and watched Miss pace back and forth across the classroom, animating what she was saying with elaborate hand gestures and when Dan laughed at something she said, a pang of sadness struck through him at the world of silence he was subject to.

Oh well, at least there's someone I can talk to now, Phil thought.

Dan tapped Phil's shoulder and signed as discreetly as possible: What time does the bell ring?

Phil thought for a moment. In about ten minutes, he replied after looking at the clock. Dan smiled at him and asked if he could see his schedule.

Phil obliged and felt oddly happy when Dan reported that they have most classes together, only excluding Maths and Geography.

When the bell rung, there was a flurry of movement; students getting out of chairs and hastily shoving everything into their bags before running out the door, yelling a haphazard "Thanks Miss!" behind them for good measure.

Dan was waiting for Phil, bag on his back and a mocking smile on his lips. After Phil had finished, Dan tapped his shoulder.

You're just the fastest person in the world, aren't you? Dan signed, rolling his eyes just in case his hands couldn't gat across how sarcastic he was right now, because there was only a certain amount of extreme sarcasm you could sign to someone.

Phil laughed and playfully shoved Dan and it turned into a full on shove-fight between the two in the empty hallway.

Where do you want to sit? Phil asked, hoping he wouldn't choose somewhere with lots of people - he wasn't bullied or anything, he was just sort of… brushed under the rug.

Hey, I'm the new guy, Dan replied, where do you normally sit?

Phil smiled like he was about to share a big secret, but he just gestured for Dan to follow him. They ended up round the back of the school, where the only place to sit was a small garden bench and dark green grass dominated the area.

Dan guessed this was sort of like Phil's place - it was where he went to just… get away from people so, in a way, Phil had shared a secret with Dan.

They sat down and ate while attempting to sign to each other, food being held between teeth and hands flying everywhere. Dan felt like he had hadn't laughed so hard in a long, long time.

They talked about everything they could think of, both happy there was someone to share it with. Dan found that Phil had either the best or the weirdest way to look at the world, but he was still deciding which.

Dan brought up the subject of anime, as well as something Phil couldn't make out about cornflakes and flashlights.

They discussed what would happen if sausage dogs grew wings, Phil thought the pigs would be jealous but according to Dan they would all be trained in the army.

But Dan, Phil protested, you can't put dogs in the army!

These aren't just dogs, Dan countered, these are dogs… with wings

You're impossible Phil conceded

You know it.

Phil laughed at his antics and playfully shoved him. He saw Dan's eyes widen as he was caught off-guard and fell off the bench.

His mouth was open as if he were laughing and he just laid down on the grass resignedly. I'm done, he signed sloppily, still laughing, you're a twat Phil.

Phil smiled innocently at the accusation and flopped down onto the grass next to Dan. They couldn't talk like this, but they didn't need to.

It's weird how quickly we've become friends, Dan thought to himself, I mean.. I didn't expect to find anyone that would even want to talk to me, let alone be able to sign.

Dan's shoulder was pressed up against Phil's, and he found the contact quite comforting. Why he needed comforting, he had no idea, but it was nice.

The bell rang and Dan sighed, tapping Phil on the shoulder as he got up. Time to go, I guess, Phil signed forlornly, science was the worst subject for him. Not being able to hear the teacher really sucked.

Dan and Phil walked side-by-side, talking to each other in a language no one else understood and they took full advantage of that.

See the guy over there? You might want to be careful of him, he's got some kind of chronic douchebag disorder, Phil warned.

He laughed at Phil's wording and walked a little closer to him, their shoulders brushing together as they made their way to their classroom.

I realise I've just made the school seem horrible, Phil remarked sheepishly, I promise its not, I'm just warning you of… people… I guess.

Dan smiled. It's ok, I think I'll just stick around you - no one else can understand what I'm saying anyway.

Phil gave a small chuckle and touched his hand to his lips and then out to Dan, almost like he was blowing a kiss.

Dan's cheeks reddened slightly at the gesture. Phil, what does that one mean again?

Oh yeah, you're new to sign language Phil remembered, I forgot for a second…

Dan nodded, and Phil spelt it out phonetically:

T-H-A-N-K-Y-O-U

Dan's mouth curled up in a mischievous smile, and he touched his hand to his lips, repeating the movement Phil had done just seconds before.

Phil nodded approvingly and giggled, lightly bumping Dan's shoulder with his own as they made their way to their next class.

—

A month has passed since Dan came to school, and Phil has just now realised how quickly he got used to Dan being there - at school, with him.

'I'm not coming to school today - sick. ugh. kill me' Dan's text read.

Phil frowned. One one hand, he was worried about Dan and hoped it wasn't anything to bad, but on the other hand he just wanted to tell him to suck it up and come to school because Phil had never thought about how incredibly boring it was without Dan.

Without Dan here, he couldn't talk to anyone properly, and nor could he fangirl about the new Fall Out Boy song, or the latest Pokemon episode.

Phil sighed as he trudged off to his first period class - English. Dan's really rubbish at english, Phil thought, smiling. He didn't really mean it, of course - well, maybe a little bit.

"Today we'l be doing a Shakespeare play called 'Macbeth', can anyone tell me what its about?" Mr. Montgomery addressed the class.

Amber put her hand up and began reciting the plotline and characters in detail, and Phil was glad he couldn't hear her.

Dan's adorable when he recites Shakespeare…

Phil was happily surprised when he found out that Dan had whole sonnets committed to memory, and would occasionally spout threatening lines when he thought Phil was being an ass, or random verses when the conversation lapsed. He had to admit that, despite only being able to use his hands to talk, Phil could definitely tell when Dan was shouting.

Phil smiled unconsciously at the thought and looked straight down at the desk, trying to hide his slightly rosy cheeks.

He kept his head down throughout the lesson, choosing to just sit and study his notes that the teacher had given him at the beginning of class.

He forgot how… quiet everything was.

When he was with Dan, he forgot he couldn't hear. He forgot about his impairment and his disability, because when he was with Dan he could talk just as easily as everyone else.

Jesus Christ, what was wrong with him? Dan had only been here… what? A month? One month, and Phil already felt more at ease around him than he did his own family.

He felt a paper ball hit his shoulder, so he turned around to look at whoever threw it. James smiled wickedly and gestured to the projectile.

Phil spared the boy a wary glance and picked it up. He unfolded the slip of paper and rolled his eyes at the words written: 'Missing you're little boyfriend, gaylord?'

Phil wrote hist reply, scrunched the paper back up again and threw it back to him, sniggering gleefully as he watched James' face contort into anger.

'Wrong use of 'you're' dipshit. :)'

He turned back to his desk, smiling.

—

He wasn't smiling by the end of the day.

James and a few of his friends had cornered him after school. Phil couldn't tell what they were saying, but he knew it was something about the note this morning.

They beat Phil black and blue, punched him until he had black rings around his eyes, kicked him until he thought his ribs would snap.

They left him bloodied and bruised in the empty school carpark, and it was several minutes until he could move without feeling like his entire body was on fire.

He tried to stand up, but just fell down again. What was he going to do?

Dan.

Phil rolled onto his back, wincing and sent a text to Dan; school carpark help.

Thank god for autocorrect - Phil was sure he typed complete gibberish.

'Are you okay? I'll be five minutes' was Dan's reply

Phil sighed in relief, then winced at the pain that shot through his chest.

He stared up at the sky, taking short, shallow breaths. He wasn't sure how long he laid there, but it seemed like eternity.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a pair of shoes running towards him.

Phil! Oh my god are you okay? Dan signed, panicked and out of breath, no, that was a stupid question, of course you're not okay oh my god Phil can you stand? come on, my house isn't far away

Phil made a strangled sound in his throat and held out his hand. Dan grasped it and, supporting his back, helped Phil to stand up.

After an agonisingly slow ten minutes, they had reached Dan's house. He unlocked the door and sat Phil down in a chair.

Wait here, Dan told him.

Phil slumped back in the chair glumly. He could see that Dan was still feeling a bit poorly - he had a red nose and his eyes were slightly sunken in, but overall he looked fine, and that made Phil's guilt over calling Dan out when he was ill abate slightly.

(what this is angst. when did it turn into angst. oh well I'll just roll with it)

Dan soon returned with a first aid kit. He took off Phil's shirt and winced at the sight of his torso.

Phil thought it could have been worse.

Dan disinfected a gauze and carefully wiped down Phil's cuts and bruises, a pained expression contorting his face. Phil didn't know what he was thinking, because Dan couldn't talk while he was doing this, but in that moment, Phil would have given anything to find out.

After Dan had bandaged up the worst of the damage, and rubbed some strange cold paste on Phil's chest that made everything feel a lot better, he disinfected a new gauze and turned his attention to Phil's face.

Dan dabbed carefully at the cut on Phil's eyebrow, his face an image of pure concentration to make sure nothing got in his eye. Phil stared up at Dan's face, feeling as though everything in the universe was slowing down. Everything, except for them.

Phil felt like he couldn't breathe, but it had nothing to do with his injuries.

His gaze shifted to Dan's lips, parted softly as he wiped away the blood on Phil's forehead. Dan finished wiping at his forehead and moved to his split lip.

Dan slowly met Phil's eyes, then dragged his stare to the bleeding lip. Everything was silent, but then again, everything was always silent for Phil.

Dan's hand cupped his jaw as he held his face steady enough to swab at the cut. He placed a small strip of medical tape over it, but he didn't remove his hand.

Phil looked up into Dan's eyes and slowly, Dan shifted his gaze to meet Phil's.

He hesitantly moved closer to Dan, still staring straight into his eyes and Dan moved his hand to caress Phil's cheek. Softly, ever so softly, Phil touched his lips to Dan's.

Dan kissed him back carefully, mindful of his split lip. Phil smiled and he felt like he was going to explode any second now.

He drew away from the kiss and opened his eyes. He could now put a name to the odd feeling he had been feeling almost ever since he met Dan, and judging by the way Dan smiled back at him, that feeling was felt equally in Dan.

Dan packed away the first aid kit and stood up. He made a vague 'wait' gesture and he vanished upstairs once again.

Phil touched his lips and smiled. He had kissed Dan, and Dan had kissed back.

My parents won't be back for a couple of days yet, so you can stay here if you want, Dan offered when he came back. None of his usual sarcastic bravado was present, only concerned kindness.

Phil nodded gratefully and texted his mum to tell her that he was sleeping at a friend's place and not to worry.

Phil started to stand up, wincing. Dan's eyes went wide and he rushed to Phil's side, looping an arm around his shirtless torso and helping him up the stairs. Phil collapsed onto Dan's bed, sighing heavily.

I'll get you some pyjamas, Dan signed. It was barely even 4pm, but Phil was so, so tired.

He looked into his closet for something big enough for Phil to wear. He eventually came across an old, baggy shirt and a fluffy pair of pyjama pants that were at least three inches too long for him.

He offered them to Phil, who took them gratefully and slipped on the shirt. Dan tactfully turned his back as Phil struggled to get his skinny jeans off and the pyjama pants on.

Dan found some tracksuit bottoms and another baggy shirt, and went to the bathroom to change. Dan slipped into bed beside Phil and drew the covers up around them. Phil sleepily opened one eye and smiled at Dan.

Sleep, Dan ordered, you need it, Phil.

Phil nodded, and snuggled in close to Dan before closing his eyes. Dan smiled down at Phil and softly pressed a kiss to his cheek.

A blush crept its way up Dan's neck when he saw Phil open his eyes again and smirk at Dan.

He stuck his tongue out and loosely draped an arm around Phil's waist. Dan rested his head on the pillow and closed his eyes. Who cares if it's four in the afternoon.

—

Two days later, they both returned to school. Phil's only remainder from that day was a few residual cuts and bruises, and his boyfriend.

Dan reluctantly let go of Phil's hand and started to sign something when he heard a voice; "Well, would you look who it is? The cripple duo are dating now."

James.

The name was like poison to Dan's mind. He would never forgive him for what he did to Phil.

"Did you like the like the game we played, Phil?" James asked him, laughing at the fact that Phil couldn't hear him.

But Dan could.

Dan could hear every single word.

Furious, Dan marched straight up to James and punched him hard in the mouth.

"Wha-what the actual fuck?!" James yelled incredulously.

Dan smiled sweetly and walked back to Phil, who was laughing his head off. Just to piss off James even further, Phil drew Dan into a long, deep kiss.

God, you're amazing, Phil signed. Dan shrugged and winked, a smile tugging at his lips.

The bell rang and they made their way slowly to first period. As soon as Dan sat down, a note fell on his desk;

You little fucker! I'm going to kill you for that!

Dan collapsed into silent giggles and showed the note to Phil. Picking up his pen, he carefully wrote out a reply, then sent it back to James.

James, who wasn't expecting a reply from the little twerp, unfolded the paper and glared furiously at Dan.

Because the only reply he had received, penned out in beautiful cursive, was so completely Dan Howell that he couldn't help but seethe in silence, his glares bouncing off the boy.

Just fuck off James, before I punch you somewhere that doesn't heal as easliy

P.S. Phil says hi

—

Ok, that ending wasn't as bad as it could have been.

I don't know where that angst in the middle came from. This was meant to be short and fluffy… oops.

Thanks for reading all the way to the end and please tell me what you thought of it!

As Always,

Thornsword.