Chapter Text
Everywhere they went, they heard screams of excitement, cheers for the man who had conquered the entire world under the narcotic influence of his songs. The way he could craft worlds and stories with the power of a pen and his voice, the way he wrote some of history’s greatest albums, it was blindingly dazzling how he had done it all. Lights refracting sequin stars off his silhouette every night, singing songs and stories about love, heartbreak, emotion, longing, etc.
Phillip’s latest concert tour had without a doubt, completely changed the world. Every single show, every stadium that had filled itself to the brim with diehard fans wearing his face on t-shirts, bracelets, and even tattooed on their arms, had been compounded with the unwavering faith and dedication that they exhibited. He brought money to economic slumps that revived the lives of millions, created literal earthquakes that shook the Earth to its core, and all did it in the midst of the public eye without losing his mind or his well beloved personality and charm.
And oh how P.T Barnum, Phineas, Phin, whatever you wanted to call him, his boyfriend had helped him throughout every stage of the concert tour. Phillip could not have ever asked for anyone better to join him on this wild adventure. During the planning stages, Barnum had extravagant ideas that would captivate concertgoers with amazing set designs that truly portrayed the emotions and world-building that each era of Philip’s songwriting abilities had captured. When Carlyle had begun to stumble on the tightrope of his plans, P.T. was there every step of the way to stabilize and hold his hand. And of course when all was said and done, if Phillip was not out dealing with the admittedly extremely annoying and almost suffocating cameras and flashing lights that made everyone look like they were caught red handed, Phineas was taking Carlyle to cloud nine, writing his name on his upper thigh in Philip’s mind.
Phillip had worked his ass off like no one else and achieved so much for it. And on the surface level, everything was fine.
But it wasn’t.
Today’s specific concert was supposed to play out as it always would. The two lovebirds rode around in a secret black box disguised as a subwoofer, in the hopes that no invading cameraman, or worse, some kooky fan would try to ambush them hoping to get an autograph before quickly being escorted out by security. That happened once, and frankly while Phillip and Phineas did joke about it a lot, it did truly shake them a bit, knowing how transparent every affair their relationship was in the fans’ spheres of consciousness.
And when Phillip had poured his heart out into every single song and plotline that defined the lyrics and intonations of his beats and rhythms for nearly three hours, especially now that he had released another consecutive record breaking album, Phillip was to run over and jump his boyfriend, showering him with hugs and kisses.
“I know you’re looking at me, Barnum,” Phillip joked, his face flushing a deep maroon like a Mojave desert as he tried not to look at what was probably Phineas’s shit-eating grin and desperate hazel eyes. Of course, with it being so pitch black inside the box, who knew what Phineas’s face actually looked like.
“I don’t know, am I?” Phineas responded, placing his hand on his boyfriend’s shoulder as he slowly traced it down his shirt, stopping at the waist to pull slightly at Philip’s outfit.
“Phin, I literally have a record-breaking concert to perform at,” Phillip whined.
“And you have a record-breaking ass that I am going to demolish tonight in bed. Have fun at your concert.”
Phillip rolled his eyes, reaching over in the darkness that blinded both of their caricatures and features as he reached over with his hands, giving him a soft and gentle, yet fiery kiss on P.T’s cheek, the one that could send goosebumps shivering down your spinal nerves and leaving you with fuzzy feelings all day long. P.T could only blush in response and smile with a grin that would make anyone who was having even the worst day of their life smile in response.
And then, he saw them. The two people who he had grown to despise most among anyone else. He could get past all the protesters that lingered outside of his concerts, the haters who downplayed his achievements and said all he did was date and make breakup songs, the downers who attempted to ruin his influence by claiming he was ruining the environment with his private plane trips. But he couldn’t get past-them.
It was only a quick moment, sneaking a quick glance at the mostly empty but somewhat populated stadium, still lit up under the glow of a purple and pink sunsetting sky. And then he saw his parents.
The people who had attempted to restrict and control his life and placed him early in the spotlight when he never wanted to in the first place. The overachievers who wanted nothing but the best from their son and placed him in class after class after class. The critics who kept pushing him to higher and higher standards that he could never reach. The bastards who as soon as the news came out that he was dating someone of the same gender immediately disowned him and regarded him as an outsider, a barbarian, an impostor in their demographic.
Carlyle had suddenly stopped dead in his tracks as he quickly recoiled from the stage, frozen with fear as he attempted to calm himself down, placing his hand upon his rapidly palpitating heart as sweat began to collect beads on his forehead, Phillip hoping it wouldn’t be too uncomfortable among his admittedly extremely tight performing outfit. He was trying to hide it from everyone on his management. Hopefully no one would see how suddenly nervous and completely unprepared he was for this specific performance.
Why are they here? It’s because I’m not good enough, right? They have always said I was never good enough, but if that’s the case, then maybe their words are right. This was a huge mistake, they’re absolutely right. I’m nothing more than a fraud, a serial dater who exploits their fans. I’m just a shitty p-
“‘Flip, you okay?” Phineas’s soft and gentle voice and firm grip on his shoulder shook Phillip spiraling into wonderland back into the world of reality as he began to ground himself in the moment again, taking his time to get his composure back together.
“Phin, my parents are here!” Phillip was very much unnerved, and tried to keep it together, but Phineas could tell how much he was unraveling at the seams. “I d-don’t think I can perform today, it’s just…”
“H-hey, Philip, get it together, okay?” P.T tried to get his boyfriend back into order for the concert. He traced his singular finger under his boyfriend’s chin, trying to get the smaller man to look up at him again, tears beginning to stain his eyes as Phil wiped them away with the back of his hand.
“It’s just…it’s a lot of emotions for me, a lot of bad memories, you know?” Phillip tried to reason with his boyfriend, to which P.T. responded with a gentle kiss on his forehead.
“I know, but you have always been able to get through it, haven’t you? Remember when you broke up with your previous boyfriend? You told me a concert later you could do it with a broken heart.”
“I don’t have a broken heart this time Phineas. This isn’t a relationship! These are my parents, my inherent traumas, my repressed memories!” Phillip was starting to lose track of reality yet again, before Phineas shook him to get him back into the moment.
“Phillip, please, we can’t have you freaking out. We can have Anne remove them from the concert if that makes you feel better?”
“I would like that but it seems really, I don’t know…wrong?” Philip responded.
“If you need Wheeler to do it, she’s right there,” Phineas pointed to Anne, who simply gave a sympathetic wave back to the man who was having a near emotional breakdown and his boyfriend.
“N-no, don’t do it. Please. Y-you are right. I have to do this,” Phillip resolved. He had to do this. Fans do not care about the emotional state he was in, reduced to a pile of ashes and rumble all because his parents arrived and all the memories he thought he had gotten over began to get back into his head.
“There you go, ‘Flip,” Phineas responded, smiling at his partner. “Remember, I’ll still be here during the intermission, okay?”
“God, damn your sentimental pep talk for helping me feel better.”
“I love you too Phillip.” Their interaction had been interrupted and placed on hold by the coordinators voicing the time until the concert was about to begin.
“15 minutes till showtime!” Lettie began to yell, warning everyone the real concert was about to begin and that Barlyle had to wait for a few hours.
“I guess that’s my cue.”
Phillip had taken step on the elevator lift that raised him to the main stage with his trust microphone in hand, the collective boom of his fans screaming his name, counting down the numbers until he was there to perform. He felt the hazel oak eyes of a certain boyfriend glancing at him with the most sympathetic and proudest gander anyone could hope to get from a human being.
“I love you Phillip.”
“I love you too Phineas. Wish me luck out there, okay?”
Their time was up. It was showtime. And the show, no matter how much trauma your parents present in the crowd are responsible for, must go on. Philip took a deep breath, filling his lungs with “fresh” oxygen, pretending like he wasn’t breathing the same air that hundreds and thousands of attendees waiting for him to mess up or make a mistake also were.
“Welcome to The Eras Tour everybody!”