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Manchester sits on top of the hellmouth, a hotspot for monsters. At night the creatures of the dark emerge to feast on human blood.
In every generation there is a chosen one. She alone will stand against the vampires, the demons and the forces of darkness. She is the slayer.
And Dan - is no slayer. He is just a guy going to university.
The door to the swimming pool squeaks open as Phil points for Dan to walk through. The moon illuminates their laughing faces.
“Is this your idea of a date?” Dan says.
Going out in the middle of the night might not have been their brightest moment. On account of monsters crawling the street. But Phil’s excitement was the most infectious disease. So when Phil planned to leave their flat at 1 am, Dan simply put on a coat and said Where to?
“Look at this, the place is completely empty.”
“I mean it is the middle of the night.”
Phil’s voice drops to a whisper. “Other people could have had the same idea.”
“Other people…ugh.”
“Daniel,” Phil says teasingly.
He takes Dan’s hand and drags him through the gate.
Dan sometimes plays up his moody side just to get Phil’s reaction, to see him roll his eyes and still laugh and to nudge his side ‘til he is laughing too.
More than a year they’ve been together and at this point Phil has heard it all from Dan. And he is so relaxed with whatever Dan says and does it sometimes boggles Dan’s mind. He never thought he would find his person. He never thought someone like Phil even existed.
As they enter the pool area, Dan stops in his tracks. The sight in front of him is breath taking. A big glass ceiling allows moon light inside. It glistens like tiny diamonds on top of the water and reflects in every direction. Dan can’t help but smile.
“Okay, this is pretty cool.”
“Told you. “
Phil strips out of his top layers and shoes and lets them fall to the ground.
“Don’t stop on my account,” Dan says.
“You really are - ”
“I’m just waiting to see what’s underneath that blue - ”
“Stop it!” Phil says, laughing again.
His face scrunches up and his tongue pokes out between his teeth. Dan thinks it’s the most beautiful thing he has ever seen.
He has just enough time to get out of his own clothes before Phil takes revenge on Dan’s words and shoves him over the edge of the pool.
The water is colder than expected. Tiny goosebumps break out on his arms and he quickly resurfaces.
He turns to look back at the edge, his vision blurry from the water but trying hard to focus. Phil isn’t standing there anymore. Dan scans the water when a hand reaches for his side to tickle him.
A little squeak escapes his mouth and Dan is almost too embarrassed for the way his hearts skips.
“Phiiiiil.”
“I got you with a prank,” Phil says from behind him and wraps his arms around Dan.
“Oh yeah, you really got me.”
He turns around and nuzzles his face into Phil’s shoulder. Phil lets his head fall on top of Dan’s.
“Careful, you’re gonna sink us.”
“Guess you’ll have to perform CPR. You know, really get in there with the mouth to mouth.”
Phil laughs again and Dan takes quite a lot of pride in that. He is in here laughing at his jokes.
“Race you to the other side?”
Dan scoffs, “Try to keep up,” and pushes himself away from the wall with his legs to get momentum.
With long strides of his arms he crossed nearly to the half of the lane, before he hears Phil’s voice again. “What does the winner get?”
“Hmmm,” Dan says, water almost spilling into his mouth. “A kiss.”
“I want that kiss.”
“Come on then, you sloth.”
When Phil doesn’t answer he turns around. Big mistake. A wave hits his face just as he catches for air and goes straight into his nose.
Coughing like crazy, Dan sees Phil surpass him. He gasps for air as he follows him but the water in his air way has thrown out any rational thought and replaced it with breathe.
He paddles his arms and finally regains his bearing. Phil is only a meter in front of him when he hits the wall.
A wide grin decorates Phil’s face. He cheers, arms in the air, and it echoes through the empty swimming pool.
Dan comes to a stop next to him, still breathing heavily.
“I think you need that mouth to mouth after all,” Phil says.
“I’m … absolutely devastated.”
Phil ruffles through Dan’s disheveled hair.
“And now it’s turned into hobbit hair again,” Dan sighs.
“I think it’s cute.”
“That’s rich, you think everything’s cute.”
Phil wiggles his finger through a little curl forming on Dan’s head. It’s still something to get used to - he would never let anyone else touch his hair like that.
Phil’s hand wanders behind Dan’s ear, tracing the little curls popping out behind it.
“So where is my price?”
Dan can’t hide his grin. He practically falls forward to meet those lips again. Kissing Phil Lester is like asking where have you been the first 18 years of my life. I’ve been missing something since forever and I only realised when I met you.
The taste of chlorine and destiny coats Phil’s lips and Dan smiles against them, then turns his head to deepen their kiss. Phil wraps his arm around Dan’s waist and pulls him closer. It’s just as good as the first time. So good.
A loud thunk breaks them apart.
Dan’s pulse doubles. They aren’t alone.
Phil turns to the door, now illuminated by an automatic light. A shudder creeps up Dan’s neck. Can’t have nice things when you live on top of the hellmouth.
“Vampires,” Phil says.
“Are you sure?”
Phil frowned. “I kinda saw them trail us on the way here. They’re probably waiting for us to do the first move.”
“You’re awfully knowledgeable. I thought you only went hunting with Buffy that one time.”
“It was… very enlightening. Here, take this.” He pulls out a tiny cross on a necklace and puts it around Dan’s neck.
“Are you serious? Why am I the bait?” Dan whines.
“Because you’re irresistible,” Phil smirks and kisses him.
Dan would prefer to be somewhere else continuing this because he feels heat rise in his cheeks and his hands get grabby.
Phil takes his hands, gives them a squeeze. “I’ll be right over there, waiting ‘till they are distracted, then we take them out.”
“You’re kinda hot when you talk strategy. I should thank that slayer.”
Phil gets out of the pool, stumbling, water dripping behind him and creating a trail. Dan curses and swipes over it with his hands. Then he grabs an inflated doughnut leaning against a chair and pulls it into the water.
This is a typical position to find Dan in, sprawled out on an inflatable, arms wrapped around himself and dozing off. Too easy to pass on for any vampire.
When Dan is sure Phil won't get sniffed out immediately, he closes his eyes. The pool is quiet, except for water splashing over the sides occasionally.
Stares bore into him. He slows his breathing again, trying to stay calm.
Someone enters the pool, then another one. They stay quiet, closing the distance with a predator-like stealth.
This is where Dan’s love for theater really comes in handy. He blinks slowly, rubs at his eyes and yawns before saying. “Hey there, lads.”
Two vampires have him surrounded, one to his left and one to his right. They look around the same age as Dan, though it’s hard to say with those flared up facial features. Strong lines distort their eye and forehead region. Typical vampires. Probably not even on the strong side.
One leans onto the inflatable, crossing his arms and lying down his chin. He eyes Dan up and down, his stare pretty intense. “Unusual place for a nap, isn’t it?”
“I get creative,” Dan says.
He stretches his arms, tips his head back, knowing that the two vampires are staring at his neck. This is a role he can play with ease. Pretty boy, flirty attitude. The water is probably doing wonders for his muscles and skin.
“Sure. But then again we don’t care that much,” says the other. He is a bit taller and the inflatable sways to one side as he leans onto it. He licks his lips expectantly.
“So you’re gonna stare, or are you gonna come closer?” Dan says.
The vampire falters. “You’re kinda strange.”
“Ouch. I thought we were getting to know each other.”
The smaller one scrunches his eyes. “You’re just waiting to get bitten. Read too many books, haven’t you?”
Dan scoffs. “And look as beat up as you two? I don’t think so.”
The vampires lean closer and retract their fangs, their faces human again. The smaller one hovers close to Dan’s face, his hand wandering up Dan’s thigh.
“There’s lots of other ways to have fun together.”
Dan hands the vampires shoulder and trails down to his chest. This is almost too easy. He slowly turns the vampire, facing him towards Phil’s hiding spot then drops his hand.
Phil had read Dan’s mind precisely.
A sharp arrow lands right where the vampire's heart should be. The wound turns into a dark pit immediately and his body crumbles. He screeches as he disintegrates. The taller vampire lunges for Dan but is repelled by his necklace as soon as he touches him. Dan grabs the arrow stake from underneath the first vampires pile of dust and stakes the other vampire.
Wide eyes bore into him as the taller vampire turns to dust as well.
Dan sighs and falls back onto his inflatable. The adrenaline subsides slowly as Phil returns next to him.
“That was insane,” Dan says.
“You were so good, I can’t believe we did that!”
Dan smiles and wraps his arms around Phil. One of his favourite things is how seamlessly their minds become one. Of course they’d be great as slayers.
They float in the water for a while, waiting for their nerves to calm down.
“So, you weren’t worried about me?”
“Of course! But I was more worried I’d miss,” Phil says.
“Wait.” Dan pulls away and laughs. “How good is your target practice?”
“Like 8 out of 10 times I hit.”
“Those odds are… not amazing but I’m actually kinda impressed.”
Phil beams and Dan wants to keep complimenting him forever if that is the reaction he gets.
“Thanks, lad,” Phil says.
“Don’t call me lad,” Dan says and caresses Phil’s neck, pulling him closer. His fingers wander over Phil’s cheeks and his thumb tugs at his lips.
Phil puts his hand on top of Dan’s, squeezing it and staring at Dan with those big, starry eyes. Then he tips his head forward, their mouths mere centimeters apart and says:
“Alright… rat.”