Chapter Text
The mass of people waiting for Dan and Phil to enter the stage grew by the minute, until every seat in the sold out stadium was filled, people spilling out into the street. The crowd’s faces flashed blue, yellow, green and purple as the huge lights overhead manically changed between each colour.
A vacant drum kit lurked on a platform, the bass drum bearing their renowned logo: a set of shiny purple-tinted letters that cut clearly through the darkness of the background, announcing their band name.
Hard Launch.
Since they had started performing in 2009, they made sure their songs were deep and meaningful, personal to them. Put together, they told a beautiful story, and on nights like these, they got to share them with their fans.
“You have two minutes.” A stage manager informed Dan and Phil, who were sat on a much-too-soft sofa, where Phil was practically submerged in the cushions. Dan had taken refuge on the armrest of the seat, leaving his bandmate to deal with the deathgrip the mustard coloured monster had on him.
“Thanks,” Dan replied, and watched as the man scuttled off in the direction of the stage.
“You ready?” He asked Phil, gazing down at him softly.
No matter how many shows they played or interviews they did, Phil would always get nervous beforehand, even more than Dan, fretting over everything that could go wrong.
The blonde-haired man took a visible deep breath and nodded.
“I will when we’re out there.”
Placing a gentle and comforting hand on his shoulder, Dan spoke quietly.
“I’m sure everything will go just fine, but if it doesn’t I’ll just crack my hilarious jokes at the crowd until they forget about it, yeah?”
Phil giggled behind his hand and lightly shoved Dan from his perch.
“You can’t keep turning out concerts into a comedy show, Dan, that’s not what everyone paid for.”
Gasping dramatically and falling (in the opposite direction that Phil had pushed him) Dan flopped over and ended up sprawled on the plush sofa, his head now resting on Phil’s lap.
“They pay to hear my wondrous voice,” He explained, blinking up at Phil, “So it shouldn’t matter how they hear it.”
“What about me?” Phil asked, clutching his heart dramatically.
“You’re there to look pretty.” Dan joked, grinning, “And my god, you’re good at it.”
When Phil’s face burned brightly, Dan suddenly jumped up, extending his arm out.
“We should get going, they’ll be waiting for us.
The hand was accepted and both of them made their way towards the stage, leaving the man-eating sofa behind them.
*****
“Hello, London!” Dan announced, his voice being amplified all over the huge room.
He received earsplitting screams, making him smile to himself.
The first night of a tour always kept him going throughout the rest of it. All of the upcoming late nights and sleeping on a tough tour bus bed were worth it when he saw his come city’s appreciation.
The bass strap felt familiar on his shoulder, leading to the plain black bass he held. Phil’s bright purple drum kit stood out in comparison. Said drummer was waiting for Dan to signal that he was ready for the first song, so he gave the go ahead.
“Well, time to get this night started,” He declared, getting a chorus of cheers from the audience.
Phil counted them in and the drums and bass sounded out into the room, the lights now finding a rhythm alongside the music.
Dan’s voice began to enchant everyone, filling the space with masterfully crafted words that they had both spent days on. The dark-haired man wanted every sentence to be perfect, and often changed entire verses because he felt that they didn’t convey the specific story they had hoped to get across. This one, he was proud of and it was one of his favourites to perform live.
It began with a very soft tone, before building into something that sounded desperate, almost like it forced people to hear it.
It was followed by nine more songs, before they went backstage to grab a bottle of water, shake off any remaining nerves and change into the costumes that they had designed for their characters in their concept album. It had originally been brought up as a joke by Phil, who had suggested that they make the characters ‘Sister Daniel and Father Phillip.’
“We can dress up on stage and everything,” He had suggested, not knowing that their characters would be loved by many, becoming the subject of many fanfiction, fanart and cosplays.
Dan had replied by saying that Phil just wanted to see him in a skirt.
Nothing was denied.
“Hey, Dan, can you help me find my cross?” Phil uttered from where he stood digging through the piles of clothes in a costume box that didn’t even belong to them.
“Right here,” Dan replied, pulling it from the pocket of his jacket, which hung from a peg in the changing room. He had made sure to keep it safe before they left, knowing that Phil would leave it somewhere and forget where that somewhere was.
“Thanks,” The blond said, plucking it from Dan’s fingers and placing it around his neck, the cross swinging slightly before coming to a rest against his chest.
He smiled up at Dan, opening his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the stage manager from before.
“Time’s up,” He moved to the side so that they could pass by him, heading back to the stage where they would perform 4 more songs, finishing on their signature track.
All of the light, explosions and theatrics tripled in the finale, providing the audience with an emotional and enjoyable experience that Dan and Phil hoped they remembered for the rest of their lives.
As the last note rang out and the drums played their last beat, Dan stepped towards the mic and thanked everyone profusely for coming.
“Thank you,” He said, arms in the air, “We hope you enjoyed yourselves, we have Hard Launched and so should you!”
Cheers , whistles and applause sounded, echoing in the huge stadium that was filled, top to bottom, with seas of colourful shirts, the style most chose to wear to their shows.
They jogged off the stage, waving back to the crowd as they did so.
Backstage, Dan pulled the bass strap over his head and handed it to a stage technician. He had swapped the monochrome bass for a grey and white one, right before they had come back from changing.
They were both handed water as PJ, one of their managers strode over to them and placed a hand on Phil’s shoulder, patting Dan on the back.
“Well done, guys, a great start to this tour. It’s gonna be even better than the last one, I can feel it.”
Phil laughed and thanked him, “You say that everytime.”
“That’s because it always is.”
All of a sudden, PJ’s phone began to ring, Alicia Key’s “This girl is on fire” blasting throughout the area. He pulled his phone out and looked down at the screen.
“It’s Sophie, I gotta go tell her how it went.” He walked off as he answered the call, starting the conversation with their other manager.
Phil turned to Dan, grinning. “It went perfectly.” He said, still catching his breath from their performance.
“Yeah” Dan gave a light touch to Phil’s shoulder, returning the smile wholeheartedly.
They agreed to watch a movie as soon as they got to the hotel they were staying in for the night, as they did on the first and last night of every tour. PJ and Sophie had told them that they might as well take the night in a hotel in their hometown instead of heading back to their own house. It kept everyone in one place and ready to leave on time the next day.
It was dark when they stepped out of the huge building. The air was crisp, stray leaves bustling along the abandoned footpath. Despite the lack of activity on the paths, the road was still packed with traffic from the show and people trying to get home from their late shifts. Horns blaring, not caring about the late hour.
Down one street, where the traffic was less hectic, a black car awaited them.
*****
A low glow pulsed in the lobby of the expensive hotel, booked by their organised managers months prior.
Phil got the keycard to their room, while Dan took both of their bags towards the lift, waiting for the blond patiently.
The carpet leading to their room was spotless, a bright cream colour that matched the ceiling. The walls were a deep burgundy, with antique-looking wall lamps every ten paces.
Opening the door to their room, they found that it wasn’t just the hall.
The room was huge, twice the size of the one in their house. Against the wall was a sturdy bedframe, draped with pale blue bedcovers, a small mountain of pillows adorning the top in silvers and creams. A gigantic TV mounted the wall, facing the bed. The perfect position to watch movies until 3am. In the corner a tray full of snacks and drinks awaited them from an ornate table, as if the staff knew just how hungry they were, as well as a single grey armchair that looked as if it would swallow you whole. Just like the one in the changing room.
What is it with London and chairs that suck you into the cushions? Dan thought.
“So,” he began, hands on his hips. “What are we gonna watch?”
Phil thought for a moment, his mind flicking through the few movies that they hadn’t seen together yet.
“Um, I think we’ve watched just about every good film that came out this year already.” he concluded, making a face.
“I mean, we could always just rewatch The Greatest Showman again?” The brunet suggested, a grin plastered on his face. He knew how much Phil loved that movie.
They grabbed a coke each from the tray, as many snacks as they could carry in one go and made their way to the bed, shuffling around until they found a comfortable position.
Phil’s head rested on Dan’s chest, with the younger man’s arm around him and their legs partially intertwined.
Dan picked up the remote and typed in the name, putting the movie on and tearing into a kitkat.
About a minute in, Hugh Jackman’s face appeared on the screen, dim lighting and the dark background making it almost impossible to make out his features.
“Do you think I could trick Hugh Jackman into falling in love and having babies with me?” Phil’s voice commented from Dan’s chest, causing him to look down at the mess of blond hair that obstructed his view of Phil’s face.
“I’m sorry, what?” He blurted out, caught completely off guard. He wasn’t used to this outburst as he was usually the one cracking random jokes or saying something ridiculous and waiting for Phil to continue the innuendo.
“You heard me.”
Dan took a moment to mentally recover before answering.
“Well, why would you have to trick him? Do you not love him back in this situation? And about the babies, I don’t think you and Hugh have the… parts to make that work.”
“Who says he doesn’t have a uterus?”
Dan looked down at Phil in horror, wondering how on earth they had got to this conversation.
He then realised that they had missed the entire first song and quite a portion of Phil’s new lover’s acting.
“Shut up and watch the movie,” Dan told him, never wanting to go back to that conversation. Ever.
Thankfully, Phil turned his attention back to the movie, leaving Dan to try and clean his mind. Perhaps bleach and holy water would be necessary.
Not even halfway through, a small snore came from Phil, most likely exhausted from the night’s performance.
The brunet felt his eyes start to droop and only then realised just how tired he was. He switched off the movie and arranged him and Phil into a more comfortable sleeping position, not wanting to wake up with a dead arm in the morning. Turning off the lamp and giving Phil a small kiss on the forehead, he laid back, closing his eyes and drifting into a much needed sleep.