Work Text:
There's a boy he's been seeing. Nobody knows. Phil sneaks out at night, crunching through the snow, out of town where the lights are glowing soft, and to the pine forest, where the snow is thin under the trees. He goes deep into the woods, where the trees get thick, until he comes to the doors.
Sometimes the boy is there waiting for him, sometimes he's the one who goes through the door. But the always meet, in the woods and in the dark; that's where they find each other.
The first time was a shock. Phil went through the door, out into the clearing and saw him there, lurking, at the edge of the woods. It scared him half to death, he had been nervous from the start, anyway.
Ever since the Christmas without Santa everyone knew about the doors, but no one ever bothered with them. Why would you, what could be better than Christmas Town anyway? There was something inside of Phil though, an itch, an ache, he wanted to do know what else there was, what another world might be. That is why he had snuck out to go through that door the first time.
He wasn't sure that day what he had been looking for, but now he was certain it had been Dan. Dan with his long limbs and curly hair and slow smile. Every day now was a game, see how fast he could get that smile out, a game he was winning easily.
Dan had been surprised to see him too. Phil still isn't sure how he got the courage to speak, to ask, but when he did, Dan replied that he came here most nights, for the same itch that Phil felt, but he hadn't yet had the courage to open a door. So that first night, when Phil came to Dan, they stayed and they talked.
Now sometimes too, they will just stay and talk. Sometimes they will walk, they've started to see more and more of each other's towns. They worry about being caught, sort of. It would probably not be a problem, there is nothing forbidden here, but for both of them for now it feels too special, a thing that needs to be held close. So they hold hands and giggle as they walk down quiet streets and steal kisses in the shadows.
One day soon they will stop the sneaking, stop the secrets. This thing feels too big for that, it feels like something that needs to fill the whole world, fill both of their worlds. For now they enjoy the secret, enjoy the thrill of something that is special and just for them.