Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

 part three

There was sunlight on his face when Phil woke up, and at first he thought that the sun was what woke him. He raised a hand to block it, then saw the two boys standing in the door.

“Dan!” one of them hissed. “Dan, your parents are in the driveway!”

“What?” Dan mumbled. “It’s half past nine, that’s impossible.”

“They are, Ingrid and Louise are helping them bring in groceries!”

“What?” Dan gasped, more awake now. “Shit!”

“Wha’s goin’ on?” Phil mumbled, then Dan shoved him off the bed. “Ow!”

“Where are his clothes?” Dan whisper-shouted at the boy, who Phil realized was only one boy, and Connor.

“I have them,” Connor said, throwing them in.

“Oh, shit, what about the beer cans? The vodka bottles?”

“Louise and I cleaned up last night,” Connor said. “Just soda and food out there now.”

“Oh, Con, you’re the best,” Dan said. Phil was trying to find the tee shirt and jeans he’d been wearing the night before, when he heard a woman’s voice coming closer. Dan gestured at him wildly, then grabbed a shirt for himself and threw it on. Phil tugged on his boxers, then grabbed a blanket off the floor and pulled it over himself, laying down on the floor.

“Dan, we’re home,” Mrs. Howell stuck her head in the room, Phil pulled his head down below the top of the bed, hoping she couldn’t see him. He looked under the bed, watching their feet. Connor stepped out of her way so she could enter the room. “Don’t mind us, we’re just stopping by to drop off a few things before we go meet some friends for lunch.”

“Kay, mom,” Dan said.

Mrs. Howell stepped closer. “Dan, who’s on the floor?”

Shit, Phil thought.

“That’s just Phil,” Dan answered. “He’s asleep.”

Phil dropped onto the floor and cradled his head with an arm, opening his mouth and shutting his eyes.

“Hmm. Well, don’t forget to take the trashes out tonight, Dan. We’ll see you later.”

“Yes, mum.”

Phil opened one eye, he saw a pair of brown stilletoes leaving the room. He sat up a moment later, then looked at Dan, raising his eyebrows.

“You need to remember that you’re six two, and your feet stick out past the bed,” Dan said to him dryly.

Phil looked over to his feet, then grimaced when he realized that his legs stuck out half a meter past the bed.

“Sorry,” he said. Connor glanced out the door, then raised his hands in a thumbs up. He turned back to Dan and gave him a thumbs up.

“Mum’s gone,” Connor said.

“Great,” Dan yawned. “Who’s up for breakfast?”

Nearly everyone had a hangover, save Louise, Phil and Connor. Dan’s was mild compared to Tyler’s, which was a walk in the park compared to PJ and Chris’s.

“I want to watch cutesy Halloween movies and eat waffles,” Ingrid grumbled as the ten teenagers gathered in the kitchen.

“I second that,” Troye said, leaning on her.

“I third it,” Hannah echoed, leaning on Ingrid’s other shoulder.

“Cutesy Halloween movies and waffles, coming up,” Connor said, already bustling about the kitchen with the air of one who knew the layout. “Tyler, where did you put the waffle mix?”

“I don’t know,” Tyler mumbled. “Ask Louise.”

“It should be in one of the cupboards,” Dan said.

“I’ve got it,” Louise said. “The waffle maker is under the counter, in the island, Connor.”

“Found it,” Connor said. “Does anyone want blueberry waffles or plain?”

“Blueberry!” Troye said, grinning.

“Plain,” Tyler said.

“I’m just gonna make half plain half not,” Connor said.

“Thanks, love,” Dan said, patting Connor on the shoulder. Phil looked up at him, a sudden memory hitting him. He blushed, and looked down at his feet. Did Dan tell him that he was in love last night?

“Phil, will you get those mixing bowls down?”

The sound of Louise asking him a question snapped him from his reverie. “Sorry, what?”

“The mixing bowl,” Louise repeated, pointing to a shelf above her head. “Please, oh tall Adonis?”

“I’m calling him that from now on,” PJ laughed as Phil plucked the mixing bowls form the high shelf easily. “Tall Adonis.”

“As opposed to Small Adonis,” Troye said.

“Which one of us is Small Adonis?” Tyler asked.

“Dan!” Hannah laughed. “So it’s Tall and Small Adonis.”

“Smol Adonis,” Louise corrected. The group laughed. Dan caught Phil’s eye and smirked. Phil smiled a little back, but his thoughts were still stuck on remembering the night before, Dan whispering, I’m so in love with you…

“I’m stealing orange juice, Dan.”

“Just don’t drink all of it again and throw up, Chris.”

“That was one time!”

Not long later, Connor had finished making waffles and the group gathered in the lounge, spreading out on the couches and chairs. Dan and Phil took the recliner, while Connor, Troye, Tyler and Louise took the longer couch and Ingrid and Hannah took the second armchair. PJ and Chris sat on the Twister mat.

“I don't get why we can’t sit on the couch,” PJ grumbled.

“Because you’ll spill syrup all over it,” Louise scolded them. “Now hush.”

“One time,” PJ muttered to himself.

“I know the feeling, mate,” Chris sighed.

“Hush!” Louise and Connor said.

They watched Hocus Pocus while they ate their waffles, and after the movie had finished they moved back into the kitchen under the command of Louise to wash dishes.

“I don’t wanna wash dishes,” Dan whined.

“Daniel Howell, this is your house, if we don’t wash now, you’ll have to do all the washing later.”

“No I won’t! Phil’ll stay and help me, right?”

“Definitely, sure,” Phil said, checking tumblr on his phone. Louise plucked the phone from his hands, replacing it with a dish towel, silently raising her eyebrows at him when he protested.

The others looked at them, their eyes wide and their mouths open, silent. Phil scowled and took the dish towel.

The other teenagers, excluding Dan, all laughed and whooped. “Congrats, Phil, you’ve submitted to Louise’s mum stare,” PJ said as he clapped Phil on the shoulder.

“You’re officially one of us,” Troye said, grinning a little. “And I don’t have to be afraid of you beating me up anymore!”

“I’ll still beat the shit out of you if needed,” Phil threatened, though the pink dish towel made it sound flat.

“Oh, shut up, Phil, you’re not beating up anyone,” Tyler sighed.

“I think it’s sexy,” Dan said.

“You think everything he does is sexy,” Connor reminded him.

Dan gestured to Phil’s figure. “Can you blame me?”

Connor sighed, then shook his head. Phil rolled his eyes.

Once everything was cleaned up, and the clock read half past noon, the hangovers were nearly gone. Chris and PJ left, followed soon by Ingrid and Hannah, leaving Connor, Troye, and Tyler alone with Dan and Phil. They watched more cutesy Halloween movies until it started to get dark and trick-or-treaters began to show up. Dan gave Phil the task of handing out candy, who did it seemingly begrudgingly, though in all honesty, he didn’t mind. His mum texted him a while later, asking if he would be coming back for dinner, and Dan told him to tell her he was staying the night again. Tyler laughed at Phil’s blush, and Connor rolled his eyes.

October finished with a full moon and crisp air that was becoming bone-chilling. In the first few days of November, Phil and Dan did very little but hang out at Phil’s house, going to Dan’s occasionally when neither of his parents were home. Dan’s father returned from New York over November’s first weekend, but left again for London the next weekend. That week, Phil took Dan to a movie, and kissed him during the boring parts.

Their school was having its annual fall fundraiser; a fair of sorts, where rigged games and apple bobbing contests were set up and a few rides were provided. There was a ferris wheel, a few kiddie rides, and two high speed rides. There were five different games designed to humiliate teachers, and Phil’s favorite was the pie toss. He and Dan went together, and Phil hit their history teacher in the face with a coconut cream pie.

They rode the ferris wheel next, and Phil kissed Dan when they reached the top.

“Guess what,” Dan whispered.

“What?” Phil asked him.

Dan pressed another kiss to Phil’s lips, their basket swinging as the ferries wheel began to move again. “I think I’m falling in love.”

Phil pulled Dan closer and kissed him deeply. He didn’t say anything, but he hoped Dan felt what he wanted to say in their kiss.

They held hands as they left the ferris wheel; Phil bought them both cups of hot apple cider and they sat together at a picnic table with their friends.

The day was perfect so far, and as they laughed and had fun with their friends, Phil thought that nothing could spoil it.

“Fucking faggots.”

Felix’s voice made Phil’s good spirits plummet. Talk at their table cut out instantly, and Phil turned to look at Felix, who was standing near them with Mark, who looked distinctly uncomfortable.

“Fuck off, Felix,” Phil told him.

“What happened to you, Phil?” Felix pressed. “You used to give a shit about who you hung out with, you used to be cool.”

“I think I’m still pretty cool,” Phil snapped, “you’re the asshole.”

“We’re all assholes!” Felix shouted. “That was our thing, we were the assholes who always stuck together! Now you’re hanging out with faggots and you ignore us!”

Phil rose from his seat and strode over to Felix, his glare shooting daggers at him. “I don’t give a fuck about what you think,” he growled, “and I don’t care that you’re a bigot and a dick, but don’t expect me to think about condoning it.”

Felix sneered at him. “Condoning?” he said. “First you turn into a faggot, now you’re a fucking nerd?”

“Felix, piss off, come on,” Mark said. Phil jerked his glare on him.

“The both of you are horrible!” Phil said. “I don’t know why I hung around you for so long!”

“Because we were friends!” Felix spat. “But you know, I don't get why we hung out with you either, because you’re a dickhead, a nerd, and a faggot!”

Phil punched him, his fist slamming into Felix’s face, and he swore he heard Felix’s nose crack again. Felix fell backward, falling into Mark; he touched at his nose, now streaming blood, and surged at Phil with a shout of anger. He ducked his fist and grabbed his arm, twisting it around his back, making Felix cry out. He threw him down, then kicked him in the back. Felix scrambled up, and landed a punch to Phil’s stomach.

“Fight! Fight! Fight!”

“Phil, no, stop it!”

“Felix, come on, cut it out!”

Phil grabbed Felix’s head and cracked it on his knee; Felix staggered again, wiping blood away from his face. His nose was definitely broken twice over now, his lip was split and his left eye was puffing up already.

“I don’t know why I ever wanted to be your friend!” Phil shouted.

“Was it because you’re a fucking queer and you liked my ass?” Felix jabbed.

Phil aimed a kick at him, but Felix dodged and punched him in the side. “You son of a bitch!”

“Come on, Phil, fight me like a man,” Felix shouted, “if you can do that after all the dicks you’ve sucked!”

“Says the little pussy,” Phil spat, and he kicked Felix in the gut, making him stagger and wheeze, trying to catch his breath.

“Cut it out!”

Phil ignored Dan’s voice and kicked Felix again; he fell to the ground, and Phil kicked him, twice, three times, he kept kicking until someone grabbed his arms and wrestled him back.

“Phil, stop it, you’re gonna kill him!”

“Get off me, Mark!” Phil snapped.

“He’s down, you beat him, let him go!”

Phil ripped himself away from Mark and glared at him, panting. Mark met his scowl evenly, but not with a glare of his own. Rather, his eyes were sad.

“The fuck is wrong with you?” Mark asked.

“What’s wrong with you?” Phil shouted back.

“Look at him!” Mark shouted, gesturing to Felix, still lying limp on the ground. “He’s nearly unconscious, I’m gonna have to take him to the hospital!”

“He deserves it!”

Mark stepped back, his glasses flashing in the dying light and the look of shock on his face making Phil lower his still clenched fists. “I get that you hate him,” Mark spat, “I get that you hate me too, and we deserve that, but if you’re willing to beat someone until they need a doctor, you really gotta think about which of us is the real monster here.”

Mark pulled Felix to his feet, and started to leave. Phil stood there, his hands hanging by his sides, startled.

He turned, and saw his friends watching him; he found Dan, and the fear in his eyes made Phil’s stomach drop.

Phil wiped blood from his mouth and walked away. He got in his car and drove back to his house. His parents weren’t home yet, so he cleaned up in the bathroom in silence and went back to his room. He lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling in darkness.

Mark and Felix weren’t at school the next day. And Dan didn’t sit with him. At lunch, Phil sat with Jack, Joe, Luke, and Emma, their group quiet. He could hear them judging him, and left halfway through the lunch period. He couldn’t stand their quiet, and they didn’t stop him.

He didn’t know what to do, so he left the school. He got in his car and drove away, not to any place in particular, not with any goal in mind. He drove aimlessly until he lost track of time and even where he was, until he realized that he had just passed Dan’s house.

Phil turned the car around, driving slowly by his boyfriend’s house, looking for what he didn’t know. His mother’s car wasn’t there, but the lights were off. Phil pulled into the driveway, not even knowing what he wanted to say; he got out of his car and walked up to the back door. He stood there for a while, a minute, maybe ten, he couldn't be sure, until he screwed up the courage to knock on the door.

A moment later, it opened, and Dan looked surprised to see him.

“Hey,” he said, and the awkwardness in his voice made Phil want to wince. “What’s… what’s up?”

“I, uh, I…” Phil trailed off, then shrugged. “I don’t even know.”

“Is this about yesterday?”

“Yeah.”

“Did you want to apologize?”

Phil shrugged. “I guess.”

Dan hesitated, then he turned and grabbed something from inside. He stepped out of the house, shutting the door behind him. “Come on then.”

“Wait, where are you going?” Phil asked, following Dan.

“Where does Felix live?”

“What?”

“You said you wanted to apologize.”

“To you!”

“You didn’t do anything to me.”

Phil stopped in his tracks. Dan paused by Phil’s car, looking back at him. He raised an eyebrow.

“Why should I apologize to him?” Phil asked, but his voice was flat.

“You heard Mark,” Dan said calmly. “Which one of you is the monster in this situation?”

Phil sighed and moved to the driver’s door. He unlocked the car, and they got in. Phil started the engine, then backed out of the driveway.

They didn’t talk as he drove. Felix’s house was closer to the school, but a good fifteen minutes from Dan’s. Phil parked the car on the street, and cut the engine. He sat there for a moment, then looked at Dan.

“Do you want me to come with you?” Dan asked.

“No,” Phil muttered. Dan took his hand and gave it a squeeze. Phil looked over at him and smiled softly, feeling somewhat grateful that he was being forced to swallow his pride. Dan leaned over and kissed his cheek.

“Go on,” he murmured. Phil nodded and left the car.

He opened the storm door and knocked on the front door, then waited. The bell was broken, so he didn’t try to ring it. It was a shame. The bell at Felix’s house was old fashioned, and actually a bell; he’d always enjoyed excessively ringing it whenever possible. That was partly why it was broken.

The inner door opened, and Felix’s swollen eyes widened. “The fuck are you doing here?”

“I came to apologize,” Phil muttered.

“What did you say?” Felix said. “I can’t hear you.”

“I came to say that I’m sorry,” Phil said, louder now. “I went too far.”

Felix stared at him a minute. “You’re sorry?” he said.

“Yes,” Phil said, gritting his teeth. He meant it, though. He was sorry that he’d crossed the line in attacking Felix. He was sorry that he had kept kicking even after Felix had stopped fighting back. He wasn’t sorry for breaking Felix’s nose, however.

“Well, you know what Phil,” Felix said, “I don’t want your apology.”

“Too bad,” Phil said. “I’m sorry.”

“Get out of here,” Felix snapped. “Go back to your faggot boyfriend.”

Phil clenched his fists. “You’re still an asshole,” Phil spat. “You’re still pathetic, and a moron. But you know what, I’m not sorry that we’re not friends anymore. I’m just sorry that I got carried away, because I sank down to your level for a bit there.”

“Get out!” Felix shouted.

“Gladly!” snapped Phil.

“Don’t talk to me again!”

“I won’t!” Phil promised. He spun on his heel and stormed away; Felix slammed the door, and Phil heard glass breaking as he did. Phil smirked a little; Felix would have to pay to replace that.

He got back into his car and started the engine again; Dan waited until they had left Felix’s block to speak.

“That didn’t look like it went well.”

Phil reached over and took Dan’s hand. “It went great.”

Dan looked at him, his brow furrowed. “Do you feel better?”

Phil nodded. “He doesn’t have to forgive me,” he said. “I just had to apologize.”

Dan gave a little smile. Phil put the car in gear and they drove back to Dan’s house. They played Mario Kart until Dan’s mother came home, and pursed her lips disapprovingly at Phil again. Phil said his goodbyes not long after she walked in; he really wanted to kiss Dan, but he couldn’t with his mother in the next room. He didn’t want to upset him, or her. So he just left. He kissed his own mother and had small talk with his father during dinner, then went up to his room and watched Steven Universe on his laptop until he fell asleep.

A buzzing near his head woke him up. Phil groped around in the darkness until his fingers touched something cold and he picked it up; he winced at the light, then frowned. He answered the call and held the phone to his ear.

“What’s up, Dan?” Phil mumbled.

“Oh, god, you were asleep, sorry.”

“It’s fine, babe. What’s up?” he asked again, now sitting up and feeling a little more awake.

“Um, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them comes out in an hour.”

“Does it?” Phil yawned, quickly covering his mouth.

“Wanna go see it?”

Phil looked over at the clock. It was only a little past 11. That felt strange to him, for some reason.

“Yes.”

Phil’s parents were asleep by then, so they didn’t hear him leaving; Phil drove quickly to Dan’s house, then cut the headlights and slowed to a stop at the front curb. Dan was waiting in the driveway when he pulled up, and ran to the car as he braked. Dan jumped in, then held up two printed tickets.

“We’re lucky,” Dan said, “there were only two left for the nearer theater.”

“Let’s go find some fantastic beasts,” Phil said with a smirk. Dan grinned back.

The movie ended sometime past two, and Dan was positively glowing. He kept fangirling over the magic, the spells, Eddie Redmayne’s coat; the entire movie in general. Phil watched him squeal in glee and felt like fangirling over Dan. They went for ice cream and sat at a picnic bench, Dan still raving and Phil still smiling.

“Oh, the Niffler!” Dan clapped a hand to his heart. “Oh, it was so cute! Oh my god, it was precious.”

Phil leaned over and kissed him quickly. There was chocolate on his lips, and Dan giggled as Phil licked it off.

“Phil?” Dan whispered.

“Yeah?” he answered.

“I think I’m in love with you.”

Phil kissed him again, his arm curling around his waist and a hand slipping into his hair. Dan got ice cream on his cheek when he pressed a hand to his face.

Phil drove them back to Dan’s house just after three, again cutting his lights and rolling to a stop outside the house. Phil killed the engine to walk Dan to the door; he was still giggling about the movie and Phil didn’t want to leave.

Dan unlocked the door, then hit it with his hip when it got stuck. Phil was laughing behind his hand at something Dan had just said as they stepped into the laundry room and saw the kitchen light on.

“Dan.”

Phil’s grin dropped and Dan froze, his back turned to the kitchen.

Mrs. Howell slipped off the kitchen counter and walked towards them, her arms crossed over her chest and her eyes dark and shooting daggers at Phil. Dan turned slowly, his face white.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Mrs. Howell spat. “It’s past three in the morning! Where were you?”

“I – we – we saw a movie –” Dan stammered, but his voice faltered and failed as his mother’s glare intensified.

“You snuck out to see a movie?” she hissed, and her eyes flicked to Phil before jerking back to Dan’s. “What the hell were you thinking?”

“I wanted to see the midnight showing,” Dan mumbled. “And I knew you’d say no because it’s a school night.”

“Of course I would have said no!” Mrs. Howell snapped, her voice rising in her anger. “It’s a school night!”

“I know, I just said that,” Dan muttered.

Mrs. Howell’s nostrils flared. “I hope that movie was worth it, Daniel James, because you are grounded. You’re not leaving this house but for school for the next month!”

“But Mum –”

“I don’t want to hear it!” Mrs. Howell hissed. “Go to your room!”

Dan glanced back at Phil, and Mrs. Howell’s face seemed to scrunch up even further. “Go!” she spat, and Dan pushed past her, his shoulders dropping. “And you,” Mrs. Howell raised a threatening finger to Phil’s chest; Dan stopped in the kitchen doorway, “get out! And stay away from my son, I don't want to see you near him ever again!”

Phil didn’t move for a little while. Mrs. Howell’s death stare intensified. “Do you hear me? Get out of here!”

Phil looked to Dan, whose face was even paler than before. Dan’s eyes were pleading with him. They’d figure something out, they said, he’d calm down his mother and make it all okay again. Phil set his jaw, and looked back at Mrs. Howell.

“Yes ma’am,” he said, and a not so little part of him died. He turned, and he left.

When he got back home, his mother was in their kitchen, filling a glass with water. She looked surprised to see him. Phil was struck with a sudden contrast, and with an even more sudden gratitude that his mother was so much more understanding than Dan’s.

“Phil?” she said. “What are you doing?”

“Snuck out to take Dan to a movie,” Phil said, not even caring if he got grounded too. “His mum caught us, wasn’t happy; he’s grounded, and she’s told me to stay away.”

His mother’s eyes had widened at the beginning of his sentence, but now she was gaping. Her glass was spilling over into the sink. “What?” she said, and Phil guessed that she didn’t even care about the fact that he had snuck out.

“Dan’s closeted,” Phil said quickly. “She just thinks I’m a bad influence. She doesn’t know we’re dating.”

“Bad influence –” she murmured. “You?”

“It’s the tattoos,” he mumbled.

His mother’s gaze dropped down, then she realized that her glass was overfilling. She switched off the water and set the glass on the counter. “Come here,” she said, gesturing to him. When he didn’t move, she strode over to him and pulled him into a hug. Phil bent down to drop his head onto her shoulder. He was getting too tall for this sort of hug.

“I’m sorry,” his mother whispered.

“Yeah,” Phil sighed. “I dunno what we’re going to do.”

“I don’t know either sweetie,” she murmured, releasing him. “But I can tell you that it’s okay, because you’re grounded too, and by the time the two of you are free again, she’ll have probably forgotten.”

Phil tried to smile, but it got lost somewhere between his mind and the muscles of his lips. His mum’s face fell, and she touched his cheek. “It’ll be alright, pet,” she said. “You’ll figure something out.”

He nodded. She patted his cheek, then dropped her hand to his shoulder. “Go on to bed, sweetie,” she said. “It’s really late.”

The next morning, Phil drove Tyler and Troye to school, and while they laughed and chatted in the back seat, he was quiet, and when Tyler asked him what was wrong he just shrugged. He saw Mrs. Howell sitting in her car near the courtyard, he guessed to watch him and Dan to make sure Phil stayed away. Phil met Dan’s eyes across the courtyard, then jerked his head towards the school. Dan gave a nod, then started talking to Louise Pentland. Phil watched him until he felt someone poking him in the shoulder.

“Trouble in paradise?” Emma asked him.

“Bitchy mums,” was all Phil said.

“Can’t be worse than mine,” Emma snorted. “She threw Luke out yesterday when she saw us making out on my bed.”

Phil raised an eyebrow at her. “Since when have you and Luke been snogging in your room?”

“Apparently since yesterday,” Jack said, then added in a conspiratorial voice, “I think it’s because Em knows exactly how long his dick is.”

“Oh, fuck off, will you!” Emma laughed, leaving Luke just as red in the face as his hair.

The bell rang a minute later, and the students made their way inside to classes none of them liked and teachers that liked them just as much. Phil doubled back once he was inside and waited for Dan to make his way past the doors, then grabbed him and pressed a kiss to his lips. Dan wrapped his arms around his neck and tangled his hands in his hair.

“Please refrain from public displays of affection, Howell, Lester.”

They skipped History and locked themselves in a bathroom stall; they did the same at lunch, and halfway through English Phil started kissing Dan’s neck, and didn’t stop until Mrs. Gilligan asked him to stop switching off Dan’s brain. Phil didn’t want to take his hands off his boyfriend, because he hated the thought of having to let go of him the second they left the building. The minute his mum pulled up was the minute he’d have to pretend as if they were just friends. Phil hated the thought.

So it was for a few weeks; Phil’s mum let him off after two, but Dan was grounded well past then. They spent every lunch hour in the bathrooms making out, but Phil wanted more. It was December, and Dan’s mum was still mad about them sneaking out.

from Fairy < 3: I can’t do much about it

to Fairy < 3: could u like clean the whole house or something? suck up to her for a bit? maybe that would make her less mad?

from Fairy < 3: i did that already

to Fairy < 3: damn ur mum is a hard ass

from Fairy < 3: dont remind me

Phil gave a groan and flopped backwards on his bed; he dropped his phone onto the ground, having no idea what to do to help Dan. It buzzed again, and Phil rolled over to check it.

from Fairy < 3: come over tonight

Phil raised an eyebrow. Dan began typing, stopped, then sent another text.

from Fairy < 3: my parents are both dead tired bc of the new client and they went to bed already if you come around 12 or 1 theyll be asleep

Phil checked the time; it was half past ten. He grabbed his phone and texted him back.

to Fairy < 3: i’ll be there after 12

The next two hours went by slowly; Phil felt like several days could have filled the time between ten and twelve. He tried watching Netflix, then a cartoon, but kept getting up. He ended up writing an essay draft because he was so anxious; leave it to the anticipation of seeing his boyfriend to make him become productive, he thought. Finally, the clock on his phone said it was past midnight, and Phil grabbed his keys to leave. He checked his parents room to make sure they were asleep, then tiptoed downstairs and out the kitchen door. He was at Dan’s block in fifteen minutes, but parked a little farther from his house and walked the rest of the way there.

to Fairy <3: i’m here

from Fairy < 3: come around the side, i’ll let you in the window

Phil doubled back in the driveway, darting around the front of the house to the side where Dan’s room was. He saw a low light and moved towards it, then saw a silhouette cast on the blinds covering the window. He tapped on it, and the blinds lifted. Dan grinned at him, then pulled the window open. Phil stuck his head in, then pulled himself inside. He swung his legs over the sash, then shut the window behind him.

Dan threw his arms around Phil’s neck and crushed his lips in his; Phil grabbed his ass and Dan jumped up, wrapping his legs around his waist. Phil pushed his tongue inside Dan’s mouth, and Dan sucked on it. Phil staggered towards the bed, dropping Dan onto it, then pushed him back and leaned over him, now kissing his neck.

“I missed you so fucking much,” Phil growled into his collar bone.

“I missed you,” Dan muttered into his ear. “Oh, god, I missed this.”

Phil started tugging at Dan’s jumper, then pulled it off of him. Dan kissed along his jaw, Phil shucked his own shirt and began undoing Dan’s jeans; Dan pressed his hips upwards into Phil’s, and Phil growled as he kissed him roughly.

They made love, biting their lips to keep their moans quiet. Phil couldn’t let go of Dan; he didn’t want. They curled up in Dan’s bed, the both of them still naked, their limbs tangled together and their bodies pressed close. They fell asleep, then Dan shook him awake just before dawn.

“My parents will be getting up soon,” he whispered. Phil nodded, then kissed him.

“I’ll see you at school,” Phil told him.

Dan hugged him, and Phil couldn’t bring himself to let go. They heard voices outside, soft ones still half asleep, and Dan pulled back.

“I love you,” he said.

Phil still didn’t say it back. He just kissed Dan, dressed, and left through the window. He walked back to his car, his hands shoved deep in his pockets and his breath fogging in the cold December air. He drove back to his house, where his parents were still asleep, and pretended as if he’d never left.

Dan’s parents finally let Dan off the hook the week after, but his mother was still adamant about the company he kept. Dan told Phil afterwards that she hadn’t specifically mentioned him, but Phil knew that that was what she had meant. He could tell that Dan hated to go behind his mother’s back so much, and while part of that touched Phil, that his boyfriend was such a mama’s boy, he began to worry that Dan’s mother’s looming presence over their relationship would be too much for them. The thought terrified him.

“Why don’t you just ask him to tell his mum?” Emma asked Phil. The five of them were sitting in her living room, eating crisps and watching Deadpool on her dad’s 40 inch TV.

“You don’t get it,” Phil said, “I can’t ask him to come out to his parents if he doesn’t want to!”

“He’s literally king of the gays at school,” Jack said. “What’s he so scared about? Are his parents super religious or something?”

“No,” Phil sighed. “Look, none of you have ever had to come out before, alright? It’s one thing to come out at school where you can go home at the end of the day, but at home, if your mum or your dad aren’t completely okay with it, it can ruin the rest of your life while you’re still living with them!”

“Fair point,” Jack mumbled.

“Lemme just say,” Emma said, her voice altered by half-chewed crisps in the hollow of her cheek, “that part of that is not true.”

“What part?” Phil asked incredulously.

“The part about none of us coming out before.”

Phil frowned, then he looked at Jack. “Were you and Mark not actually faking it?”

Jack turned beet red. “I’m not gay!” he insisted.

“I was talking about me, jackass,” Emma said.

“When have you come out before?” Luke asked.

“When I was fourteen,” she said. “To my mum.”

“You never told us,” Joe said.

“I didn’t?” Emma said, looking between the four of them. She swallowed her mouthful of food, then added: “I’m bi.”

“Good to know,” Luke said.

“Alright, three of you have never come out before,” Phil said. “My point still stands. Even if you’re sure your parents aren’t going to mind, it’s still harrowing.”

“Since when do you use words like harrowing?” Joe laughed.

“Since he started dating Dan,” Emma told him. “He got a B on the last Biology test and everything.”

“Hey, good for you Phil,” Jack said. “OH SHIT, BOOBS!”

Phil rolled his eyes at his straight guy friends. He didn’t get why a two second clip of some boobs worked them up so much. Then again, he was really gay.

“I think you should tell him how you feel,” Emma said, though her eyes were glued to the TV as well.

“I dunno,” Phil sighed. “I’m just… I’m worried that his worrying about his mum might make him want to break up with me.”

“Hold up!” Jack said. “Okay, pause the movie, what did you just say?” Joe scrambled to grab the remote and hit pause; the screen froze centered on a pole-dancer who was nearly naked. Emma grabbed the remote from him and skipped forward a few seconds to a point where there were no strippers.

“I’m worried we might break up, okay?” Phil snapped. “Don’t judge me.”

“Bro,” Jack said seriously. “This just became next level shit. We gotta get you two back on track.”

Phil just looked at him, confused. Jack rolled his eyes. “Phil, the two of you are like the power couple of the school; we get benefits from you dating!”

“Like what?” Phil spluttered.

“History teach agreed to change my grade on my last essay,” Emma said, “didn’t ever do that before you dated Dan.”

“Yeah, and I finally got Michelle to go out with me last week,” Joe pointed out. “I’ve been trying to win her over for months.”

“Seriously?” Phil said.

“People like us better because you started dating Dan,” Jack said. “Hell, I got a B in Biology last week!”

“I didn’t realize…” Phil mumbled.

“Course you didn’t,” Emma scoffed. “It’s not like we would have told you.”

“On top of that,” Jack clapped him on the shoulder, “Dan’s made you really happy. If he breaks up with you because his mum is an over-controlling asshole, then your good mood’s going out the window.”

“I was in a good mood before Dan,” Phil protested.

“No you weren’t,” Luke said as Emma dramatically rolled her eyes. “You were a right bitch before you guys started dating. You were even more of a bitch then Emma,” he added with a jerk of his head towards his girlfriend.

“Hey!” Emma shouted, hitting Luke on the back of the head. “You’re a bitch too!”

“Guys,” Phil called before the two of them could start brawling right there on the couch. “I can deal with this, okay?” he said. “I don’t need any of you babying me.”

“Dude, we’re not babying you,” Joe scoffed. “We’re just gonna plot and scheme up some ways to make sure Dan doesn’t break up with you.”

“I’m already texting Tyler,” Jack said, not looking up from his phone. “He says that he’ll cover for Dan to get the two of them out for a weekend. When’s your next free weekend, Phil?”

“This one,” Phil said, “wait, what?”

“Tyler says he’s already texted Dan,” Jack replied. “You guys want to go anywhere or crash somewhere here? You can use my flat.”

“Hold on,” Phil said. “What’s even happening?”

Jack looked up at him. “Tyler is going to tell Dan’s mum that Dan’s going to stay at his house for the weekend so the two of you can get away.”

“There’s a Christmas village in Reading happening,” Emma said. “You guys could get a hotel up there.”

“Guys, slow the fuck down,” Phil demanded. “I don’t need you to work out my problems, okay?”

“Phil,” Emma sighed, leaning down and putting her hand on his shoulder, “look me in the eye and tell me that you’re going to fight to save your relationship with at least half the effort you use to fight for the right to sit shotgun.”

“Emma, I’m not an idiot,” Phil said.

“You are, and a passive aggressive idiot at that,” Emma insisted. “You and this boy can make it if you fight, but if you just let his mum step between the two of you, if you don’t try to fight for what you’ve got, you’re going to lose it. Do you hear me?”

Phil blinked at her. “Jack,” he said.

“What?”

“Now it’s next level shit.”

Emma’s mother kicked the boys out out around half one; they piled into Phil’s car and drove to Jack’s flat, dropping Joe off at his house on the way. Jack pulled two beers out of his fridge and offered one to Phil. Luke held out his hand and Jack raised an eyebrow.

“You really think I’m giving you alcohol?” Jack said. “Bitch, please, you’re barely seventeen.”

Luke stuck out his bottom lip. Jack shut the fridge with his foot and grabbed a church key from his counter. “Not happening,” he added to Luke, popping the cap off his beer. Phil took it from Jack and opened his own beer, then waved it under Luke’s nose.

“Assholes,” Luke said. Jack rolled his eyes.

“You’re an asshole,” Jack said. “And you’re on the couch this time.”

“Why am I always on the couch?” Luke cried.

“Because the second bedroom is mine,” Phil said, sticking his nose in the air.

“Move in already, then,” Luke grumbled.

“Yeah, shut up,” Phil said, ruffling Luke’s hair as he walked past him into the lounge. Luke gave him both middle fingers as he followed.

“I’m watching Pokémon, and you’re going to shut up while I do,” Jack said as he crossed to the sofa. “Move your ass to the other end of the couch.”

Luke sighed, but moved his ass to the other end of the couch. Phil took the armchair.

They ended up watching only two episodes, and it didn’t matter that the second bedroom in Jack’s flat was unofficially Phil’s, because they all fell asleep in the lounge.

Jack shook them awake not long after seven, telling them he’d already made eggs. They ate at top speed, then got into Phil’s car to go pick up Emma (Joe, for some fucked up reason, wanted to take the bus, Phil guessed it had to do with Michelle). Emma made Luke get out of the front seat, curling up under her seatbelt after Phil shouted at her to wear it and falling asleep again almost instantly. Phil envied her of her ability sometimes.

The half hour drive to the school was soon over, and Phil parked where he usually did. Mark’s car was across from his again. He saw a sling draped across one of the seats.

“Em, wake up,” Phil said, unbuckling his seatbelt. Emma flapped a hand at him dismissively. “We’re here, you gotta get up.”

“Fuck you,” Emma mumbled.

“Love you too, now get up.”

Phil walked behind the others up to the school, his hands shoved deep in his pockets to ward off the bitter cold of December. He watched Dan get out of his mother’s car, watched her wish him a good day and blow him a kiss, then Dan shut his door and started towards the building. No one was hanging around outside that morning; it was too cold. Phil looked back over to Mrs. Howell’s car, and met her gaze across the parking lot. Her mouth was set in a frown, her eyebrows drawn tightly together in a way that emphasized the lines in her forehead. Phil glanced away, then back, and nodded to her. Then he looked back to catch Emma’s arm when she tripped over the curb.

The halls were filled with the sounds of shouting, laughing, and the slamming of locker doors. Phil’s height gave him the advantage of being able to see over the hordes of students; he picked out Dan’s vaguely wavy hair topped with a flower crown within seconds, and began pushing his way through the crowd towards him.

“See you later, lover boy!” Jack called after him.

“Yeah, yeah, shut up!” Phil shouted back at him. “Hey Dan.”

“Hey, Phil,” Dan said, looking up at him and smiling. He slipped his arms around Phil’s waist and leaned into him, dropping his head onto his chest and shutting his eyes.

“Tired?” Phil asked, dropping a kiss onto his hair.

“Yeah,” Dan mumbled, his voice softened by Phil’s shirt.

“We were carousing ‘til the second cock,” Troye said in a voice that was full of pomp. Tyler laughed out loud and Dan stiffened in Phil’s arms.

“I will slap you so hard, tu petit chienne, you won’t be able to suck Tyler’s cock for a month,” Dan warned.

“Oh, please don’t,” Tyler said, still laughing.

“I don’t get it,” Phil said to Dan.

“Drink, sir,” Troye continued, “is a great provoker of three things.”

“What three things?” Phil asked in confusion.

“Marry, sir,” Troye said, ticking them off on his fingers, “nose-painting, sleep, and urine.”

“I think that’s four things,” Phil frowned.

“Troye, stop,” Dan begged. “If I hear the porter’s lines one more time, I will go the way of Lady M.”

“Lechery,” Troye shouted, and Dan lunged for him, “it provokes and unprovokes!”

“I still don’t get it.”

“It provokes the desire, but it takes away the performance!” Troye called as Dan chased him across the hall.

“Dan had to write a report on Macbeth,” Tyler said.

“Don’t say the name!” Dan hissed as he skidded to a stop beside them. “You’ll make me get bad grade or something.”

“I have yet to understand what the fuck you’re talking about.”

“Shakespeare,” Troye finally explained, a little out of breath.

“Oh,” Phil murmured. “Yeah, I don’t get it.”

“Forget about it,” Dan sighed. “If I never hear the words “double, double, toil and trouble” ever again, it’ll be too soon.”

“By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes!” Troye cackled with way too much delight in the seething rage burning in Dan’s eyes.

“What’s up, guys?” Connor said, having the perfect timing as to walk up behind Troye a second later. Troye yelped in a very high pitch and grabbed Tyler’s arm for dear life, his face going white and then even more quickly beet red.

“Apparently something wicked,” Phil commented.

“Oh, awesome, are we finally pulling that prank on Ian and Anthony?”

“No, you, dipshit,” Tyler said.

“Wait, why are you pranking me?” Connor asked, frowning. “And why are you telling me?”

“Never mind,” Dan said with another heavy sigh. He buried his face in Phil’s shirt again, hugging him tighter.

“I don’t get it,” Connor said, as Tyler laughed.

The day ended with the announcement of the annual Snow Ball, reminding them to buy tickets soon. Phil rolled his eyes at it, until Dan gave a little squeal and started tugging on his arm, asking whether or not he wanted to wear matching suits. Phil turned very pink, then made eye contact with Tyler, who just grinned evilly. Phil said yes.

“Mum thinks I’m taking the bus to Tyler’s house,” Dan said as they left. “He told me he could cover for me all weekend. You wanna hang out?”

“‘Course I do,” Phil said. “What do you want to do?”

Dan leaned on his arm and shrugged. “I dunno. Watch Christmas movies and bake cookies or stay in your room all day. You pick.”

Phil flushed. “Staying in my room all day would be fruitless. My dad’s going to be home all weekend, remember?”

“Shame,” Dan sighed.

“My flat’s still up for grabs,” Jack said as he walked past. “And you’re still driving me home, because I will not take the bus.”

“Yeah, me neither,” Emma said. “Luke left already.”

Phil heaved a sigh. “Sorry, fairy, but I have to drive the kids home, because apparently their other dad can’t do it.”

“Hey, don't you forget who set this plan in motion,” Jack said.

“Jack has a flat?” was Dan’s question.

“I has a flat,” Jack grinned stupidly at his poor grammar. “And I won’t be in this weekend, family Christmas party that I am required to attend. Grandmas and great aunts to butter up for extra pocket money and nieces and nephews to frighten, y’know.”

“We don’t need your flat,” Phil said.

“Phil’s moving in at the end of the school year,” Jack told Dan in a hushed tone that failed to keep itself from Phil. “It’s half his flat already.”

“Phiiiilllll,” Dan whined, tugging on his arm, “can we stay at your flat this weekend?”

Phil gave Jack Emma’s blank bitch face. Jack just grinned and got in the back seat.

“Please?” Dan asked.

“Sure,” Phil sighed. “Why not?”

Phil dropped Emma off first, then carried on to Jack’s flat. He would be leaving on his motorbike early the next morning, to return Sunday night in time for classes on Monday. He let them in, then gave Phil the spare key.

“Right, I actually need to sleep tonight, so don’t keep me up with all your moaning,” Jack warned them.

“We’ll be quiet,” Dan promised. Phil rolled his eyes.

“I’m ordering Chinese,” he said. “Jack, you want any?”

“Course I want some,” Jack scoffed. “Have you met me?”

“Moo shu pork, hot and sour soup, and egg rolls,” Dan requested.

“Your wish is my command,” Phil replied, bowing low to his boyfriend, who giggled at him.

“Oh, fuck me, you two are gonna be all cute and couple-y, aren’t you?” Jack sighed.

“As humanly possible,” Dan once again promised. Phil rolled his eyes and grabbed his phone.

“We’re paying cash,” Jack said to Phil as he finished the order, “and I do mean we this time.”

“Fine,” Phil sighed. “Yeah, cash please.”

“I’m picking what we watch,” Dan said as Phil hung up, dropping onto the couch.

“Not some Christmassy-cheesy shit,” Jack begged.

“Not cheesy shit,” Dan said. “But yes, Christmassy shit.”

Jack looked over at Phil. “I’m beginning to regret letting you use the flat.”

“Isn’t it half mine already though?” Phil asked.

“He’s on my side of the couch!”

“Dan, babe, Jack is very particular about his couch,” Phil sighed.

Dan stood up. “We can sit in the armchair then.”

“Good,” Jack said, dropping onto the couch. “I’m not moving until I have to go to bed.”

“When the food gets here, I’m not serving you a plate and bringing it to you,” Phil said. “Ever again.”

“Again?” Dan asked.

“This fucker gets sicker than humanly possible more than humanly possible,” Phil explained, “and when he does, he refuses to take care of himself properly so we have to do it for him, including bringing him food. He’s the pickiest eater I’ve ever met.”

“Aw, that’s so cute,” Dan said with a smile.

“It’s not cute when he makes you go back and separate everything onto different plates,” Phil snorted.

“Not that, the taking care of him part.”

“Oh, that, of course.” Phil puffed out his chest. “I am cuter than humanly possible in that regard.”

“And full of more shit that humanly possible,” Jack said under his breath.

“‘Scuse me, but which one of us took all the letters out of the other’s chicken soup but for the J’s?” Phil asked.

“Yeah, shut up,” Jack mumbled.

Dan made Jack open Netflix, then put on A Nightmare Before Christmas, which Jack agreed that was acceptable, despite his Scrooge-esque attitude about Christmas movies. The food arrived not long after Jack (Skellington) found Christmas town, and they paused it mid-song to get up for it. Phil and Jack split the bill, which wasn’t very high to begin with, then they took the cartons into the lounge and resumed the movie. Phil sat in the armchair and Dan sat in his lap, eating his moo shu pork and singing along to all the songs.

Jack went to bed after the movie, putting the rather substantial remains of his lo mein in the fridge and warning them to not eat it while he was gone. They waved him off, and Dan started up another movie, this one considerably cheesier. Phil dug some ice cream out of the freezer around midnight, topping it with hot fudge and walnuts, with sprinkles on Dan’s per his request. The movie ended a little after one a.m., and Phil put all the dishes in the dishwasher while Dan put the rest of the Chinese food in the fridge. Phil wiped his hands on a dish towel and stepped out of the kitchen, to see Dan waiting in the lounge, holding his bag.

“Where can I brush my teeth?” he asked.

“Bathroom’s through there,” Phil told him, pointing to the door to the second bedroom on the right. Dan mumbled his gratitude as he opened the door and went in. Phil checked the locks on the front door, then switched the TV off and walked into the second bedroom, picking up his bag as he went. The bathroom light had been turned on, as was the tall lamp in the corner. The bedroom didn’t have a ceiling light fixture, rather just a fan that never spun fast enough to cool the room significantly.

“Dan?” Phil said. He dropped his bag onto the bed and moved towards the bathroom.

“Hey,” Dan said, lowering the washcloth in his hands.

“Finding everything okay?”

“Yes,” Dan said. “I used this washcloth, I hope that’s okay.”

“It’s fine,” Phil said, waving a hand as he stepped back towards the bed. He opened it, then pulled a toothbrush from it. He crossed back to the door, then leaned against the jam to wait. Dan didn’t notice him, he was wiping his face with the washcloth. The water dripped from his chin, streams of it running over his hands and wrists and splashing into the sink. Some of the color had been taken from his face, a pink flush from the heat added to his cheeks. The water was stained a cream color. Phil frowned for a moment, wondering what was coloring the water. There were slight stains of purple under Dan’s eyes. Phil’s frown dissipated, turning in his mind to understanding. It was make up. Dan wrung out the cloth, his slim forearms twisting with the action.

“You’re beautiful.”

It came out of Phil’s mouth before he really thought it through. It was true, Phil just wasn’t sure what prompted him to say it just then. Dan looked up from the sink, his eyes meeting Phil’s through the mirror.

“What?” he asked.

“You’re beautiful,” Phil repeated, uncrossing his arms and stepping forward, into the bathroom. “You really are.”

Dan blinked at him. The pink in his cheeks became less of a heat flush and more of a blush. “Thank you,” he mumbled, turning off the water with his right hand. He dried his face, then hung the washcloth on a towel bar across from the toilet and stepped out of the bathroom. Phil watched him step away, his eyes caught on his ass, then shook his head slightly and moved forward to brush his teeth.

Dan had already changed when Phil left the bathroom; he was sitting on the bed in sweats and a loose tank top, looking at his phone. Phil pulled a clean pair of boxers from his bag and a shirt, then stepped back into the bathroom to change. He hesitated, then left the door open.

“So, what do you want to do tomorrow?” Phil asked as he stepped back into the room.

“Bake cookies.”

“Seriously?” he asked flatly.

“Yes,” Dan answered. “I brought stuff.”

Phil raised an eyebrow. “What kind of cookies?”

“Christmas cookies.”

“What kind of Christmas cookie?”

“Chocolate chip.”

Phil raised another eyebrow. “Is that a Christmas cookie?”

“If you make them look like Christmas trees and snowmen, they are.”

“Okay, Dan.”

Phil lifted his bag off the bed and dropped it over by the closet. He pulled a charger from it, then walked around to the other side of the bed and plugged it in as Dan pulled the blankets back and slid his legs under the sheets. Phil joined him, switching off the lamp on his bedside table. Dan then reached for him, and Phil let him curl up at his side.

The sound of Jack making eggs and coffee woke Phil up, or maybe it was his bladder. He slipped his arm out from beneath Dan, then rose from the bed and moved into the bathroom to relieve himself. He washed his hands, yawning as he did, then walked from the second bedroom into the lounge. The kitchen light was on, and Jack was standing with his back to lounge. Phil approached the kitchen, leaning on the island counter that divided the living room and kitchen and blearily rubbed at his eyes. Jack turned around as Phil propped his face up on his hand.

“Wha – oh, fuck me!” he gasped, nearly dropping his mug.

“No thanks,” Phil yawned. “I’ve seen you doing it. Not my style.”

“You sneaky little shit!” Jack laughed. “Why are you so quiet?”

“No clue,” Phil muttered, reaching out and plucking the cup of coffee from Jack’s hands. “Ooh, too little sugar.”

“Yeah, no,” Jack snapped, snatching the coffee back. “I like to taste my coffee when I drink it, thank you, you disgusting sugar addict.”

“Eh, details,” Phil sighed. He yawned again, then propped his head up on the counter.

Jack looked at him darkly, then his glare suddenly intensified tenfold and he yawned, too. “Bastard!” he mumbled as best he could with his mouth stretched wide open.

“Whatever,” Phil said. “You leaving soon?”

“Yeah,” Jack sighed, dropping onto a barstool and setting his coffee and plate of eggs down. “Parents want me there by eight.”

Phil glanced over at the oven clock. “It’s half past four.”

“It’s a three hour drive, Phil.”

Phil raised his eyebrows and shook his head. “Your parents are mad,” he mumbled.

Jack looked up at him. “They moved away almost a year ago and left me, a nineteen year old, here to finish school by myself. What do you think they are?”

Phil gave a shrug. “Barking.”

Jack shook his head and began to eat his eggs.

He left shortly before five, and Phil ate the rest of his eggs. He went back to bed, where Dan hadn’t yet woken. When he got back under the blankets, Dan stirred, then shifted to press himself against Phil’s side.

Dan woke him up a while later by dumping water on his head.

“WOT THEE FUUUUCK!” was the strangled cry that came from Phil’s mouth.

“It’s past nine,” Dan said calmly, holding an empty glass in his hands. “Come on, I want to get the cookies started!”

Phil peered up at him through his soaked fringe, then grabbed him round the waist and tackled him to the bed. “You little shit!” he cried, half laughing half crying from the shock, and began to tickle Dan all over.

“I give in, I give!” Dan shouted as he batted at Phil’s hands. “Stop it!”

“Not until you repent!”

“I repent!”

“I don’t believe you!” Phil growled, and tickled him more viciously.

“Please!”

“Say it like you mean it!”

“I mean it!” Dan shouted.

Phil pulled back his hands, sitting back on his heels on the bed. Dan gasped for breath in front of him, his flushed cheeks dimpled with his grin. His shirt was pushed upward and his sweat pants had ridden down, exposing the crest of his hip and the smooth skin of his stomach. His chest heaved with his breaths as he tried to quell the spasming laughter Phil had induced, and his eyes danced with an irritated mirth.

Phil pounced again, but instead of attacking with twitching fingers, he pushed his hands into Dan’s shirt and ripped it off him, then pressed his mouth to Dan’s pounding pulse. His laughter turned suddenly into a gasp, and then a moan. Phil sucked lightly at the skin, already running his hands down Dan’s waist to his hips to push his pants out of his way. Dan’s moans filled his ears like a symphony, and filled his cock with the need to fill him.

Around 11, they left the bedroom, Dan grinning broadly and Phil still kissing his neck, however Dan insisted they actually bake the cookies. They entered the kitchen, Dan practically conjured chocolate chips and granulated sugar, among other things, then set Phil to taking bowls down from the top shelf.

“Why are we making cookies again?” Phil asked.

“Because we can,” Dan said, sticking his nose in the air. “They’re delicious, and I want cookies.”

“Sounds legit,” Phil sighed.

Phil had absolutely no clue of how the fuck to make chocolate chip cookies, but Dan seemed to have the recipe memorized because he had Phil measuring powders and whisking liquids like he was an actual sous chef. The oven was preheating, there was a bowl of egg-milk-vanilla concoction, and a larger bowl filled with flour, sugar, and a million other things. Phil wanted to drink the vanilla, but Dan wouldn’t let him.

“It’s pure vanilla!” Dan insisted.

“It smells heavenly!” Phil whined. Then he grinned. “Almost as heavenly as your cum.”

Dan turned bright red but didn’t react. “Pure vanilla does not taste heavenly.”

“Bullshit, nothing that smells this good can taste bad.”

Dan crossed his arms over his chest, raising an eyebrow. “Okay, hotshot, have a sip of it.”

Phil grinned and raised the bottle to his lips; Dan grabbed his hand. “Not from the bottle, you spork, pour it into a teaspoon!”

“Fiiinnnneee,” Phil sighed, then tipped the lip of the little bottle over a teaspoon he’d used to measure it earlier. He stuck the spoon in his mouth and immediately gagged. “WHAT THE FUCK?!” he shouted once again. “WHAT IS THIS MADNESS?”

“Told you,” Dan simpered, plucking the bottle of hell venom from Phil’s shock-numbed fingers and set it gently upon the counter. “Pure vanilla does not taste heavenly.”

“You tricked me!” Phil insisted.

“How?” Dan scoffed. “I told you it didn’t taste good!”

“Reverse psychology!” Phil claimed.

Dan raised his eyebrow again.

“It’s a thing!” Phil defended himself.

Dan raised his eyebrow higher.

“You should taste it, to make up for putting me in mortal peril.”

“Mortal peril – Phil, I told you not to drink it!”

“Still!” Phil insisted. Dan raised his other eyebrow.

“Not happening,” Dan said, picking up a whisk. “Start to pour the flour in slowly while I whisk it in.”

Phil picked up the bowl of flour, then glanced at Dan. He grabbed a large pinch and flung it at him.

“PHIL!” Dan screeched, his shirt now closer to white than blue.

“Ha!” Phil laughed pointedly. Dan glared at him, then lunged for the bag of excess flour. Phil grabbed the nearest thing he could to defend himself as Dan threw a handful of it straight at his face; unfortunately, he had grabbed the jug of milk so all the flour ended up in his hair.

“You little shit!” he gasped.

“You started it!” Dan shouted, half laughing now.

“You’re in for it now!” Phil growled; he dropped the milk jug roughly onto the counter and surged forward, grabbing Dan about the middle. He shrieked as Phil threw him over his shoulder and flounced out of the kitchen.

“How do you like that now!” Phil shouted triumphantly as he began to dance around the living room, Dan still squealing and shrieking like a child.

“PUT ME DOWN!”

“Never!”

“YOU ABSOLUTE ASSHAT, PUT ME DOWN!”

“Nope!”

“I AM GOING TO STRANGLE YOU!”

“With what, vanilla beans?” Phil asked, pausing in his dancing to crane his neck over his shoulder. “Y’know, this is quite an excellent angle on your ass.”

“Put me down!”

“No, I think I’m going to appreciate the view a little while longer.”

“You assole!”

“Hey, if you ask nicely, I’ll put my cock in your asshole later.”

“You already did that once, now put me down!”

Phil hmmed, then cried: “No!” and started to dance around again.

A neighbor began banging on the walls, but Phil didn’t care; Dan was beating at his back, both laughing and screaming, and Phil was having the time of his life.

“What the fuck are you two doing?!”

Phil glanced around. The voice was coming from his pocket. He felt Dan grab at it, then guessed that it was coming from his phone.

“Oh, hi, Jack,” Dan said, rather cheerily.

“Hi, Jack!” Phil called.

“What the fuck?”

“What?” Phil asked.

“You accidentally FaceTimed him.”

“Oh. Sorry, Jack!”

“I don’t even want to know what you’re doing. Please just tell me you’re both wearing pants.”

“We are,” Phil promised.

“You don’t have to be pantsless to be doing naughty things,” Dan added.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, I think I’m gonna vomit.”

“Bye, Jack!”

“Yes, bye, Jack!” Phil echoed. Dan hung up, and Phil turned around so he could drop the phone onto the couch.

“Carry on?” Phil asked.

“Fuck you, Phil.”

“I like that plan!”

He did let Dan down. Eventually. Dan waved a finger in his face and spluttered incoherently for a little while, then stuck his nose in the air and dramatically stormed back into the kitchen, Phil following him and laughing his ass off. They did finally make the cookies, and they were chocolate chip, though they weren’t the kind Phil was used to, something to do with being drop cookies or ones you had to cut out. He didn’t quite get it. The event of making cookies managed to last the rest of the day, until at six when they finally finished and took the remainder of the Chinese takeout from the fridge – excluding Jack’s lo mein of course. Dan found another cheesy Christmassy movie for them to watch, and they curled up together in the recliner to eat and watch.

“Why are they singing,” Phil asked more than once.

“Shush!” Dan protested.

“But why are they singing?!”

After a few more movies and quite a few of the cookies – “Oh, my god, Dan, these are the best cookies I’ve ever eaten in my life. They’re almost as delicious as your cock.” *heavy sigh* “Thank you very much, Romeo.” – Dan fell asleep in Phil’s lap. When the credits had rolled and Netflix had returned to browse, Phil carefully adjusted Dan so he could lift him up. He stood, grunted a little, then carried him from the living room back to the bedroom. He laid him down on the bed, then went to turn off all the lights. He brushed his teeth, switched off the bedroom lights, then climbed into bed beside Dan to quickly fall asleep as well.

“Phil, you should have made me wake up to brush my teeth.”

Phil half opened one eye. “You looked too cute,” he muttered.

Dan grumbled under his breath and got up. Phil stretched and yawned; he glanced at the clock and saw that it was almost ten. He got out of bed and padded towards the bathroom, leaning on the door jam.

“So are we making more cookies today?”

“No, I thou’ we go to da mall,” Dan said around his toothbrush.

“The mall? You wanna be teenage girls for an afternoon?”

Dan spat toothpaste from his mouth. “To look at suits for the Snow Ball.”

“That is such a cheesy name.”

“Who ever said our prom committee was original?” Dan sighed, then rinsed his mouth.

“So suit shopping, then an afternoon of being teenage girls.”

“More people than just teenage girls spend the afternoon at the mall.”

Phil rolled his eyes. “Sure, fairy.”

Dan raised an eyebrow at him in the mirror. “Are you sassing me, Romeo?”

Phil then snorted. “Okay, if either of us are going to be that dominant in this relationship, it’s me.”

Dan grinned. “What, don’t like being the little?”

“You may not call me daddy.”

“Oh, god, daddy, yes,” Dan suddenly moaned.

Phil gulped. He turned away and left the bathroom, but not before Dan could laugh at his suddenly noticeable boner.

They got to the mall a little before noon. Phil’s boner was part of the reason it took them so long. Dan immediately dragged him to a formal dress store, and started comparing ties to Phil’s eyes.

“Definitely a light blue for the tie,” he said as they left the third store.

“Why can’t we just wear black?” Phil grumbled.

Dan looked at him. Then he suddenly gasped. “I know!”

“What?”

Dan ran over to a window display of a shop where a mannequin was sporting a white suit and black shirt. “Look, Phil, it’s lovely!”

“I am not wearing a white suit.”

Dan turned around and stuck out his bottom lip. “Please, Romeo?”

Phil mentally scrambled to resist Dan’s puppy expression. His lower lip quivered a little, his large eyes gleaming a rich chocolate color.

“Dammit,” he hissed. Dan grinned and looped his arm through his then dragged him into the store.

“How are we even paying for this?” Phil grumbled.

“I happen to have a doting grandma,” Dan said. “I don’t know about you.”

“I guess if I told my mum I was willingly buying a suit, she’d be too shocked to say no to pay for it,” Phil sighed.

“That’s the spirit, Romeo,” Dan beamed.

They tried on the suits. Dan took a picture and Phil sent it to his mother.

from Mum: oh my word you look so handsome!!!

to Mum: dan wants to match for the christmas dance

from Mum: oh that’s so sweet!!!

to Mum: can you put some money on my bank card to pay for it?

from Mum: how much

to Mum: one second

Phil checked the price tag on the suit and raised his eyebrows. “Erm, Dan, are you sure you want these suits?”

“They’re on sale, don’t worry,” Dan assured him.

“By how much?”

“40%,” Dan said.

Phil did some quick math. It was a much more reasonable number. He texted his mother the amount and waited.

from Mum: how about we go halfs on it?

to Mum: i’ll take that

He checked his bank balance on his phone a minute later and found the funds transferred. Dan was checking his own phone and counting on his fingers.

“I know they cost more for larger sizes, but I didn’t think they were that much less,” he quipped.

Dan rolled his eyes. “I’m debating whether I want to buy shoes here or somewhere else.”

“Somewhere else, fairy, you get the same shoes for way less.”

“Yeah, but these go so well!” Dan insisted, showing him a pair of white wing-tip Oxfords.

Phil rolled his eyes. “You could probably find those somewhere else.”

Dan shrugged. “I’ll buy them here.”

“How doting is your grandma?” Phil muttered as he followed Dan to the check-out.

They left the store a while later, Phil carrying the suits over his shoulder. They went back to his car to drop them off, as Dan didn’t want to leave yet and carrying suit bags around the mall all day wasn’t something Phil was interested in. They returned through the food court and Phil bought them both ice cream. Dan curled his arm around Phil’s and leaned into his shoulder as he happily licked at his ice cream cone.

“Daniel?”

Dan’s small frame jerked itself away from Phil’s in milliseconds as the voice of his mother reached them. Phil looked around guiltily, then spotted her standing with Dan’s father by the only fountain in the mall.

“Oh, shit,” he muttered. Dan’s mother started towards them, almost hesitantly at first, then her face set in a stony expression and she crossed to them with a stride that managed to make even Phil feel slightly intimidated.

“What on earth do you think you’re doing?” Mrs. Howell said, her voice somehow both enraged and soft at the same time. Despite her small stature, the set of her shoulders and her arms hanging stiffly at her side made her loom before them as a giant or a monster would. Dan practically cowered before her.

“I – Mum, I can explain –”

“I do not want to hear your excuses,” she snapped, and she grabbed Dan’s hand, tugging him away from Phil roughly. “You are coming with us.”

“But Mum –”

“Do not ‘but mum’ me!” Mrs. Howell hissed, “I specifically forbade you from hanging about with that boy, and you have blatantly disobeyed me!”

“Wait, you didn’t tell me that!” Phil burst out.

“Stay out of this!” Mrs. Howell said to him, sticking a finger in his space and glaring daggers at him. “I do not want my son hanging about with the likes of you!”

“Mum –”

“No!” Mrs. Howell said, and a passing group of girls gave them confused looks. “I told you that this boy is nothing but trouble! He’s already got you lying to me, he’ll likely get you in prison sooner or later!”

“Mum, Phil would never –”

“Never?” his mother cut him off sharply. “He already has a record! God only knows what sorts of illegal business he’s done and not been caught in!”

“That is a sealed file,” Phil snapped, “you shouldn’t be able to access it!”

“I don’t need to see what’s in the file to know you have one!” Mrs. Howell barked at him. “Now, get away from my son, and if I see you near him again, I will file a restraining order!”

“Mum, no!”

“Daniel, be quiet, you don’t know what you’re doing,” Mrs. Howell said to her son, her voice deathly soft. “Staying away from him is what’s best for you!”

“I won’t stay away,” Phil spat.

Mrs. Howell slowly turned to look at him. “Excuse me?”

“I will not stay away,” Phil repeated, insisting. “I love him, I’m not going to leave because you are a judgmental woman who can’t imagine someone who looks like me could be a good person!”

Mrs. Howell blinked at him, her glare slackened. Dan gaped, his father, who had said nothing so far, raised his eyebrows.

“You love him?” Mrs. Howell said, her voice somewhat skeptical.

Phil’s breath hitched in his throat. “I – yeah. I do.”

“I love him, too, Mum,” Dan said in a quiet voice.

She glanced between them, her brows furrowed and her mouth open in confusion. Then she set it in a thin line and her expression turned hard once again. “You are children,” she said. “You can’t possible know what love feels like.”

“We can!” Phil shouted, and several people stopped to gawk at him.

“You could never be good for Dan,” Mrs. Howell snapped back. “You are a troublemaker, a fool and a criminal!”

“He is not a criminal, Mum!” Dan cried.

“How can you know?” she asked him. “How do you know he won’t hurt you, if he might rob you or harm you?”

“Because I love him!”

“You hardly know him!”

“Yes, I do!”

“You are young,” Mrs. Howell said, and her voice was almost pleading with him. “You are naive and trusting and inexperienced!”

“I’m not stupid!” Dan snapped. “Phil is always gentle with me, he’s caring and sweet and he’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me!”

“He is the worst thing that could happen to you!”

“I’m not going to murder him,” Phil shot; he couldn’t believe how persistent she was.

She gave him a look of pure rage. “You need to leave,” she said, already pulling Dan away again. She stopped when a hand fell on her shoulder.

Dan’s father gave her a placating smile. “Let it go, darling.”

“What?” she spluttered.

“The boy’s right,” he said. “He’s been nothing but respectful to us since we met him, and you’ve done nothing but judge him based on his looks. On his tattoos.”

“He –”

“Did you even look at his tattoos?” Dan’s father said, gesturing to Phil. “He has one for breast cancer! The boy can’t be as bad as you make him out to be.”

“He has a police record,” she hissed.

“I couldn’t pay a parking ticket!” Phil snapped. “Once, I graffitied the back wall of the school!”

Mrs. Howell was faltering. “Vandalism can lead to further crime.”

“You’re grasping at straws now,” Dan’s father said, and now even he sounded angry with her. “You’re just mad that Dan is growing up.”

Phil hesitated. He thought she just thought he was a bad person.

Dan looked at his mother, who was glaring at her husband now. “Mum?”

She stood there, silent for a moment. “I will think of a punishment for lying to us later,” she murmured.

“But what about Phil?”

“You may see him,” Dan’s father said. He took Mrs. Howell’s arm and gently pulled her away. Then he leaned in and whispered, “To be honest, I’m glad I don’t have to pretend I don’t know anymore.”

Dan flushed bright pink. His father smiled softly, then led Mrs. Howell away. Phil looked at Dan, who looked back.

“Fuck me,” Phil murmured.

Dan laughed nervously and stepped forward to hug him. “That can be arranged.”

Phil smiled and dropped a kiss onto the top of his head.

“Anon, anon!”

Dan inhaled sharply through his nose and turned around in Phil’s arms. “TROYE MELLET I WILL KILL YOU ONE OF THESE DAYS.”

Troye grinned while Tyler laughed. “How now, you secret black midnight hags!”

“FUCK YOU.”

“What is it you do?”

Tyler grabbed Dan’s arm and said in a swooning voice, “A deed without a name!”

“Something about yeasty waves, answer me!”

“Speak!”

“What?” Phil said.

“The next line is ‘Demand.’”

“Huh?”

“Just say it.”

“Demand?”

“We’ll answer!” Tyler shouted, with way too much glee than was appropriate for the situation.

“I fucking hate Macbeth,” Dan hissed.

“Aw, why?” Tyler crooned.

“It’s fucking scary,” Dan simpered, crossing his arms over his chest. “Who the hell is willing to actually smash their baby’s head against the floor?”

“Wait, what?” Phil spluttered.

“Lady Macbeth is, apparently,” Tyler snorted.

“Bring forth nothing but males, for thy undaunted mettle should bring forth men children only!” Troye said pompously.

“God, I hate Macbeth,” Dan muttered. “He is such an idiot.”

“I thought he was a tyrant?” Troye said.

“He let his wife talk him into killing the king!” Dan said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “And then when she killed herself, he said “well fuck that she should have done that a more convenient time!”

“That’s pretty messed up,” Phil agreed.

Troye shrugged. “I still love ‘Something wicked this way comes.’”

“Oh, hey, guys!”

Troye yelped in fright as Connor spoke right behind him. “What the fuck!”

“What?” Connor said in confusion. “Tyler, why are you laughing?”

Tyler collapsed onto Phil’s arm, his laughter overtaking him.

“That is downright frightening,” Phil said with a grin.

“What is?” Connor said. “I don’t get it!”

They left the mall around three or four. Tyler convinced Phil to let him, Troye, and Connor pile into the backseat of his car and to bring them back to Jack’s flat. Tyler insisted Jack wouldn’t mind, Phil insisted they could only come if Connor would do his freaky something wicked this way comes trick to Jack. Connor still didn’t get it. He unlocked the flat, letting them in, and found Jack sprawled on the sofa, lo mein hanging from his mouth. Phil raised an eyebrow at him.

“What,” was all he said.

“Jack!” Tyler squealed, theatrically throwing himself onto the couch and hugging him. “Phil kidnapped us! He said he’d do something horrible to us if we didn’t come with him!”

“What a motherfucker,” Jack said, then set down his lo mein. He wagged a finger at Phil. “You let these poor kids go this minute, you hear me?”

“Sorry, no can do,” Phil said. “I have plans to make them into a stew so I can feed it to the school board.”

“Oh, that sounds like a genius idea!” Jack agreed. “Yeah, sorry, Tyler, can’t help you.”

“Fuck you too,” Tyler giggled.

Connor dropped onto the couch beside Tyler, immediately curling up in his seat like a cat. Troye squeezed in between Tyler and Connor, making for very little room on the couch.

“This is a one person couch!” Jack protested.

“Oh, hush, we’re stealing your body heat so when Phil makes us into that stew, we’ll be already half cooked.”

“What am I, a space heater?”

“Yes,” Dan said, setting himself on Jack’s lap and stealing some of his lo mein.

“PHIL!” Jack whined.

“What do you want me to do,” Phil asked, taking the arm chair.

“Your boyfriend is sitting on me!”

“So?”

“He’s eating my lo mein!”

“I actually don’t care,” Phil said, then snatched the TV remote off the coffee table and changed the TV channel. “I’m watching Arrow.”

“No, I was watching something!”

“Commercials?” Phil asked, then opened the TV guide. He snorted loudly. “Why the hell are you watching Revenge of the Bridesmaids?”

“Shut the fuck up,” Jack growled.

“Ooh, I like that movie, let’s just keep watching it,” Tyler said.

“No!” Phil protested, hugging the remote to his chest. “I want to watch Arrow!”

“Raise your hand if you want to watch Revenge of the Bridesmaids,” Troye said. He, Tyler, Dan, and Connor stuck their hands in the air. After a second’s hesitation, Jack did too.

“Well, I have the remote,” Phil said, “so ha.”

“Dan, go get the remote from him,” Connor said.

“Aha, a mission behind enemy lines,” Dan said, puffing out his chest. “I shall brave it, though I might not return alive!”

He sprang off of Jack’s lap, making him scramble to not drop his lo mein, then sashayed to Phil’s armchair. He sat himself on Phil’s lap, this time straddling him, then pressed his lips to his neck.

“What will it take for you to give up the remote?” Dan whispered, dragging his lips across his skin.

“Ummm…”

Dan swept his tongue across his pulse. Phil tossed Tyler the remote.

“Yeah, yeah, shut up!” Phil called when the other boys began laughing.

Connor, Tyler, and Troye ended up staying the night. Jack pulled out the bed from the sofa for them, then told them that they were not twelve year old girls and did not need to spend the whole night shrieking about boys. Tyler laughed loudly at that and promised Jack they wouldn’t. He made a gesture of I’m watching you then reminded Dan and Phil to keep it down before going into his room. Phil looked over at Dan, who was sitting on the sofa bed with Tyler and Connor. Troye had taken the armchair.

“Should I assume you’re sleeping with me or are you going to be teenage girls with these three tonight?”

“I’ll be a teenage girl for a little while, then be a slightly older teenage girl and join you,” Dan promised.

“Riiiight,” Phil said, drawing the word out in feigned disbelief. He pecked Dan on the lips, then said goodnight to the other three. Tyler threw out his arms in a silent but dramatic request for a hug. Phil rolled his eyes but gave him one.

“Hey, don’t steal my boyfriend!” Dan protested.

“Honey, this boy was my sugar daddy years before you met,” Tyler laughed. “But you can keep him, don’t worry.”

“I am not your sugar daddy,” Phil insisted. Tyler winked at him, his grin broadening.

“Sure, daddy,” he said. Phil went red, though he did not react at all the way he had that morning when Dan said it. The four younger boys laughed loudly as Phil left.

“Shut the fuck up!” Jack shouted.

The Snow Ball was on the Friday before Christmas, which was two weeks away. The school was peppered with flyers and announcements and there was a table set up every morning to nominate people for the Snow King and Queen. Dan nominated Phil, who rolled his eyes but nominated Dan. Tyler nominated himself, and Troye nominated Jack in revenge, who responded by grabbing Troye, dipping him and fake kissing him for about five minutes. Troye was red in the face and Tyler was only half pissed. The week leading up to the dance went by agonizingly slowly, each class feeling like days and each day feeling like months. Finally, the day arrived and the final bell rang. Phil drove Dan home so he could get ready, then drove back to his own house. He filled up the time by playing Call of Duty, but kept getting distracted and killed. At five, he got in the shower, shaved, and spent ages straightening his hair. He would be meeting Dan at the school, as his parents had insisted that they drive him themselves. The dance started at six thirty, so Phil got his suit on at five past six.

“You’re going to be late if you don’t hurry up!” Phil’s mother called as she passed his room.

“I’ve got it under control!” Phil insisted. He grabbed his phone, keys, and wallet and checked his hair in the mirror one more time. The white suit did look quite good; the shirt was black and had a glossy quality about it that Phil thought looked very snazzy. He had to agree with Dan, albeit reluctantly. He adjusted the tie, then left his room.

“Quick, quick, let me get a picture!” his mum called as he came downstairs.

“Mum, I’ll be late!” he protested, but she fussed over him until she got at least twenty pictures. He pulled out of his driveway at quarter past six. He did his best not to speed. At least, he did whenever he saw a police car.

The school parking lot was packed with cars, and someone had taken Phil’s usual space. He grumbled to himself as he parked farther back, then got out and locked it. He checked his watch, then started to hurry up to the school. He passed Mark and Felix, who were by themselves, ignoring them. Phil reached the doors and slipped through the crowd of people inside. The dance was in the school gym, and it was the one time Phil actually walked quickly to the gym in his life. He passed Luke and Emma and waved to them, they waved back, Emma wolf whistling at his suit. He quickly found Tyler and Troye, who were standing by a table laden with finger food.

“Have you seen Dan yet?” he asked them.

“He isn’t here yet,” Tyler said. “His dad is driving, so they’re bound to be a little late.”

“Damn,” Phil sighed. He looked around the gym, taking in the decorations and the random ass disco ball hanging from the ceiling.

“That’s a really great suit, Phil,” Tyler told him.

“Hmm? Oh, thanks, Dan picked it out.”

“It’s so cute,” Troye told him.

“Definitely not what I thought you’d be wearing,” Tyler said.

“What did you think I’d be wearing?” Phil asked, sticking his chest out.

“Idk, like safety pins in your tie,” Tyler laughed.

“What’s wrong with safety pins in ties?” asked Jack, walking up to them in a black and green suit, complete with safety pins in his tie.

“Absolutely nothing,” Tyler promised. Jack looked Phil up and down and laughed.

“Phil, dude what the hell,” he said, “you look like a male model!”

“Seriously?” Phil asked, tugging at his collar. “I feel like a melting snowman.”

“It’s not that hot, honey,” Tyler assured him. “You’re just nervous.”

“Why am I nervous?” Phil asked. “Dan and I have been going out for three months?”

“I don’t know,” Tyler said with a shrug. “They don’t offer psychology here.”

Phil let out a heavy sigh. Tyler patted his shoulder comfortingly. Then he glanced around him, and smiled. “Look.”

Phil turned around, and saw Dan stepping into the gym. He gulped, feeling like he’d taken a sucker punch to the gut with how fucking beautiful Dan was. His suit accentuated his thin frame, the black and white complementing his soft complexion and dark hair. He wore flat white earrings and a flower crown, and his makeup. As Dan spotted them and started towards them, Phil never appreciated lipstick or eyeshadow more. His lips were stained a matte red, his eyes glittered with silver shadow and sharp winged eyeliner. Dan stopped before him, his hands tugging on the cuffs of his shirt.

“Holy fuck,” was the first thing Phil said.

Dan grinned. “Nice to see you too,” he replied, leaning in and pressing a kiss to his lips.

“You are fucking beautiful,” Phil told him. He slipped his arms around his waist and hugged him.

“Thank you,” Dan murmured. “You’re very handsome yourself.”

“OMG Dan, why didn’t you tell me you were doing wings?” Troye asked. “I would have gotten Connor to do my makeup too!”

“Because I like being the star,” Dan said, sticking his nose in the air.

“Hmph,” Troye said, crossing his arms over his chest. “Well, jokes on you, Connor’s wearing winged eyeliner too.”

“Who’s he here with?” Dan asked. “He never told me!”

“I went with myself because I’m a beautiful independent woman who don’t need no man,” Connor said, having walked up behind them.

“Shit, Troye, you didn’t say the thing about something wicked!” Phil sighed.

“Oh, shut up,” Troye said, then stuck his tongue out at Phil.

“Connor, you could have gone with me!” Dan told his friend.

“Oi!” Phil said.

“Oh, I don’t mind, I wouldn’t want to upset Phil,” Connor promised. “TBH, the day you got together and he got all possessive in Troye’s face scared the shit out of me.”

“You were scared!” Troye gasped. “I nearly wet myself!”

“Don’t admit that, honey,” Tyler said softly.

Troye stuck his tongue out at Tyler, who responded by kissing him.

“Kay, I’m gonna go find the kids,” Jack said, clapping Phil on the back. “Have fun with your boyfriend.”

“I plan on it,” Phil promised, squeezing Dan in his arms. Dan smiled and hugged him back. Jack rolled his eyes, walking away. Dan looked up at Phil, his smile soft and sweet.

“Are you going to ask me to dance or not?”

Phil laughed. “Will you dance with me?”

Dan gave a nod, and Phil released him to lead him into the middle of the gym, where couples had already begun to congregate to dance to the electro-pop music that the unoriginal student council had picked. Phil set one hand at Dan’s waist, and lifted Dan’s in the other. They began to sway back and forth, out of time to the beat and with little talent in their dancing, simply rotating slowly on the spot. Dan’s smile was radiant.

“I love you,” Phil whispered.

“I love you too,” Dan murmured.