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. “You guys should come up and visit soon. We haven’t had you two stay in so long, The girls miss you, and so do I if I’m honest. Lilly made you guys Christmas presents in school. She’s been bugging me about when you were going to come to visit.” Joe said.
“I think we can make it up there soon,” Phil said smiling at his friend’s familiar face on the screen of his laptop.
“Sure you guys don’t want to come up for New Years?”
Phil shook his head. “We just want to hole up at home this year.”
“You sure? That’s what you wanted last year too.”
Phil nodded, “Yeah, it was nice, just the two of us.”
“I bet,” Joe said winking. “You two lovebirds.”
“Gross, How many times have I asked you not to call us that?” Phil said.
“About a million, that’s why I do it,” Joe smirked. “Think about it and let me know. We’d love to have you.”
“Yeah, I will, I have to talk to Dan see when he’d like to go up,” Phil smiled.
“Where is he?” Joe asked, “Kind of late for him to be out isn’t it?”
Phil laughed, “He’s not out, he’s in the tub. He got a big box from Lush delivered today, so I suspect an epic bath bomb situation has happened.”
“And you didn’t join him?”
“We can’t both fit in a tub together,“ Phil laughed, “Plus he said I couldn’t look in the box.”
“Ooooh, epic birthday bath bombs?”
“Maybe, probably,” Phil smiled.
“Well, go ask him,” Joe said waving, “I’ll wait.”
Phil laughed and shook his head as he moved his laptop off his legs. “Okay, brb.” He walked to their en-suite and knocked on the door then pushed it open. “I’m talking to Joe, he wants to know when we can go up for a visit.”
“I’m good whenever.” Dan shrugged, “First weekend in January could be good? Close to new years and your birthday. I don’t think we have anything going on.”
“Yeah, that sounds good.” Phil nodded and turned to leave. “I like this bath bomb choice, not the normal black. I can see everything.” He looked over his shoulder.
Dan laughed, “Perve!”
Phil laughed on his way back to the bed where he left his computer. “First weekend in January sound good?”
“Sounds good to me.” Joe smiled, “the girls will be so excited.”
“We’re excited too.” Phil said, “It’s been too long.”
“Maybe you guys should come up more often, you know our spare room is always ready for you.”
“Yeah, maybe.” Phil nodded. “Maybe we can get away a little more this year.”
“Well, just give us a call if you need a break from the big smoke,” Joe smirked.
Phil rolled his eyes, “Okay, too much. I have to let you go.” Phil laughed, “We’ll see you in a couple weeks then.”
“Great.” Joe nodded, “Come ready to party hard. And by that, I mean ready to play lots of video and board games. And maybe do some arts and crafts with Lilly, she’s getting some great stuff this year from Father Christmas.”
“Is she now?”
“You guys might head home with brand new hair accessories that you make with beads and lots glitter,” Joe smirked
“I don’t know how those will look in my quiff.” Phil laughed, “But maybe Dan could use a headband.”
“Very Harry Styles of him,” Joe said, “Okay, well, I should get going. Lilly came in while you were gone, had a nightmare so Em is taking care of it right now, but I think it’ll be a mommy-daddy-book-reading night.”
“Okay,” Phil smiled. They said their goodbyes and Phil went back into the bathroom. “It’s all set, we’re going up the first weekend in January.” He leaned against the counter watching Dan in the tub, “Isn’t the water cold yet? You’ve been in there for like an hour.”
“I just put more hot in about fifteen minutes ago,” Dan said. “I’m about to get out though, I’m so pruney I may not de-prune before Christmas.”
Phil chuckled then picked up Dan’s towel and held it out for him. “Come on, let's go watch a movie.”
Dan stood up and pulled the plug so the water started to drain. “Let’s watch something on your laptop in bed.”
“Okay,” Phil said as he wrapped Dan in the towel. “Tired?”
“Mhmm.” Dan nodded, “The lounge is so far away.” He whined dramatically and stepped out of the tub and into Phil’s arms. “I’m so relaxed I may not make it to the bed.” He put his face in the crook of Phil’s neck.
Phil chuckled as he rubbed Dan’s back over the towel to dry him off. “Okay, well if you collapse on the way, I’ll cover you up so you don’t get cold in the night.”
Dan pulled back, “You wouldn’t carry me.”
“Nah, not worth the effort,” Phil said, then jumped back laughing from the swat that was directed at him.
“You think someone has your back, and then you find out they’d just leave you cold and naked on the floor.” Dan shook his head. He finished drying off and hung up his towel.
“Oy, I said I’d cover you up, you’d just be naked but nice and toasty.”
Dan laughed, “Yeah okay.”
They walked into the bedroom and snuggled under the duvet after turning out the lights. “I’m excited about going up to visit Joe and Em,” Phil said after they found a movie on Netflix to watch. Dan’s head was on his shoulder and the computer on their hips. “It’ll be nice to see Joe and the girls. Lilly has been asking about us, and when we’re going to visit again.”
“Yeah?” Dan asked through a yawn.
“Yup, she apparently made us Christmas presents in school.”
Dan chuckled, “I can’t wait. The bauble she made us last year is one of my favorites.”
“Mine too.” Phil smiled and kissed the top of his head, “We should try and get up there a couple more times this year. It’s been too long since last time.”
“Agreed.” Dan sighed. “Emily is going to scold the crap out of us.”
Phil laughed, “She will, then she’ll stuff us with food and put us to shame playing scrabble.”
“She will.” Dan nodded, “She really stepped into that mum role when Lilly was born. She wasn’t as scary before Lil. I can’t wait until Em and Kath join forces and rule the world.”
Phil laughed, “Don’t forget about Roz?”
“The three of them can take over and solve all the problems created by man.”
“True.” Phil laughed, “Roz will make sure everyone is clothed and warm, mum will make sure everyone is fed and healthy, Em will make sure everyone is behaving properly and doing their work.”
Dan laughed, “Maybe we should write this proposition to all the world leaders. See if they relinquish control.”
“If only,” Phil said, “That reminds me we should bring Carcassonne to play with them. Em will be ruthless. Maybe another game too?”
“Not monopoly,” Dan said, lifting his head up to look Phil in the eyes. “I refuse to play that with you guys ever again. Between you and Joe trying to screw everyone over and Emily the banker from hell I might not make it through another game alive. You all get way too into it. Not to mention it takes a million hours to play.”
“Fine, but we have to play it here at least once in January for my birthday.”
Dan rolled his eyes and put his head back down, “Fine, but only if you promise to be nice. I hate when you roleplay as ‘evil landlord number 1’.”
“Fine.” Phil said, “I’ll keep the roleplay out of Monopoly.”
“You must really love me,” Dan said chuckling.
“Did you doubt it?”
“Well, that crack about leaving me on the floor before shook me to my core.”
“I probably would‘ve tried to drag you at least.” Phil said smiling, “But we both know it would never work. You’d be doomed to stay on the floor.”
“You could roleplay as Thor.”
“Thor is old news, Danny boy, do try to keep up.”
Dan laughed, “Oh yeah? Who would it be now?”
“Captain Marvel or Aquaman,” Phil said.
“I guess the floor would be okay.”
“Wow, biased much?”
“It would be too much mental gymnastics. I can’t move on from your o.g. roleplay character to the current popular ones. It’s either Phil or Thor, no one else.”
“It must be love.” Phil laughed.
“Mmm, it is,” Dan said tipping his head to press a soft kiss to Phil’s chest. “For both of us, I’m afraid.”
“Yeah, think so. You’re stuck with me.” Phil said, reaching up and running his fingers through Dan’s hair, pulling it back off his forehead. “
“Mmm.” Dan hummed, taking a deep breath. “Love you, Philly.”
Phil held back the chuckle that was threatening to escape, “Night Danny, we’re just a couple of lovebirds tonight.”
“Ugh,” Dan said, pulling back, “You had to go and ruin it. I was almost asleep.”
Phil laughed, “I know, that’s why I said it.”
Dan glared at him, squinting his eyes. “Did Joe say it again?”
Phil nodded, biting his lip to keep from laughing. “Uh-huh.”
“I knew we shouldn’t have told him my nan calls us that. I knew that would come back to bite us in the ass. I’m going to have to yell at him when we get there I guess,” Dan said, laying back down.
“I know.” Phil laughed, “for what it’s worth I yelled at him. You know he does it because freaks us out.”
“Yeah well…” Dan said, trailing off. “Still going to yell at him. Only my grandma can call us that, and that’s just because I am not about to yell at her about it.”
“You like it when she calls us that,” Phil said, still trying not to laugh.
“I do not.”
“Uh-huh. I still remember the first time she called us that you about fell off the sofa you were so happy about it.”
“That is an outright lie.”
“Yeah, okay,” Phil said, patting the side of Dan’s head. “Go to sleep, we’ll discuss how you feel about lovebirds tomorrow.”
Dan grumbled something unintelligible into Phil’s chest about telling people things when they shouldn’t, but sighed, “Yeah, okay, I’m pretty tired and tomorrow we have a big day of travel ahead of us.”
“Mmm.” Phil nodded. “Kath is waiting with bated breath for her baby chicks to return to the nest.”
“Stop with the bird metaphors,” Dan whined. “I’m going to have weird bird related nightmares.”
“Or sex dreams, I would make one hot swan.”
“Oh my god,” Dan said laughing, “Shut up and watch the movie so I can go to sleep.”
Phil chuckled silently and slid his hand down Dan’s back hooking his hand over his waist. “Night,” He whispered, “love you.”
“M’night,” Dan yawned and snuggled in more, “Love you too.” A few minutes later his breathing evened out and he was asleep, Phil smiled into his hair loving how he felt all warm and soft from his bath.
He inhaled deeply, enjoying the faint smell of the lemony bath bomb Dan had used. He closed his laptop when he started to doze off and set it aside, trying hard not to jostle Dan too much.
He closed his eyes and smiled thinking about how Joe and Dan had become good friends. Dan and Emily as well. He loved how well Dan had fit into his life. He was really a piece of a puzzle and there was no question whether or not he didn’t belong right where he was. But without Joe and Emily pushing him to be honest about his feelings, he may not have figured it all out and Dan may have gotten away. He really did have the best friends any guy could hope for. He smiled into Dan’s curls as he fell asleep.