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Phil saw the phone fly across the room in his peripheral vision where it hit the chair across from him with a dull thump. Startled, he turned to look behind him.
“Was the throwing really necessary?” He chastised.
“Yes,” Dan said, storming into the lounge, “and don’t check your phone.”
Phil saved his video file and shut his laptop, turning his attention toward the fuming Daniel in front of him. This outburst came out of seemingly nowhere, and Phil was curious as to why his Friday night editing time was interrupted. Settling into the sofa crease, he looked up at Dan and raised an eyebrow, motioning for him to continue.
“They’re upset again,” Dan explained.
There was no need for Phil to ask who ‘they’ were. Dan’s sudden anger was starting to make more sense, even though this was a conversation they hadn’t had in a while.
“But why? I thought your tweet was good.”
“I don’t fucking know! Everything? Nothing?” Dan started to pace around the room, arms gesturing wildly. “I can’t fucking breathe without someone getting upset. I don’t know what they want from me. Which is ironic because we just spent a whole bloody year trying to figure that out! Guess I failed at that t-”
“Hey, hey, hey,” Phil interrupted, softly trying to reign in his boyfriend.
He got up and stopped Dan mid-stride by placing a firm hand on either one of his arms. It wasn’t always wise to interfere with Dan when he was pacing, especially not with physical force, as sometimes it only set him off further. But this wasn’t a fight between them, and Dan wasn’t even mad at someone else. This was it’s own special kind of a one-sided argument.
It was an argument that started in the loud yet noiseless vacuum of the internet, and it only had two possible outcomes. Either Phil got upset with Dan, and it was the two of them venting their frustrations together into thin air until they were both irritable and exhausted. Maybe that would end in them bickering with each other, maybe it would end in sex. It was a coin toss every time. Or, the worse option in Phil’s mind, Dan would end up getting mad at himself. He’d beat himself up inside over something he did or didn’t do, his rage turning inward where it dissolved into sadness and disappointment that could last for days on end.
Quickly it became apparent that this was likely going to result in the latter. Phil was not going to have that, not after they took so many conscious efforts coming into the new year to avoid situations like this that weren’t healthy for anyone- not for them and not for the faceless profiles on the internet. Some could even say the measures they were taking were extreme after spending all of 2018 at the opposite end of the spectrum, but it was necessary. Clearly.
Phil looked Dan in the eye, hands still bracing him in place. “Let’s lie down and relax, yeah?”
“Fine.”
It was a passive aggressive ‘fine’ accompanied by an eye-roll, but he would take it.
Dan climbed on top of Phil, his head on the man’s chest, where it rose and fell in synchronicity with Phil’s breathing. They didn’t talk right away, and Phil was okay with that. He held his boyfriend tight with one arm, while the other bent upward so he could run his fingers through the wispy curls at the nape of Dan’s neck. Phil waited until he felt the tension release from Dan’s shoulders to speak again.
“How far did you go looking?” Phil whispered, fingers still playing with the fluffy curls.
“Far enough.”
“I thought we were going to try not to do that anymore?”
“I know. I just didn’t think this would happen.” Dan turned and buried his head into the soft, black and white jumper Phil was wearing, which muffled his long, exasperated groan.
“How about tomorrow we take a no phone day?” Phil suggested.
No phone days were a lost establishment of the Dan and Phil household. They created the rule several years ago when the internet turbulence wore on them for too long, seeping into their relationship until one day they both snapped. It was a fight so grand in scale it earned itself the name ‘The Tumblr Deletion Fight of 2014’ when a certain secret account was forcefully deleted. The fallout was rough, but after that argument, they both agreed to spend less time stalking the depths of their fanbase and more time together with no phones in sight.
It had been a while since either of them called for an official no phone day. As they matured as individuals and together as a relationship, internet-less time occurred more naturally. They didn’t need the rules and structure of 24-hours with no laptops, no game systems, and absolutely no phones.
Appropriately, the suggestion caught Dan’s attention, and he sat up on his elbows. “You can’t do that, you’re posting a video soon.”
“I don’t care, we can take a no phone weekend if you need.”
Dan didn’t say anything, giving Phil a long, contemplative look. He could tell Dan was trying hard to hide a smile, the way his dimple deepened, and the rosiness of his cheeks spread. Phil couldn’t help himself and leaned down to give his boyfriend an off-center kiss. Finally, he got the smile he was looking for.
“Thanks, love.”
“Now, I know it’s been some time since we’ve called a no phone day.” Phil paused and flipped them, so he was on top and straddling Dan with a suggestive glint in his eye. “But if I remember correctly, the rules require the partaking of certain activities.” He let his hands slip under Dan’s astronaut cat nightie, cold fingertips tracing shapes on warm skin.
“Are you sure that’s in the rules? Or did you just make that up?” He sat up and pulled Phil closer.
“Does it matter?”
They laughed and kissed, their phones and the chaos happening within long forgotten.