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Walking alongside the streets, dressed all in black with a splash of rainbow sequins, Dan couldn’t help but have a huge grin on his face. He was at Pride in London. No no. He was IN Pride in London. Dan didn’t expect his first ever pride event as an out gay to mean he walked with Stonewall UK, the first part of the parade. That was insane and that was definitely something for Dan to smile about.
He couldn’t wait to tell Phil all about his day, who was assumedly sat at home waiting for his return. Phil got incredibly anxious when it came to large crowds such as what would happen at the protest so he stayed at home, cheering Dan on from the safety of his sofa. With the thought of Phil, Dan’s pace sped up. He just wanted to get home to his Phil.
~~~~~
It wasn’t too late when Dan got home but it was late enough to know he was to come home carefully, not for Phil, but for the neighbours who were probably asleep or about to drift off by now. Dan was tired. His hair messy from a daily dose of wind. His outfit smelling like a mixture of marijuana and cheap beer, a summary of Pride for everyone but Dan. Dan had a different summary.
He opened the door to his apartment that he shared with his boyfriend, Phil, to see all of the lights were off aside from the gentle gleaming of the television from the lounge. Taking his shoes off at the door, Dan briskly walked into the lounge with a certain spring in his step and as he walked around the door to see Phil, he couldn’t help but do a little dance and jazz hands to announce his return.
Phil leapt up from his seat to greet Dan with a warm embrace, “Hiii!! How was it? Did you have fun? Was your outfit comfortable? Did you meet any viewers? HOW WAS IT?!”
Phil smelt like warm honey and vanilla, with a hint of musk. That was what home smelt like to Dan, like what many would argue as an overwhelmingly sweet smell, but to Dan it was safety. It was warmth. It was coming home after a long day, just like today, and feeling comfort.
Dan laughed as he grabbed onto Phil’s hand to escort him to the sofa, where they both sat, thighs touching alongside each other and remaining the held hands, “I can only answer one question at once, bloody hell Phil. Which one do you want me to answer first?”
“How was it? How are you?”
“Ok, that’s still two.”
“Shut up! Answer,” Phil laughed as he nudged into Dan’s side.
“Okay, okay! It was so good,” Dan said as he placed a small but cheesy grin onto his face. “It was unbelievably good. I felt overwhelmed at one point but I breathed and remembered this was SO right and Pride definitely was the right place to be.”
Phil tugged at Dan’s hand and applied pressure as a sign of reassurance and a way in which to tell Dan to continue talking. Phil had a bright and shining smile on his face that Dan matched as soon as he placed his eyes upon Phil’s face, and lips. Lips that were curved upwards more than any lips have ever done so before and that meant a lot to Dan because he could truly see someone who was happy for him regardless. And that was all he wanted his entire life.
“I was scared of going alone. But I wasn’t alone there, not at all. I saw so many viewers and whenever I felt an ounce of loneliness, it was almost like they knew and turned up out of the blue and said hello. I truly helped,” Dan said as he looked away from Phil and glanced at the television with a slight smirk on his face.
“Why the fuck are you watching Cash in the Attic, Phil?” Dan chuckled as he looked back at Phil to see Phil laughing, like music to his ears.
“Listen okay! I was bored and I love seeing middle aged women find out they’re loaded. It’s emotional,” Phil croaked in between laughter, placing his head on Dan’s shoulder and told him to continue talking about his day.
They sat like that for a while, maybe about an hour tops, as Phil just patiently listened to Dan talk about his first pride experience and how he hoped it would be the first of many Pride protests that he would go to and how he would love to go to one with Phil whenever Phil felt ready to do so. It wasn’t an issue for Dan to know that Phil found crowds anxiety-inducing, he understood that, but he also knew he would be there for Phil if he wanted to go one year.
“I’m really proud of you, you know?” Phil exclaimed. Locking eye contact with Dan with the largest grin on his face, slowly and gracefully wrapping his hand around Dan’s waist and falling back into the sofa.
Dan met him with lying backwards alongside him, scooting a little closer to Phil to bring into a cuddle, “Really?”
“Yes, of course, Dan. Why wouldn’t I be?”
Dan smirked lightly, “I don’t know, you tell me?”
Dan didn’t really like speaking about himself but sometimes, he just liked teasing Phil and get compliments out of him. Not in a weird way, he just found it calming to sometimes hear how Phil felt, particularly about him.
“Since I’ve known you, you’ve gone from this quiet and nervous boy to a gay icon. That’s what I’m proud of. You’ve grown so much and I got to see that, and I’m so thankful for that. I’m so proud of you, Dan.”
And with this, Dan’s small grin turned into the biggest smile, teeth and all. It was the largest smile that Phil had seen on Dan in the longest time, not since they met each other on that fateful day at the train station.
Dan turned his head so that he was facing Phil and lent in so that their lips met each other and so they moved together in perfect rhythm. It wasn’t a steamy kiss by any remark, it was a kiss that displayed love and affection, just what Dan wanted to portray to Phil.
“I love you so much what the fuck,” Dan whispered on Phil’s lips, as they parted the kiss.
Phil giggled and gave Dan a singular light peck on the lips, and then said, “Good thing I love you too then isn’t it?”
They spent the remainder of evening cooped up on the sofa, regrettably watching the last of Phil's daytime television binge, arms wrapped around one another. Because, whilst Dan enjoyed his first ever Pride out in public, this was his better Pride experience.