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Dan absolutely hates Valentine’s Day with a burning passion, he always has since he was a teenager, and it may be because he had to watch everyone around him be all coupley and gross on the day while he was single and lonely, never getting any chocolates or flowers.
Now, he’s an adult and he still has the same feelings towards Valentine’s Day.
“So Dan, do you have any plans for Valentine’s?”
“Oh, you shouldn’t have asked him that,” Anthony mutters.
Cat blinks as she looks over at Anthony. “What do you mean? Why not?” She looks over at Dan, who’s already seething at the question.
“No, Cat. I don’t have any plans for Valentine’s Day. I couldn’t care less about that stupid holiday,”
Cat gasps, placing her hand on her chest as if she just witnessed Dan murdering her puppy. “Dan! What- Valentine’s Day is one of the most beloved holiday’s ever. How could you not care?”
Anthony snorts. “Because he’s lonely and miserable,”
“Thank you for that Anthony,” Dan snaps with annoyance, glaring at his co-worker. He lets out a sigh as he leans back in his chair. For once, he’s actually looking forward to getting back to work, so he doesn’t have to deal with his co-workers heckling him about Valentine’s Day.
“Maybe you’re only miserable because you don’t have a boyfriend,” Cat says, turning to look at Dan.
“I don’t want a boyfriend,”
“That’s what single people tell themselves to feel better about not having a boyfriend,” Cat retorts. “Look, I’ve got this friend. His name is Phil. He’s super sweet. You should go on a date with him.”
“Yeah, no thanks. I’ll pass,” Dan says.
“I know Phil,” Anthony says. “He’s a giant dork. You’d like him Dan.”
“Guys, I said no . Stop trying to set me up with people. I don’t want a boyfriend,” Dan whines.
“Fine, then be miserable on Valentine’s Day. You can’t say I didn’t try to help though,” Cat mumbles.
Dan startles when the alarm on his phone starts going off, reminding him that it’s time to clock back in and get back to work. Dan sighs in relief, stopping the alarm clock. He stands from his spot. He starts walking out of the break room, but he stops and he looks over at his two co-workers. “I’m not miserable,”
Anthony snorts. “Okay Dan. You keep telling yourself that,”
Dan glares at him. “You’re annoying as fuck. I hope you know that,”
“Yes, I know. Ian tells me on a daily basis, but it brings me joy that I know annoy him so much,”
“How Ian’s put up with you for so many years is beyond me,” Dan mutters to himself before finally walking out of the break room. He grabs his apron, before heading back out to the counter area. It’s a Wednesday afternoon, so the coffee shop hasn’t been terribly busy, which Dan appreciates.
Dan is dreading the weekend though, because Valentine’s Day is going to make it so much busier, because couples will be coming in buying coffees for their significant others, and Dan will have to deal with people being all lovey dovey. He should have requested the day off, but he had forgotten.
For two whole days, Dan is able to forget about Valentine’s Day despite it being everywhere he goes. But, Dan focuses on working, which helps distract him a majority of the time.
Dan is manning the counter on Thursday. It hasn’t been terribly busy, which he doesn’t complain about, knowing that it’s about to be a busy weekend ahead of them.
Dan is cleaning the counter when they get their first customer in over thirty minutes. He looks up when he hears the door ding. Dan tosses the washcloth aside, and wipes his hands on his apron. “Hello,”
“Hi,” the man greets, walking up to the customer. “It’s not very busy here, is it?”
Dan shrugs his shoulders. “It’s only Thursday. I don’t recommend coming in this weekend,”
“Aren’t you supposed to be encouraging customers to come to your shop?” The man asks curiously, raising his eyebrows.
“Yeah, I suppose so, but I also care about my customers' well-being. Just trust me when I say, don’t come in this weekend,” Dan says, and he clears his throat. “Anyways. What can I get for you?”
“I’m just getting a venti cold brew, thank you,”
Dan nods, and reaches over to grab a large cup, and then he looks up at the man. “Name?”
“Phil,”
Dan starts writing the name Phil on the cup, and then he stops when he suddenly remembers Cat mentioning her friend who also went by the name Phil. There’s no possible way… Dan hesitates, before looking up at the man, Phil. He clears his throat. “You don’t, uh… you don’t happen to know Cat, do you?”
“Cat Valdes?”
Dan groans, before nodding. “That’s the very one. She works here with me,”
“How did you know I knew Cat?” Phil asks curiously.
“She mentioned you the other day when she was pestering me about a Valentine’s Day date,” Dan says.
Phil lets out a laugh, which surprises Dan. “I’m not surprised. She’s been trying to set me up ever since me and my last boyfriend broke up. She’s been really pushing it since Valentine’s Day is coming up,”
“Right. Uh, anyways… that’ll be £3.25,” Dan says, unable to stop his cheeks from turning bright red. Because, Cat was right. Phil is pretty cute. Dan definitely wouldn’t mind dating someone like him. Plus, from what it sounds like, Phil is totally single. Dan’s single. It’s all adding up.
“Here,” Phil says, handing Dan five pounds. “Keep the change.”
“You don’t have t-”
“I want to,” Phil says. “Plus, it’s an apology on behalf of Cat. For, you know, trying to set you up with me. I’ll have to have a talk with her later.” He chuckles softly.
Dan blushes even more, and puts the money into the cash register.
Dan gets started on Phil’s coffee, trying not to let himself get distracted by the rather attractive man. Once he’s finished, Dan turns around and hands Phil his drink. “Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy your drink,”
“Wait, can I ask you something?” Phil asks.
Dan blinks, and he looks up at Phil. “Uh, I guess so?”
“Do you have any Valentine’s Day plans?” Phil asks calmly, before taking a sip of his coffee.
“Uh, no. I requested that day off so I don’t have to be surrounded by annoying couples all day,” Dan says. “I usually sit at home and do nothing. Why do you ask?”
“Well, I’m single, and you’re single. So, I was thinking…”
“You were going to ask me out for Valentine’s Day?” Dan finishes for him, raising his eyebrows.
“Oh. Are you against the idea? If you are, it’s totally cool. I just thought I’d give it a shot,” Phil admits.
Dan lets out a sigh as he stares at Phil. “I’m not… I’m not against the idea. I’m happy to go out with you. But, you should know that Valentine’s Day is my least favorite day of the year. Like, I despise that holiday with every ounce of my fiber being. But, I’m not against going out with hot guys who come into my coffee shop,” he says, and can’t stop himself from blushing again.
Phil grins. “Oh, thanks. I’m flattered that you think I’m hot. You’re not so bad yourself. So, Valentine’s Day. I can text you the details?” He fishes his phone out of his pocket.
“Yeah, that’d be great,” Dan says, and he takes Phil’s phone when he hands it to him. Dan punches his number into Phil’s contacts, and then hands it back to Phil. “We should surprise Cat on our date.”
Phil chuckles. “You want to come here on your day off?”
“I don’t have to work, and it would be hilarious to see Cat’s reaction to seeing us together,” Dan says.
“It would be hilarious,” Phil says with a grin, before nodding. “I- I have to get to work. But, see you soon?”
“Yeah,” Dan says, waving to Phil as he walks out of the shop. He takes a deep breath, before leaning back against the counter. He has a date . He’s not going to be single on Valentine’s Day.
Two days later, Phil’s picking Dan up for lunch on Valentine’s Day.
When Dan opens the door, he’s surprised to find Phil standing outside his door with a bouquet of flowers. They’re roses, and Dan thinks they smell lovely. “Phil. What’s this?”
“I know it’s our first time going out and everything, but I thought-” Phil holds out the flowers towards Dan. “Sorry. I know it’s like… super cliché and all.”
“No, it’s… this is very kind of you, thank you. Here, come in. Let me go put these in a vase,” Dan says, walking back into his apartment. He quickly walks to the kitchen. He actually manages to find a vase that fits the flowers, and he puts water into the flowers. Dan walks back out, and finds Phil looking at some of the family photos that he has hung up on the wall. “My family.”
Phil startles when he suddenly hears Dan’s voice, and he looks over at Dan. “Hey. Is that your brother?” He asks, pointing to a picture of Dan with a younger boy.
Dan nods. “Yeah, that’s Aiden. He’s a few years younger than me. He’s a little shit,”
Phil chuckles, nodding. “Aren’t all brothers? You wanna head out?”
“Yeah, sure. Let me grab my wallet,” Dan says. He makes sure he has everything he needs, before grabbing his jacket and then meeting Phil at the door. “Now I’m ready to go.”
Phil grins, before walking out of the apartment. He turns, and watches as Dan locks his apartment up.
Dan and Phil decide to get lunch together first, because Dan was complaining about being hungry, and it’s actually an enjoyable lunch, and Dan likes learning about Phil and what he does for a living, and he’s definitely nerdy. Just like Anthony and Cat mentioned before. But, that’s okay, because Dan’s also nerdy so they have a lot in common when it comes to music and movies and tv shows.
“What do you think she’s going to say?” Phil asks as they walk towards the coffee shop.
“Good question. She’s going to be shocked, and then she’s probably going to scream, and be mad at us for not saying anything, and then she’s going to say ‘ I told you so ’,” Dan says, looking over at Phil.
“Should we hold hands?” Phil asks, glancing over at Dan. "You know, to make it look more believable?"
“Do you want to?” Dan asks, and he blushes slightly when Phil nods his head. “Okay.” He reaches over and grabs Phil’s hand, before pushing the door open. There’s only a few people in line ahead of them, but Cat spotted them immediately. She’s definitely shocked when she sees them, just like Dan predicted, and then she glares at Dan, who can’t help but smirk knowingly at her. Dan can see her mutter something angrily under her breath before she goes back to paying attention to the customer.
“Thank you, have a great day,” Cat says to the customer in front of Dan and Phil. Cat crosses her arms against her chest as soon as her eyes land on Dan and Phil. “What the hell is this?”
“Now, is that any way to talk to your customers?” Dan asks, smiling innocently.
“You’re annoying as hell, Dan Howell,” Cat grumbles. She looks over at Phil. “Cold brew?”
“You know me so well,” Phil says.
“You’re not going to ask me what I want?” Dan asks, unable to stop himself from pouting.
“You’ll get whatever I give you, and you’ll be happy about it,” Cat retorts, turning to glare at Dan.
“How do I know you’re not going to try to poison me?” Dan asks, watching her closely.
“Oh, please. You’re literally watching what I’m doing. I’m not going to poison you Dan,” Cat says, huffing. “I mean, I’m pissed, but I’m not that pissed. Who do you think I am?”
“Who are you talking to, Cat?” Anthony asks as he walks out from the back.
“Those traitors over there,” Cat says as she points at Dan and Phil. “Will you ring them out?”
Anthony walks over to the cash register. Cat’s already put in what the two have ordered. “£6.50,”
Dan goes to get out his wallet, but Phil quickly stops him. “You paid for lunch. Let me pay this time,”
Dan huffs, before putting his wallet back into his pocket. “Fine,” he says, and he watches as Phil pays, because Phil is a gentleman. Dan hasn’t found a single thing wrong with this man. He’s so screwed.
“So, you two are dating now? How’s that possible? We were literally just talking the other day-”
“It’s our first date together,” Dan quickly explains. “Phil came in the other day, that’s how we met, and we decided that maybe we should give it a go. Well so far, I’d say, it’s going pretty well. Don’t you think so?” He looks over at Phil, a small smile on his face.
Phil nods instantly. “Very well. In fact, maybe we’ll have a second date?”
“I definitely see a second date in our future,” Dan agrees.
“Oh, come on. This is just ridiculous,” Cat says when she turns around with two coffees in her hands. “This coming from the guy who thinks Valentine’s Day is the most terrible holiday of the year!”
“Would you rather I go back to complaining about how much I hate Valentine’s Day?” Dan asks.
Cat stares at him, before huffing. “No, absolutely not,” she says, before handing them their coffees. “Thank you for stopping by, have a horrible day,”
Dan cackles at that, before turning to Phil. “Let’s get out of here,”
“See? I told you that you wouldn’t want to spend your day off at the place you work,” Phil says, grinning as he follows Dan out of the coffee shop.