Chapter Text
“I can’t believe you convinced me to buy a damn hammock for our house, when are we ever going to use it?” Dan asked, shaking his head as his lips tilted in an exaggerated pout. Phil was currently dragging him through their home, practically tripping over himself on the way to their backyard. It was ten p.m. but Dan couldn’t let go even if he’d wanted to, Phil had a hold on him.
“You’re about to see!” Phil called out, giggling uncontrollably. Dan found he was smiling in spite of himself, simply happy to be surrounded by Phil’s laughter. A sound he wouldn’t get tired of, not for the rest of his life. A simple melody.
After they’d quickly reached the back door, they stepped out into the cool night air, barefoot on the soft grass. Dan was dragged along the final distance to a patch of trees where Phil had worked hard all day to install his hammock. He turned around with the biggest smile on his face to observe Dan’s reaction. He fell backwards onto the cloth, swaying quite vigorously. For a moment Dan felt his heart spike with anxiety over the structural integrity, but it seemed Phil had outdone himself.
“See! Would you look at this, it’s incredible!!” Phil cried, kicking his feet in an attempt to swing more. Dan had a goofy grin as he watched his partner, so giddy over a simple hammock, and just like that, he knew it was worth it. His smile widened into soft laughter as Phil struggled to sit up.
“Come on, once you try it, you’ll see it was a great investment,” Phil assured, beginning to stand up. But Dan made one quick step forward and pushed him back onto it, wasting no time sliding in next to him, quickly enveloped in the silky cloth. He deliberately wrapped his arms around Phil’s midsection, pulling him unbelievably closer until Phil was squealing and laughing at Dan’s forwardness.
“Dan, surely we can’t both fit on here!” Phil squeaked out, giggling more as Dan hmphed and snuggled closer, his breath tickling the hair that had grown longer against Phil’s neck. He was partly right, as their lanky limbs tangled together. Never failing to settle in comfortably, as if they were meant to be one. It was nothing they weren't used to.
“For crying out loud, you worked on it all day,” Dan mumbled against his skin. “If it can’t hold us both, I have grounds not to trust you.”
Phil let out a sigh of mock annoyance as he quickly caved, already greatly relaxed by the gentle rocking of the hammock. He simply wrapped his arm around Dan’s shoulder, earning one of those rare smiles against his chest. He melted the same as he always did, failing to suppress this as he pressed a quick kiss to the center of Dan's head. As he laid on his back with Dan in his arms, he came to a realization, nudging Dan carefully. “Dan, look up at the sky,”
Dan followed the instruction and gasped softly, genuinely taken aback by the intense beauty of the late night sky. The stars were more clear than they’d been in a long time, especially in cities they’d come from, with heavy light pollution. Dan’s gaze softened as he admired the sky a moment longer before turning his shining expression to rest on Phil.
Phil was caught off guard by the softness of Dan’s features, highlighted beautifully in the bright moonlight. He reached a hand up to push back the dark curls that fell in Dan’s eyes and let out a breath of satisfaction. He couldn’t control the way he felt, not when Dan looked so pretty in this light, his face full of adoration and love. Before Phil knew it, Dan had leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips, immediately getting a smile from Phil.
“My sweet love,” Dan whispers. “The only thing more breath-taking than the stars tonight is your overwhelming beauty,”
No matter how many times Dan complimented him, always managing to find a new, special way to express his strong feelings, Phil would always blush.
“Shut up…" Phil whispered back, before rolling his eyes and admitting what they both already knew, "I love you,”
He kept his hand resting against Dan’s cheek, still breathless with the way Dan was studying him. As if he was all that mattered in the world.
Maybe he was all that mattered. They were all that mattered. This moment, intertwined in their safe space, their sweet moment. They had so many more of these moments to come, it was one of many. But all were equally special as long as they were together. And they would be.
But for now they could stay here under their stars, swaying gently in the warm evening breeze, nothing to worry about. Not today, not tomorrow, only the warmth of each other’s embrace.