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The house was pleasantly warm compared to the crisp air outside, and Dan could slowly start feeling the cold spots on his cheeks much more clearly as the rest of his skin warmed up. He looked over to see if Phil had gotten those rosy little circles on his cheeks that made him look like a porcelain doll, but Phil had already moved past him.
“Phil!” Dan called in front of him, pausing to toe his shoes off by the entryway, made more difficult by how his hands were full. He did not like the idea of tracking dirt into the house, but had long since given up on the idea of Phil doing the same. “Can you remember to hang up your jacket and not just leave it lying around?”
“Okay!” Phil called back, clearly distracted, and Dan sighed at the knowledge that he was going to find that jacket draped over the back of a chair at some point that day. It always left him frustrated in the moment, but honestly, Dan liked the little reminders of Phil’s presence dotted around the house. A positive to Phil’s constant messiness, even if it also made Dan want to throttle him.
Dan did hang up his own jacket, but quickly made a detour to set his bags down in the lounge. They’d taken some of the leftovers from their mukbang video back home with them, as to not waste food and all, and Phil had not offered to help carry any of them. Dan couldn’t be too mad, or at least stay that way for too long, because as soon as he had his jacket hung up, there were arms wrapping around his waist and Dan was grinning like an idiot.
“It’s too cold outside,” Phil mumbled into Dan’s shoulder. Dan agreed, heavily, but couldn’t resist the urge to tease him a little.
“It’s barely below ten degrees, you can handle it,” Dan said. Phil made a noise of protest and pressed his nose against Dan’s neck, and yeah, his nose was definitely a bit cold.
“I’m gonna make a decaf,” Phil said, not letting go of Dan. Something about Phil’s body had never held heat very well, but Dan didn’t want to admit that Phil was actually making him colder. He turned his head to press a quick kiss to Phil’s cheek, and ended up missing and hitting the corner of his eye instead. Oops.
“Yeah, thanks, that sounds great,” Dan said. Phil let go of him and stepped back, and when Dan turned to look at him, his cheeks were definitely rosy.
“And maybe we could have the rest of those deep-fried bun things?” Phil asked, in the faux-casual way that meant he most definitely had a plan brewing.
Dan laughed and raised his eyebrows. “And watch Below Deck?”
Phil grinned and nodded really fast, and Dan couldn’t help it. He stepped forward and kissed Phil’s cheek, for real this time, right at the reddest part. He snuck a playful squeeze of Phil’s ass in there too, and Phil giggled and stepped closer to him. He seemed affectionate, more than usual, and Dan was feeling more affectionate than usual, and nothing was going to get done at this rate.
“I’m gonna go get changed into pajamas,” Dan said, taking a step back and yawning. He was after the ultimate blissful relaxation, which simply could not be done in fashionable clothing. “See you in a few?”
A few minutes later, now clad in fuzzy socks and sweatpants and a wide-necked tee, Dan was pretty sure he was in actual heaven. They reheated the bao buns in the microwave for about fifteen seconds, and they were just about the perfect temperature. His decaf was warm and easing away his chill delightfully, and of course, there was Phil. Phil, tucked against his side as Dan navigated the TV menu, soft and much warmer now that he had some hot coffee in his system. He was definitely getting crumbs all over the sofa with his crunching, but Dan couldn’t even bring himself to care.
This was, in many ways, what he’d spent his life working toward. Just being able to relax in a home that he owned on a comfortable sofa, watching TV he liked and eating good food, warm and safe with the person he loved. And it was normal now, just something he did on a regular basis, and in moments like these Dan was in awe of how he could ever be depressed. He knew it would return, inevitably, as it always did, but for now, he was content. More than content, happy. That was a word Dan sometimes had a difficult time identifying with, regarding his general attitude rather than just a temporary emotion in fleeting moments. Dan let himself sit with it, as he started the show and leaned back to put an arm around Phil. Dan was happy.
“Hey,” Phil said, about fifteen minutes into the episode. He poked Dan’s thigh with one finger.
“Ow,” Dan said, though it didn’t really hurt at all. He was still looking at the TV, now invested in the argument two of the crewmates were having, but turned to look at Phil when Phil poked him again.
“Thank you,” Phil said, very sincerely. Dan felt something emotional rise in his throat as well as the instant urge to deflect whatever that was with a joke, but he was tired and relaxed and couldn’t think of anything good.
“For what?” Dan asked. He meant it to come out a little teasing, but the effect was ruined when he yawned, more tired than he’d realized.
“For the doughnut-y things,” Phil said, holding up one of the bao buns and taking a bite. A bit of white chocolate smeared across his lower lip, so Dan reached out to wipe it off with his thumb.
“They’re deep-fried lotus biscoff bao buns,” Dan corrected, because he’d spent a few minutes trying to find the exact right ones. Phil kind of nodded and shrugged at the same time, so that both motions seemed a bit half-formed and awkward. Dan loved him.
“Thank you for the deep-fried biscoff lotus buns,” Phil said, and Dan didn’t correct him this time. He just shrugged.
“Took like, two seconds to order, mate. And I wasn’t entirely selfless, I got ‘em ‘cause I knew you’d share with me,” Dan said. He did appreciate the acknowledgment, of course, but really, he’d just pressed a button to get them delivered. Compared to the fact that he would do nearly anything for Phil, this seemed like nothing.
“But you didn’t have to. You got them ‘cause you knew I liked them,” Phil said confidently. He smiled to himself and laid his head where Dan’s chest met his shoulder. “I feel so pampered, having a hot man buy me desserts.”
“Alright, princess,” Dan said with a laugh, squeezing Phil’s side lightly. “Is there anything else I can do for your majesty? Perhaps a foot massage?”
“No, I think this right now is rather perfect,” Phil said with a shake of his head. That was good, because under no circumstances was Dan actually giving Phil a foot massage. Phil let out a happy little sigh and cuddled further into Dan’s side. “It was a bit sexy, you know, you knowing exactly what I’d want and getting them for me.”
“Ah, you know, I thought it’d make a more satisfying end to the video than the cheese plate,” Dan said, shrugging with just his shoulder that Phil wasn’t currently leaning against. He’d been told he sometimes had trouble taking compliments.
“It did,” Phil agreed, “and it was also sexy. I wanted to kiss you right there, but I didn’t because I’m a professional.”
It was a bit ironic that they still cared about professionalism when their profession so often involved them talking about piss, but Dan understood. He smirked. “I’m forgiven for the cheese, then?”
“I didn’t care about the cheese, I was just playing it up for the camera,” Phil replied. He shifted slightly and turned his head so he was looking up at Dan’s face, and Dan felt his smile soften. Phil was just so pretty. “There’s no camera now, though…”
Dan hummed his agreement and looked back up at the TV, suppressing a laugh when Phil made a wordless noise of annoyance. Dan raised his eyebrows. “What? Do you want something?”
“Oh my god,” Phil huffed, and Dan didn’t make him wait any longer before leaning down to kiss him. He could taste the white chocolate on Phil’s mouth, which was a little gross if he thought about it too hard, but really nice if he only thought about it a little. He slipped one hand down to Phil’s waist to steady him, and felt Phil’s fingertips come to rest gently on his jaw. It wasn’t a particularly heated kiss, Dan was sure they were both a little too tired for that, but it was sweet and lazy and comfortable and perfect.
Phil pulled back suddenly and looked at the TV, his brow knitted together. “Wait, what did he just say?”
Dan followed suit and turned to look at the screen, listening to about two lines of conversation before his jaw dropped open in something between horror and amusement. “How the fuck did we get here?”
“I don’t know!” Phil said, laughing as he reached over Dan to grab the remote. “I’m going to rewind that, because we surely missed something crucial. No distracting me this time.”
“You were the one who distracted both of us!” Dan protested, and Phil just giggled as he rewound the episode back a couple minutes before leaning back into Dan’s space. Dan draped an arm around Phil’s shoulders and took the last bao bun from the box, and couldn’t stop smiling for the rest of the night.