SUPER RICH KIDS | PHAN

forty five.

dan

dan watched him, his eyes traveling over the stupid smile on his face as they walked. phil kicked at a pebble on the sidewalk and dan's heart skipped in time with its hops.

dan sighed and took phil's hand. phil looked up, turning to him curiously.

"thank you," dan mumbled, watching his feet.

when phil spoke, dan was surprised to hear him a bit miffed in tone. "for what?"

dan looked at him again. phil's smile was gone but he didn't look angry, necessarily. he looked a little sad.

"just for... i don't know, humoring me. talking to my friends."

phil sighed and nodded, his gaze dropping. dan reached out and grabbed his chin to keep him from looking away.

"what's wrong?"

phil shrugged. phil's hand was warm and steady in dan's and it made him feel a bit better about this exchange.

"i don't know. i wish people thought i was nice."

dan blinked in surprise. "you do?"

phil frowned. "what do you mean? you didn't know that?"

dan shook his head. he ducked under phil's arm so it rested over his shoulders, their fingers still intertwined. "yeah. it always seemed like you didn't care that much."

the streetlights cast a yellow glow over phil's features. phil pulled him closer.

"of course i care," he muttered. "i just never wanted to be the villain in a cartoon. you know?"

dan thought. "die?"

phil laughed, shaking his head. the sound vibrated in dan's head. "i never wanted to be the grumpy one who decides to change his ways at the end. it's cheesy, and everyone pities that guy."

dan took a slow breath, thinking about his words. "but you want to change?"

phil sighed. "not necessarily," he replied quietly. "i just wish people thought i was a good person to begin with."

dan leaned closer to him in the cold. "i think you're a good person."

phil scoffed. "no, you don't."

"i do!" dan looked up at him, frowning. "you don't always act like it, but it's pretty obvious if you pay attention. like how you acted today, even though i know it was a new situation."

phil shook his head. "i didn't do that because i'm a good person, dan. i did that so you'd stop looking at me like i was gonna explode on all of them."

"but that's the thing." dan ducked back out from under his arm so he could walk backwards in front of him, holding both of his cold hands. "when i met you, do you think you would've done that? in that very situation, do you think you would've taken that path? you wouldn't have, you would've left before anyone even got the chance to talk to you, you would've called them names or at least glared. maybe you were trying to prove me wrong, but that's so much better than what you could've done. you were willing to do that to prove me wrong, and you did."

phil watched him, his eyes a deep sort of blue. "dan..."

"i'm not finished," dan interrupted softly. "i have no doubt in my mind you were a good person back then, phil. it was just buried deeper. it doesn't make you a cartoon villain to dig for it a little, it makes you more human than ever. and no one will pity you, they'll see you've just been gone for a while, but you're back now. they'll understand if you let them."

he played with phil's fingers, trying to warm him up.

"it's not about who you think you are. it's about the choices you make. you don't have to try really hard, necessarily, you just have to quietly make the right decision, and the rest will work itself out. does that make sense...?"

phil nodded, still staring at him. dan smiled.

"good."

phil pushed his hands up dan's sleeves, thumbing gently at his wrists in a way that made dan feel kind of weak. "you're something else, you know that?"

dan laughed and slowed down a bit so he was closer to him. "you're something else, too."

phil stopped walking so dan fell still too, and phil pulled his hands out of dan's sleeves to rest them on his waist. dan looked at him, watching his face.

phil sighed and slid his hands back to wrap his arms around him, pulling him close. it was cold outside but dan didn't feel it. warmth crashed over him in waves.

"do you think we'll make it?"

dan could feel phil's breath against his neck and it made him want to fall apart.

"what d'you mean?" he whispered back, his heart racing. phil sighed and his nose nudged dan's skin as he moved.

"like, do you think we have a chance?"

something coiled in dan's gut but he ignored it. he felt like he had bathed in adrenaline. "yeah. of course." his voice came out breathless, he couldn't help it. phil paused.

"my parents..."

dan winced. if he and phil were ever... anything... that would definitely be an obstacle. he sighed.

"i'll do what i have to," dan mumbled finally. "i'll dress up, or whatever. i'll eat so many fuckin' dinners with them."

phil laughed and pulled back to look at him, kissing his nose. what they were saying wasn't in any way official; in fact, neither of them had even said it.

but dan still hoped they did have a chance.

"do they like me?" he asked, sliding his arms around phil's neck. phil hummed.

"i think so... they're just... complicated."

dan nodded in understanding, resting his head against phil's shoulder. "okay."

phil was quiet for a long moment. it seemed like neither of them wanted to leave. dan certainly didn't. he just wanted to stand here with him a little longer.

"do you want to live with me?" phil asked finally, and dan's heart skipped a beat.

"what?" he breathed. phil made a soft humming sound.

"yeah," he whispered back. "you could live with me. in my apartment. you don't have to stay in that shelter anymore, it's so stuffy."

dan opened his mouth, and closed it again. he felt guilty for wanting that, desperately. he thought about having a real bed to sleep in and waking up near phil, a hot shower every morning... god, it was painfully tempting. but then he thought about katrina, and nina... could he leave them like that? he already felt like he'd ditched them enough.

it was like phil could read his mind and he pulled back after gently kissing his forehead, brushing off dan's shoulder absentmindedly. he smiled at him.

"just think about it."

he walked around him, continuing toward the shelter. after a second dan followed, because it actually was cold when phil wasn't touching him and he couldn't stand still any longer.