SUPER RICH KIDS | PHAN

sixty seven.

dan. 

"you are absolutely useless."

dan grinned at phil from the couch, his feet kicked up on the arm. "yeah." 

phil rolled his eyes, setting the box he'd been holding down on the coffee table and raising his eyebrows. "why'd you even agree to help if you're just gonna sit there?"

dan smiled, sitting up straight and resting his elbows on his knees. "cause i know you can't go ten minutes without looking at me." 

phil grabbed a pillow from the couch and chucked it at him. dan's hands flew up to protect his face, laughing and letting the pillow bounce off and tumble to the ground. 

"phil!" sunny's voice came from down the stairs and phil's head whipped to face the sound. 

"yeah?"

"can one of you come down here please?"

phil turned back to him, cocking an eyebrow, a half-smile on his face. dan groaned and stood up, stretching his arms out behind his back. "alright, fine. i'll go." 

phil grabbed his sleeve and kissed his neck as he passed and dan dramatically pushed him away. 

"yeah, yeah. go away." 

phil beamed. "love you." 

dan let his face go pink as he ran down the stairs two at a time, tucking a curl behind his ear and biting his lip. 

sunny was standing beside nina at the base of the steps. his hand was on her shoulder and they were talking in soft voices. as dan got closer he could hear them more clearly: 

"are you sure i can stay here? i'm happy as a clam at the shelter, you boys don't have to do this for me..."

sunny smiled his signature smile at her, shaking his head. "that's ridiculous, nina. you can stay with me as long as you'd like, okay? i want you to get some real rest."

dan came to a stop and they turned to him. sunny beamed in his direction. 

"hey! could you help nina up the stairs really quick? there's some blankets i still need to get from the car."

dan nodded, turning to the woman. her face looked happy and relaxed, and dan realized she hadn't looked quite well for a long time. "of course."

"cool." sunny turned and walked off toward his car he'd been transporting things from the shelter in. dan held out his arm for nina and she took it carefully. 

"he is so sweet," she said happily, and dan nodded, amused. 

"slow down, he's taken."

nina batted his arm gently, her smile not dimming in the slightest. "oh shush."

dan laughed and started up the steps. nina wasn't anywhere as quick or able-bodied as she used to be, which made sense. she was old. and she'd lasted much longer than dan or katrina had expected, it was kind of incredible. it felt like some kind of gift from the universe that she hadn't gone in the same week that earl had. for that, dan was grateful. 

dan patiently helped her to the top, through the open front door. phil was lounging on the couch now, eating popcorn from a microwavable bag that dan had made when they'd started moving nina in. dan rolled his eyes at him. 

"i'm allowed to be lazy because i was homeless for a few years," he teased him. "what excuse do you have?"

phil threw a piece of popcorn at him. "don't patronize me." 

"phil, if i killed you here, i don't think either nina or sunny would say anything."

phil grinned. "it's so sexy when you threaten my life."

nina pulled away from dan and hobbled to the couch, taking a seat next to phil. both of them were watching her a bit nervously, and she glanced between them. 

"i'm not going to fall over dead," she told them, shifting to get comfortable. "i feel fine." 

"i know," dan said, and she gave him a look. "no, really, i know. you're kind of amazing like that."

she smiled at him warmly. "sweet boy. i just hope i stick around long enough to go to your wedding," she said, completely seriously. phil choked on his popcorn and dan glared at him. 

"y-yeah. me too, nina."

nina closed her eyes, swaying a bit as she thought. phil and dan shared a look and dan snorted softly. 

phil stood up, setting the bag down on the couch and approaching him. dan watched him curiously as he wrapped his arms around dan's waist and pulled him against him. 

"i love everything about what you are," he mumbled, reaching up to push some hair out of dan's eyes. dan frowned gently at him. 

"what d'you mean?" 

phil hummed softly. "i love everything that comes with you. i love how strong you are. i love how strong your friends are. i love who you are and everything that made you that person." 

dan searched his face, trying to keep back his joy. "who are you?"

"i'm your boyfriend," he muttered, his blue eyes gleaming. "nice to meet you."

dan slid his arms around phil's shoulders, kissing the corner of his mouth as lightly as possible. "i think you're my soulmate."

"i know you're mine." 

dan giggled and pulled him closer. he was so warm and his arms around his waist felt so comforting, like falling into bed after a long day. "that's so stupid and sappy."

phil shrugged, kissing his forehead and resting his mouth there. "that's okay sometimes."

"i guess." dan closed his eyes. 

"i'm still here," nina said quietly from the couch. her eyes were still closed. dan laughed and pulled back from phil. 

"sorry, nina."

"no, it's alright." she opened her eyes. "i was just thinking you two should be alone somewhere. spend some time together, you've been working hard."

dan nodded, flashing phil a smile, before walking over to her and kneeling in front of her. he took her hands and she looked at him, her eyes bright. 

"you're my favorite person in this world, nina. do you know that?"

it was what he should have said to earl. he should've told him constantly. 

her smile got wider. "i'm telling katrina."

"go ahead, she knows it."

nina reached out and touched dan's head gently. "he would be so proud of you, honey. he loved you so much."

dan took her hand and kissed the back of it. "he'd be proud of you too."

dan felt phil's hand on his shoulder and he glanced back at him. he stood up slowly and turned to him, cupping his face and kissing his lips gently. 

"lets go be alone, then."

phil nodded, smiling. 

"sounds good to me."