it started like this (phan)

confide

A/N
Lmao ok here we go I'm bad at writing but this will have more context soon. If you haven't noticed yet this is set in the beginning of ii era.

The next morning, phil woke up to dan's blissful, sleeping figure next to him. It wasn't all a dream. They were in Milton Keynes now and had pushed their 2 single beds in order to stay close and talk more about the future. After ii. Were they gonna go home? Was it too early to tell their parents? But the nagging thoughts seemed less painful to think of now everything he needed was in his arms.

Dan woke up to the sweet smell of pancakes filling the hotel room and the sizzling of sausages on the fryer. All of a sudden, phil appeared round the corner, still In his checkered pyjamas.

"Mornin'." He yawned comfortingly as he pushed the covers away from him. Phil grinned warmly and slung his hand over his neck.
"Morning" he chuckled softly, reaching for a shirt from his suitcase.

"Soooo" dan said, gesturing for phil to sit down next to him.
"Milton Keynes huh?"
"Yeah. Milton Keynes." Phil grinned, collapsing next to him.
They both kept eye contact for a few seconds, savouring the moment of the early morning silence.

"Your eyes" dan whispered
"What?"
"I said your eyes"
"You're going crazy dan Howell"
"No no hear me out here" he laughed madly.
"They're not just blue"
"Next thing you're gonna say pigs fly"
"They're yellow. And red. And turquoise. It's hard to not notice. And it's pretty breathtaking."
"Shut up" phil giggled as he pushed dan away playfully from the chest.
"Come on. Let's get ready."

Both boys got up from the single beds as dan continued to the bathroom and phil stumbled to the kitchen area.

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

"We have the whole day to ourselves you know." Dan smirked, shimmying to Phil's side and giving him a shoulder push. They were walking side by side down the hallway of their reception.
"Oh I uh... problem is... my parents have arranged to come round and meet us today. We kinda organised it before.."
"Oh."
"Yeah. Oh."
"But that's fine, why don't we all do something together?" Dan smiled.
"Well I was thinking we could... I mean if you're comfortable with it... tell them."
Dan inhaled sharply and intertwined his fingers with Phil's.

"That's a good Idea." He finally sighed, earning a shocked look.
"Are you sure? I don't want to seem like we are-""
"No, no. We should say something. There is no point keeping it a secret."
"Keeping a secret, hey?"
They both knew that they were thinking the same thing.
"Well. We will just let be what it is."

When Phils parents arrived outside of the hotel, dan gave them a goofy wave and grin. The two stepped out of the car and embraced them with open arms.
"Oh you both look wonderful! Are you excited for tonight?" Karen cooed, taking Dans face and inspecting it comically.
"Come on, fess up, what's got you looking so healthy since I last saw you? You're practically glowing today!"
Dan blushed slightly and glanced over at phil.
"So where are we off to today?" He smiled.
"Well according to my text this morning we are gonna go out of town for a bit. It's only 8, lets all go inside and have a cup of tea."
"Our room is... kind of a mess." Phil admitted.
"Besides, there is no where to sit down other than the bed"
The four glanced at one another for a moment, trying to figure out what to do.
"Well... we just drove past a pretty nice cafe on our way here. How about we go there?"
"Sounds great" dan interrupted, heading towards the car with the two. Phil followed suit and got in the back with dan. Neither wanted to sit too close, feeling too self conscious of his parents' stares. But throughout the short 5 minute ride they both managed to slip in some conflicted eye contact, both knowing how equally worried they were.

As they parked outside the retro cafe, dan was practically rushed out of the back seat. The small talk was getting agonisingly painful to bear and his anxious thoughts sent him in a hurry to get some fresh air. As the couple walked through the entrance, phil whispered lightly into Dans ear
"I'm gonna tell them now."
"Are you sure?" Dan said, brushing his fingers lightly.
"I'm sure."
And that was that. The two followed through and sat down amongst the indie music and playful chatter.

Just after they all ordered a drink of some sort, phil took the comfortable silence as an opening for a new conversation.
"Hey mum, can I speak to you outside?"
"Of course honey. I'll... I'll be right back. Come on."
Katherine had a pasty look on her face, dreading the anticipation as they stepped outside. Dan bit his nails nervously and smiled back at Phil's Dad.

"So what's up honey?" She smiled meekly, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Is it tour nerves? Because I'm sure you and dan a-"
"No mom actually... it's a bit more complicated than that."
Kath's eyes widened with shock, but she said nothing. Phil sighed heavily and tried his best to smile.
"It's not bad. I think. Well the thing is me and dan... we want to try again."
"Try...?"
"Yes."
She remained silent for a second, trying to hide her obvious worry.
"It's better now."
"I will support you all the way, I just. It's been six years since last time and I don't want you two to ruin something special" she frowned, and phil knew that she meant well.
"I promise. We spoke about it yesterday and we want to do this. And I don't want to lie this time"
"Then I'm proud of you for being so brave and know I'm here for you."
She pulled him into a tight hug and smiled reassuringly.
"Now come on, your coffee is waiting."

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

It was needless to say that the coffee morning and day in town was slightly more awkward now that Kath was constantly winking at dan and finding any possible way to keep them side by side.

After the 4 all said their goodbyes to each other dan grasped Phils hand and led him up to their hotel room.
"Come on. We need to get ready for our show" he giggled contently.
"Oh my god. I completely forgot!" Phil cried, running ahead of dan with the key grasped in his hand.
"I'm joking. Remember? We have a day off. The tour isn't until tomorrow."
Phil halted in his steps and started laughing hysterically at his own forgetfulness.
"I hate you so much"
"You know you don't"
"Shut up"

They both stumbled through the door in pits of laughter and collapsed on their two beds.
"What do you wanna do now? it's..."
Phil checked the clock on his phone.
"It's 10pm. I'd give it a few hours before I get tired."
Dan smiled and threw himself next to Phil.
"How about we watch a movie and just chill out for a bit ?"
"I couldn't have said it better" phil grinned, jumping off the bed and collecting every blanket possible whilst dan scrolled through every section of Netflix.
"What genre?" He called loud enough for phil to hear in the kitchen.
"I'm not feeling very action-movie today. Something funny but not too hard to keep up with" he called back
"Wow. You have such low standards" he said, snorting as he looked up "comedy romance" movies.

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

One takeaway and 2 movies later, dan was intertwined with phil under 3 heavy blankets, the computer balancing on their knees. Dan was slowly giving in to his sleep and momentarily closing his eyes.
"Are you tired?" Phil soothed, rubbing his shoulder and tracing the freckles that dotted near.
"Yeah m'gonna sleep" he groaned, setting his head lower into Phil's chest and wrapping his arms around his upper waist.

Phil carefully closed the laptop and dropped it onto the floor, leaving the room in complete darkness. A few distant cars drove by, but phil focused constantly on Dans slow breathing, the way his hair twitched in the midnight breeze. His cheeks were pressed firmly against his stomach and an occasional soft snore sneaked out of his silent sleep.

Phil couldn't  tell how long he was doing this for, listening to dan and the lively streets. But as he did so he couldn't help but think how lucky he was to have him in his arms right now. And how he would never let go again.