By: larry_hystereks on ao3
Word count: 2,407
Summary: "i walked into this restaurant and you thought i was your blind date and i just kind of went with it because i don't want to eat alone"
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or in which dan is a poor uni student and phil wrongly thinks he's his blind date.
Dan wanted to slam his head against the table in frustration and exhaustion. He was sure he was 10 seconds away from actually bursting into tears.
He'd been studying for this moronic exam for his stupid law class and he still barely understood anything. Information was going in but none of it was sticking and it was driving Dan absolutely mental. His brain was completely useless and there was no way in hell he was going to pass this exam, probably not even the class.
He threw his pen on his desk and groaned, leaning both his elbows on the table, burying his face into his hands.
He was never going to fucking graduate.
His stomach growled and he sighed. Maybe a snack break would help.
He stood up and walked over to the mini fridge in his tiny dorm room, looking inside.
Three energy drinks, half a bottle of his roommates vodka, a vanilla pudding cup, and three day old chinese food that definitely should not be consumed by any living creature.
He checked his phone for the time and he frowned. It was prime hour for dinner time, which meant the dining hall would be packed with students. He really didn't want to spend an hour shuffling around the confines of the dining hall trying to get something to eat, and then worse, trying to find a place to sit.
His stomach growled again and he contemplated eating the chinese food. It couldn't be that bad, right?
He shook his head.
No, Dan, you're a fucking adult now, he told himself.
He pulled off his sweatpants and slid on a pair of black skinnies, slinging a dark blue jumper over his grossly stained t-shirt. He really needed to do his fucking laundry more than once a month.
He grabbed his wallet along with his dorm key and he began walking away from his school's tiny campus and towards town, hoping to find something that wasn't too expensive.
Dan was only walking for ten minutes when a small japanese restaurant caught his attention.
Well, what caught his attention was the sign on the door saying half priced sushi for students, but that's besides the point.
Dan walked into the tiny restaurant, the decor mostly consisting of softly lit illuminating red flowers covering the black interior. He realized quickly this restaurant is way too fancy for him to be dining alone in, half priced sushi or not, and makes a move to turn around and leave.
"Wait!"
Dan frowns and turns, facing a man a bit older than him dressed in black jeans and a buttoned up shirt.
"I'm so glad you could make it," he says, confusing Dan even further. "I was starting to think you weren't going to show."
The man scratches the back of his head, cheeks turning a pretty red color.
"Um-" Dan starts.
"Oh!" The man cuts in. "I'm Phil. Sorry I assumed you knew already. I'm the guy Louise set you up on a blind date with."
The puzzle pieces fall together in Dan's head, and he bites his bottom lip, contemplating his next move.
On one hand, this guy, Phil, is attractive as hell. Dan hasn't been on a proper 'date' since his sophomore year of high school when he took Katie Herring to the movies and he kissed her and she cried. He could use a bloody date with another, very cute, consenting adult.
Dan also doesn't want to eat alone. He's starving and it could take him a good while to find another restaurant, so why not stay here and eat before he actually implodes?
But on the other hand, this is totally wrong and Phil thinks Dan is someone else.
Dan opens his mouth and closes it again.
"I'm sorry if this is awkward," Phil starts. "I've never done this either if it makes you feel any better."
"I haven't either, to be honest." Dan answers.
Phil's face contorts into a funny little smile and Dan can't help but smile back.
"Louise didn't mention your name?" Phil says.
"Oh! I'm, uh, I'm Dan."
"It's nice to meet you Dan," Phil replies, still smiling shyly. "Do you want to go take a seat, I had them set our table up already, if that's okay?"
Dan nods his head, unable to answer.
Phil shares a word with the hostess and she leads them to their table, Dan's heart hammering in his chest, his head on a repeat mantra of ABORT, ABORT, ABORT . He can't believe he's actually doing this, and he briefly wonders if it's too late to make a break for the door.
Phil pulls his chair out for Dan to sit and he stares at Phil, then at the chair, then back at Phil.
Oh screw it, he thinks. Who wants to eat alone like a complete loser anyway?
He sits down, thanking Phil, then thanking the hostess when she hands him the menu.
He opens the first page and his eyes go wide at the prices. He knows for a fact he can't afford this. Wonderful.
"Dan, get whatever you want. My treat."
"Oh, you don't have to-"
"This restaurant was my idea, remember?" Phil says, almost teasingly. Dan swallowing, because no, he most definitely does not remember.
Dan lets out a forced chuckle.
"You're quite the romantic, aren't you?" Dan says, eyes flicking from the candlelit table to Phil's eyes.
Phil shrugs.
"I haven't really been on a date in a while," Phil admits. "I wanted to make sure I got it right."
Dan's heart clenches in his chest and he wonders who the fuck Phil is and what planet of kindness and sunshine he descended from. He's only managing to make Dan feel like even more of an asshole.
"I haven't either." Dan says, which is the unfortunate truth.
They're interrupted by their waiter, asking what wine they'd like for the night.
Before Dan can even say he'll pass, Phil is picking out a name from the wine list.
Their waiter nods and leaves and Phil looks at Dan and frowns.
"Oh, I hope you like red I didn't even-"
"I do." Dan says, smiling reassuringly before Phil can continue.
Phil sighs in relief.
"Good, sorry, sometimes I can get a little carried away."
Dan waves him off.
"No need to apologize," Dan says. "I'd actually prefer if you'd order my dinner because I don't know what any of this stuff is."
Phil laughs, his tongue poking out from the corner of his mouth. Dan thinks it's the cutest thing he's ever seen, what the hell.
"You sure?" Phil asks. "What if I ordered you octopus brains?"
Dan shrugs with a smile. "I'm sure I've had worse."
Phil laughs again.
"Where?" He asks through laughter.
"University."
Phil shakes his head and then nods in agreement.
"Okay, you have a point," Phil says. "I promise not to order you octopus brains."
Dan smiles and the waiter returns, asking them if they're ready to order. Phil orders a few sushi rolls, all with ridiculous sounding names, before the waiter is gone again.
"So, Dan," Phil starts. "Tell me about yourself."
"What do you want to know?"
Phil shrugs. "Anything, where you work, grew up, favorite film, really doesn't matter."
"Well, I am still in university."
Phil scrunches his eyebrows together.
"Oh? You are, I thought Louise had said you graduated already."
Dan bites the inside of his cheek and laughs awkwardly.
"Uh, no, I'm uh, in my junior year studying law." Dan says. "That's not, um, a problem, is it?"
"No! Not at all! Just a surprise is all." Phil says quickly. "I graduated two years ago from York."
The waiter returns and pours the two of them each a glass of wine. Dan thanks him and takes a small sip.
"What are you doing now? That you've graduated?" Dan asks, setting down his wine.
"Film production," Phil answers. "Me and my friend PJ started our own company right after we graduated."
"Holy shit." Dan says before he can control himself.
Phil giggles. "Yeah, it's a bit crazy, but we're doing pretty well."
"That's incredible. What do you guys do?"
Phil takes a sip of his own drink and sets it down.
"Short films on YouTube mostly. But we did just sign a deal for an animated television show on a proper network."
Phil's grin is huge and Dan wants to cry at how wonderful that sounds. Dan's barely known him five seconds and already he thinks Phil deserves the world.
"So law?" Phil asks.
Dan shakes his head, unable to control the groan that escapes his lips.
"Law is one of the most frustrating things ever created. I have an exam next week that I've been studying for constantly and I still feel like I've barely retained anything."
Phil frowns.
"Maybe a break will do you good, help you focus better."
Dan smiles. "Yeah, maybe it will. Usually my breaks involve crying into cheetos and watching anime, but I must say this is much better."
Phil blushes and grins widely.
"You watch anime too?"
"What, uh, yeah?"
Their conversation breaks off into discussions about their favorite shows, current binges, ones that are sure to always make them cry.
It flows easy from there on, their food arriving, the two of them talking and eating, laughing constantly at each others poor attempts at jokes.
Dan learns all the ins and outs of Phil, how much he adores Christmas, how he wants to be a director or producer one day, his favorite movie, least favorite food, how much he wants an animal at his flat and how he hates himself for being allergic to cats.
They share a mutual love of Muse, and a handful of other bands, as well as an appreciation for superheros and Game of Thrones.
Dan thinks every time one of them mentions something they enjoy, the other person is quick to agree that they like it too. Dan's never had so much in common with a person before, it's a bit overwhelming. Exciting. But nonetheless overwhelming.
Phil's also the nicest person Dan's ever met, as well as the nerdiest person and Dan hates that this date is coming to an end because he feels like he could spend hours getting to know every bit of what makes 'Phil' Phil.
Dan also feels like a horrible, horrible, no good person for lying to such a lovely human being. If he could punch himself in the face, he would.
Dessert comes and that too is as delicious as their entire meal. Phil pays, like the true gentleman he is, making Dan's guilt worm it's way deeper into his stomach.
When their meal is all but finished and paid for Phil suggests walking Dan back to his dorm since it's such a nice night out.
They walk together, chatting as they go, Dan wanting to reach out and hold Phil's hand. Phil looks over at Dan, almost knowingly, before offering him a small smile.
"I really owe Louise for this one."
Dan quirks an eyebrow.
"Huh?"
"For setting up the date," Phil says. "Usually you hear how bad blind dates go, but speaking for myself of course, I think this one went pretty well."
Phil's smiling at Dan and he looks so fucking happy and genuine and Dan hates himself for lying so much that he can't stop the words from bubbling out of his mouth before it's too late.
"I don't know who Louise is."
Phil stops walking and frowns.
"What?"
"I'm not the person Louise set you up with, I've never even met her. I was just coming in for dinner."
"You're kidding, right?"
Dan feels his face go bright red but he can't stop the words from pouring past his lips.
"I'm not your blind date. I just agreed to have dinner with you because you were really cute and I didn't want to eat alone."
"Oh."
"Yeah, oh." Dan says. "I'm really sorry I lied to you, for what it's worth."
Phil blinks at him.
"Was everything you said," Phil starts slowly. "Was that a lie too?"
"No!" Dan replied quickly. "No, I'm not that fucked up. Everything I said was real, I promise."
Phil bites his bottom lip and Dan just stares at him, waiting to fill the silence.
"Well, I don't really see how this changes anything." Phil finally says.
"What?"
"I mean other than the fact that you're completely ridiculous of course."
It's Dan who blinks this time, brows furrowed in confusion.
"So does this mean...?"
"That I don't care that you lied as long as you don't do it again and I'd still like to go on another date with you?" Phil asks, to which Dan nods. "Yes, it does. Because blind date or not, I really like you."
"Oh, really? I, uh, wow, um, me too." Dan stutters.
Phil grins shyly, reaching out his hand to clasp Dan's in his.
"Yeah?"
Dan nods. "Yes, definitely, yes."
Phil leans over and presses a soft kiss to Dan's cheek, right there in the middle of the sidewalk, so gentle that Dan barely feels it, even though it's sending electric waves across his entire body.
Phil pulls away and Dan blushes, ducking his head.
Dan thinks he blushes the entire way back to his dorm, hand still wrapped tightly in Phil's. He knows he's still red when he and Phil exchange numbers.
"I had a lot of fun, Dan."
Dan nods. "Yeah, me too. Hopefully we can do this again soon?"
"Of course." Phil assures. "Oh, and Dan?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm really glad it was you that showed up and not whoever my date was supposed to be." Phil admits, making Dan grow three shades darker.
He lets go of one of Dan's hands and plays with the edge of Dan's jumper, leaning in.
"Are you one to kiss on the first date?" Dan asks.
Phil leans in further, Dan's back pressed flushed against his dorm door.
"I don't know," Phil teases with a smile. "Maybe not after a blind date. Seems a bit rushed."
"Well technically, I wasn't your blind date so..."
Phil hums and nods, smiling at Dan before leaning in to close the gap between their lips.
Dan sighs immediately into Phil's mouth, hand leaving his to tangle in his dark black hair.
"Best non-blind date ever." Phil mumbles against Dan's lips.
And Dan couldn't agree more.