By: neeks on ao3
Word count: 1,009
Summary: For most people, proposing is usually the happiest day in their lives, flashy and romantic. Dan and Phil see it a bit differently.
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I.
They've always been an unconventional couple. Starting by the fact they have millions of viewers following them around and trying to figure out if they're friends, boyfriends, husbands or something in between — and they don't hate it. In fact, they've taken it upon themselves to make them question their relationship status even more; a book, a tour, some love songs on playlists here and there. The way they met was also quite odd, with Dan going from a fan to someone Phil would easily call his soulmate.
So the way they get engaged (for the first time) isn't anywhere close to normal.
There's no sneaky strolls to jewelleries or stealing rings to measure them. In fact, there isn't an engagement ring at all; it's just Dan, Phil, and Mount Fuji in all its glory — except it's barely visible from where they are because of the grey clouds hiding it. Dan toys with the hem of his shirt for a while, a quirky tick Phil thinks is kind of cute. (Better than his own gross habit of biting his nails, at least. Dan has always been better with coping methods.) He's got a bottle of Mount Fuji air that cost him ¥800 in his other hand.
Phil pulls his phone out and takes a candid picture of Dan, which he doesn't plan to show him anytime soon. He's halfway through hiding any evidence of the photo being taken when Dan turns around and asks,
"Will you marry me?"
He laughs at first, then stops when he realises Dan is frowning. So it isn't a joke, then. However if it isn't, where's the kneeling and the expensive ring in a velvet box? Phil isn't a conservative, but he is a hopeless romantic deep down, and it all feels a bit like a prank. But Dan isn't the kind of person to pull that, especially not when they're on a dream vacation.
"I'm serious. Let's get married. God, just-" he breathes in. "Look at this place! It's so beautiful and yet I feel like the only thing I care about is you. That's love, isn't it? We should get married and move out and adopt a shibe like the one we saw earlier."
It's tacky and sudden but Phil can't help grabbing Dan's hand and smiling at him. "Of course I will, Dan." He says and squeezes Dan's hand. Maybe Phil's overthinking, but he feels like the jet lag isn't nearly as bad as it was before.
II.
The second time isn't during a dream vacation and there's no iconic monuments covered by clouds behind them, but it's when they've just gotten the green light for their book. It's done, and it's going to get published, and all they have to do is work out some small details. The editor looks pleased with their last draft, and Dan is so filled with joy Phil can't help beaming, too.
"Marry me?" Dan asks, just as casually as he had months ago in Japan. No flashy ceremony, no engagement ring, no Philip Michael Lester, will you marry me?
Phil knows better than to laugh and nods. "What makes you ask it? Right now?"
Dan smiles. "They say you should, during your life, plant a tree, write a book and have a child," he explains and bites his lip, like he's thinking how to perfectly phrase what he's about to say — he's always been a perfectionist. "The tree part was covered by my shitty elementary school science classes, I think. And, I'm now two thirds done."
"I wonder if you'd like to go for all three someday," Phil muses. "You know, like, have a child. The two of us. Move out, adopt. Maybe when we're older and settled down after this whole book and tour ordeal."
He giggles. "If you want to," Dan answers. "Wouldn't want it with anyone else, though," and they fall into a peaceful silence. Phil lightly caresses Dan's hand with the pad of his thumb, listening to his soft breathing. After a while, Phil speaks up.
"Yes," says Phil.
"What do you mean, yes?"
"Yes, I will marry you." The grin on Dan's face makes every second of the last six years completely worth it.
III.
Going on tour was absolutely insane. It was stressful and exhausting at times, but meeting their viewers and getting to see their faces on the London Palladium is a dream come true. Twenty year old Dan, with his crises and uni dropout letter, wouldn't even dream of being here someday, and it makes Phil's heart tight with pride.
They sit in a corner and watch as people walk around their party, order their themed drinks and come up to them, say a couple encouraging sentences — "congratulations on the tour, it was amazing!" — then awkwardly dance to a playlist Phil made up on the spot, when Dan told him that a party with no music sounds way too silent.
The both of them are lying too close in a sofa meant for three people, but it's not like that's a weird sight for anyone in this party. Dan rests his head on Phil's shoulder, still a bit breathless from realising the UK tour is over, but that there's so much more to come. Viewers from the entire world are waiting for them, replying to their tweets in all caps about coming to a country, and he didn't ever think that spamming someone he was a rabid fan of would get him there.
This time, Dan isn't the one proposing. "Dan, will you marry me?" Phil asks after he's finished his second (and last) dose of his own themed drink.
Dan looks a bit taken aback. After all, he's always been the one proposing, not the one saying a breathy "yes, I will marry you". But he doesn't even need to say anything; just looking around and taking in that this entire party is celebrating their success together is more than enough. And they smile at each other like they're the only people in the world.