"Dad?" Winnie shook Phil's shoulder. "Dad?" She shook him harder, which caused him to jump up from being asleep.
He almost immediately sat up and cracked his back. Sleeping on the couch was much too uncomfortable for a man with his height. He could feel the soreness almost spreading up his neck and shoulders. He yawned, clearing his mind as he looked at the time. His eyes widened.
He looked at his daughter. Her blues eyes seemed dull and worried and her lips formed a persistent frown. Her skin seemed to be almost gray instead of the glowing brown it usually was.
"Oh my God!" He jumped up, quickly scrambling to get his phone and keys together. "You're going to be late for school if we don't leave!" He groaned. "Go wake up your-"
"They're already in the car, Dad," Winnie sighed. Phil looked up with a frown. He woke the kids up for school. He always woke them up. He woke up the family and then made them breakfast.
"Oh... ok..." He trailed off, confused. He knew Dan wouldn't be up. "Who woke them up?" He asked quietly as he followed Winnie out the door.
"I did." She shrugged. "I always set a backup alarm after that one morning you slept in and we missed." She grinned. Phil smiled and nodded, remembering the time.
"Thanks," He said to her. She nodded and hopped into the passenger seat.
She really was growing up. She was only fourteen, but Winnie was beginning to understand things. That made things easier to manage in their busy household. Altogether, there five people in it. Winnie, Dan, Phil and two younger boys, ten and five. Both full of energy, both amazingly stubborn and reckless.
Phil quickly got in the car and drove away. The car ride to school was usually filled with fun conversations, but Phil didn't feel in the mood to talk and the kids seemed to be in the same mood. Even his youngest son, Dylan, was watching the trees in the window pass by in a blur. Phil wanted to crack a joke about the silence but nobody seemed to be in a laughing mood.
After he dropped them all off, he went back home. He walked through the doors and folded up the blankets he used to sleep on. He decided to make breakfast for himself and decided against waking Dan up. He still wasn't in the mood to talk to Dan. They had gotten in a fight about whether or not they wanted to "come out" to Youtube. Dan was nervous to tell everyone about their life while Phil was finally ready for it to be open.
After that, their argument had escalated and then it was just one thing after the other, leading to Phil sleeping on the couch. Phil tried to ignore what was happening, but even this morning had been off. It was weird not being up and talking with Dan... or at least laying in bed with him.
This went on for a week. Nonstop fighting that wasn't just about YouTube anymore. It got to the point where either Dan or Phil wouldn't always eat with the rest of the family. Or when one of them was in the room, the other wasn't. It just kept escalating and escalating and Phil was so mad at Dan for dumb reasons he didn't want to come down from how high on anger they were. But, then, on the following day, when he took the kids to school he realized he needed to change.
"Daddy?" Dylan had asked when they were in the car. "Can I ask you a question?" He whispered. Phil frowned and glanced at him through the mirror.
"Of course, what's up?" He asked. He turned down the music so he could hear Dylan's quiet voice.
"Are you and Dad going to break up?" He said sadly. Phil slammed so hard on the breaks the whole car jolted forward.
"Dyl! I told you not to talk about that!" Winnie immediately cut in before Phil could even say anything.
"Yeah, it was our secret! Remember?!" Phil's other son, Evan, spoke loudly. Phil pulled over before they got in an accident and whipped around to face his sons.
"What is all this about?" Phil asked sternly.
"They were worried that you and dad were fighting too much. I told them not to worry but stupid Evan-"
"I'm not stupid!" He cut off Winnie, and they started to argue about him being stupid.
"Both of you! Stop!" Phil shouted. "What is all this about?" He asked again.
"As I was saying, they were worried about you and dad fighting. I said that things happen and people fight and all that, but then st-" Phil gave her a warning look. "But then Evan had to go and talk about a friend of his whose parents got divorced when they couldn't stop fighting and now Dylan's all freaking out that you're going to get a divorce." She turned around, crossing her arms.
"Of course we aren't going to break up," Phil said quietly to Dylan, who still looked scared. "I love your father more than anything in the world. Well, after you guys of course." Phil grinned as Dylan laughed. "We're just in a fight right now," Phil explained.
Phil dropped the kids off, but what they said was still on his mind. He knew he and Dan were fighting pretty bad and the kids were starting to notice, but he didn't think it was that bad. They thought... no that was just awful.
He drove straight home and quickly took off his coat and dropped off his keys. The flat was quiet, meaning that Dan was probably sleeping. He had time. He quickly started to get ingredients out of the cabinets, working on making a large breakfast for him and Dan. Once it was done, we walked into their shared room, a place that he hadn't been for a week.
"Dan?" He whispered a few times. It took a few tries, but Dan sat up with a groan. He frowned, but before he could speak, Phil walked out the door. "Come on!" He grinned.
Dan reluctantly walked down the hallway. He didn't know what to expect. He and Phil sadly haven't talked about anything nice in a week. Well, other than fake nice for their kids. When he walked out into the kitchen, he was surprised to see everything that sat out, especially because Phil hated cooking.
"What is all of this?" He could feel his frown start to fade.
"Breakfast." Phil grinned. "Sit! Eat!" Phil said eagerly. He sat down across from Dan and started to dig into his own meal. Dan took his time, not exactly understanding what was going on. He wanted to ask Phil about it, but Phil seemed to be in a good mood. He couldn't take that smile off his face.
Once it was done, Phil took the dishes and started to wash them, Dan helping, also. They still didn't speak, they sat in comfortable silence. Quiet music played on Dan's phone. Once they were done, Dan leaned against the counter and took a long look at Phil, still not understanding what was going on.
Phil started to tear up as he looked at Dan, but when he looked down at his feet he started to smile. "What?" Dan asked gently. He walked over to Phil and started to tear up, too.
Phil didn't answer, he just held Dan's face and pulled Dan's lips to his. Dan was stunned as Phil's lips brushed his, but after a few seconds, he threw himself into it. Phil sighed with relief against Dan's lips and then let his hands fall to Dan's torso. Dan brought his arms around Phil's shoulders, his fingers starting to twist and curl at Phil's nape.
Phil's mouth moved from Dan's lips and lay gentle kisses down Dan's neck. Dan sighed and leaned into the kisses while at the same time, tilting his head so Phil could leave more. Phil didn't escalate it, no biting or sucking or having any lust-filled action, just sweet and gentle kisses. Once he got to Dan's shoulder, where his shirt started and skin ended, he gave him one more kiss and then stopped.
"I miss you." Dan could feel tears prick his eyes as Phil tightened his grip around Dan's torso and pulled him close. Dan rested his head on Phil's shoulder and nuzzled into his neck.
"God, I miss you, too," Dan whispered. His throat felt tight. "We really have to end this stupid fight because I can barely sleep without you." Dan sighed as Phil pulled away.
"Dylan and Evan are worried that we're getting a divorce." Phil laughed sadly at the baffled look on Dan's face. "I'm pretty sure that Winnie is worried, too." Dan groaned and hit his head back lightly on the cabinets.
Suddenly, Dan's heart just about dropped down into his stomach. "We would never..." His breath hitched, he felt like the air was pushed out of his lungs.
Phil looked up so quickly, he felt like he got whiplash. He couldn't believe it. Dan was worried. Actually worried. Thinking about the fact that there was a chance that Phil didn't want to be with him anymore. That was it, Phil didn't care anymore. That doubt that Dan was having wasn't worth any winning of arguments.
"No," Phil whispered. The tears in his eyes matched Dan's. "Dan... I would..." Phil shook his head. "I would never. You are... the love of my life." Phil walked back to Dan and gripped his hands tightly. "Dan if you left me... I don't know what I'd do." Phil breathed. Dan teared up a little more as he leaned in a left a long kiss on Phil's lips.
"I don't know either." Dan sighed happily. So, they sat down and had a long, long talk. There was a little arguing, but every time they did, they thought about divorce and they tried to understand the other person.
By the end of the day, they weren't fighting they just felt overwhelmingly happy. They agreed to come out to YouTube and couldn't wait to tell their kids. They couldn't stop kissing and laughing and telling each other how much they loved each other. When Dan left to pick up the kids, Phil went with him just like they used to.
They picked up Winnie first and although she never said anything, Phil could tell that she was happy they made up. Evan and Dylan were definitely happy because the second they walked in they made sure to say, "You guys aren't breaking up?!"
"Of course not!" Phil grinned. "Your dad wouldn't make it without me," He teased. Dan rolled his eyes, but there was a large grin on his face. When they pulled into the driveway, the kids all hopped out of the car with smiles on their faces.
Before Phil could open the door to get out, Dan stopped him by pulling his face to his. Giving him a long and passionate kiss. "I wouldn't, you know. Make it without you," Dan whispered. He gave Phil a serious look.
"Yeah, well," Phil gave him another peck on the lips as he opened the door, "you'll never have to be without me."
———————————
Thank you Poisoned_Honey for the idea of this chapter.