Work Text:
euphoria-n. a feeling of well being
Phil’s bright eyes tiredly opened, and as soon as they did, he knew he was in for defeat. He just knew he wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep. It was too damn stuffy in his room, and he’d dozed off with the window closed. He glanced at the clock. 23:37. How terribly early it had been for anyone to have fallen asleep, but he was tired after extra hours of work, to be fair.
Well, he was awake now. Phil stood and clambered over to his window, wrestling with it for a moment to get it open. A pleasant summer breeze washed over his face when he did, and he breathed it in eagerly. This blew some of his dark, blocky hair from his face. It was too nice of a night, and his room was too unpleasant anyways, so he figured he could sit outside for a while.
Phil grabbed a light sweatshirt and shrugged it on, then slowly but surely eased out of his window, onto the small landing of his roof. He tip-toed across to his garage and leaped over, collapsing onto his back rather harshly. His head smacked against the rough texture of the roof and caused a loud sound of collision.
It was amazing outside. The air was a fine cool temperature, smelling of that indecipherable summer night scent mixed with that of a recently extinguished bonfire. The stars seemed to shine especially bright. It was so quiet, so peaceful, so golden-until a voice spoke up, that is.
“Well hello.” Phil nearly jumped out of his skin at the noise. He looked to his right for the source, and there was he was. A boy on the roof next to his who must have been around Phil’s age. He had messy brown hair, a shirt that seemed to sparkle slightly even in the starlight, and currently, a relaxed smile. His eyes were closed. He looked very content. Almost at one.
“Hi,” Phil muttered back, his heart pounding, nearly disappointed that his calm night outing was being interrupted. Nearly.
"Is your head okay?" The boy asked with a touch of humor in his voice.
“What?" Phil sputtered and frowned with confusion. Quickly his face cleared. "Oh-yeah. Thanks."
“It’s such a lovely night, isn’t it? The stars are so pretty.” The other boy peeked an eye open, gazing lazily at Phil.
“Er-yeah, it’s really nice-they’re very pretty.” The boy, who was now staring at him, was alright himself-which could be a viable reason as to why Phil stuttered, “W-what’re you doing out here?”
“Well you see, I was out here first, plant boy. So I suppose I should be asking you.”
Phil stared back blankly, appreciating this other boy’s face in the moonlight-it seemed to illuminate-until he remembered he was expected to answer.
“Oh, well-I guess it’s such a lovely night as you said-far too lovely to be stuffed up in my room.” He sighed heavily.
The boy opposite him chuckled. He had dimples-dimples, for god’s sake-when he smiled really big. “And yet no one else wants to appreciate it.”
“Except you.” Phil wanted to congratulate himself for his quick-thinking. Maybe later, when he needed a reminder of his wonderful social skills.
The boy fell back and sighed happily. “Yeah.”
“Well, I told you why I’m out here, so what about you?” Phil rolled to his side and laid his head on his crossed arms, watching him closely.
“Wanted to see the stars,” the boy remarked joyously. He turned his head, simpering as he did so. “What’s your name, plant boy?”
“Phil. And that’s the second time you’ve called me that, what do you mean?”
“You have a picture of a cactus on your jacket, first of all. I took a wild guess.”
“Ah.” Phil giggled. “Alright, what’s your name-would I be correct in thinking you're a space kid?”
The boy joined in his giggling. “You would be correct. I’m Dan.” Suddenly Dan stopped giggling, but the gesture was replaced by an inquiring, pleasantly interested look. “How’d you guess, Phil?”
“You wanted to see the stars and you practically look like one yourself. Wild guess?” Phil teased.
Dan’s face flushed. “I like you, plant boy. That was cute, I'm honored.”
Suddenly it was Phil’s turn to go red. “So you’re pretty into space?”
“And you’re pretty into plants?”
Phil glared jokingly, shifting to hide the cactus defensively. “Hey, you should quit avoiding my questions, Dan.”
“More of a comeback.” Dan raised his eyebrows playfully. “Yeah I’m pretty ‘into’ space, I guess.”
“Yeah, it's lovely,” Phil said and looked at the stars for a moment, comparing them to Dan. "Any reason?"
“You want the deep reason first or the easy one?”
“Mm,” Phil hummed, “go deep, then easy on me.”
“Right.” Dan giggled a bit and sat up cross-legged, so Phil mimicked his actions. “It’s like, the moon and the stars are always there. Even when you can’t see them-although it’s more comforting when you can.” Dan gazed up at the sky, and suddenly an angel was sitting in front of Phil. “And it’s nice. Because, like, even if you’ve had the shittiest day and you feel like there’s nothing to look forward to, there is. Seeing the sky at night! And even if you can’t properly see it, you know it’s there. That’s never changing. See how that’s nice?”
Phil nodded. He did.
“It’s a constant. I like that. I don’t mind things changing-I like it! But it’s nice knowing that will stay the same.” Dan grinned. “And it’s always so tranquil, and like, this is the only time I actually feel like I’m a part of space. I mean obviously we really always are, but now I get to see it. And you wanna know the easy one?”
Phil nodded once more, a smile already on his face.
“Space is really pretty,” Dan sang out.
Phil laughed happily at that. He was in awe at how easily Dan opened up. It was fascinating really, his reasoning that is, and it almost made Phil feel unprepared for any sort of explanation on his behalf.
“Why’re you so ‘into’ plants?” Now Dan had his eyes locked on Phil, a smile on his face.
Phil smiled and took a deep breath. "They're just cute. And, people don't know, but like flowers have different meanings! It's fascinating to learn about different uses and meaning of them, and they're just aesthetic and calming to tend to."
"Very artsy," Dan remarked with a little smirk.
Phil rolled his eyes. “Honestly, I just get really excited when I see my plants have grown.”
Both boys chuckled for a few moments, until Dan relaxed.
“Well, I should probably get in. It’s past midnight.” He crawled to where he seemed to be preparing to drop to the ground. “See you around, plant boy.”
“Yeah-I should al-see ya.”
Phil quietly moved back into his room, eventually sleeping fairly comfortably.
The following morning, when Phil woke up, memories of the previous night came back. He grinned and hopped out of bed, finding his way to the kitchen to make cereal.
“Morning dear! You seem rather chirpy today.” Phil’s mum stood behind him with a questioning yet pleased look on her face.
“I am, mum.” He poured his milk into his bowl. “Good morning to you too.”
“Good morning, love.” She pulled his face down to kiss his cheek, to which he smiled. “I'm nearly late for work, love you, see you later."
“Love you too!” Phil said through a mouthful of cereal to her retreating back.
Phil decided that after work he should try to spice up his schedule a bit. After he finished eating and left his bowl in the sink, he took a quick, singing-filled shower and got dressed.
After a walk in even the simple morning sun, Phil had beads of sweat on his forehead, and he only walked to work because it was close. He had the privilege of working with a florist, a little old lady who had started her shop with her husband. Phil had dreams of doing so with a future spouse if he could find the money to start it. It was quite simple and surprisingly busy most of the time for such a small building. If Phil were to argue, he would say they had a wider variety of options and took care of their goods better than any other competition.
Only two kids worked there, helping the lady, Mrs. Norris, with tending to the things she cared about. It was Phil and a lovely younger girl named Dorothy. She was quiet and resigned most of the time, but Phil could see the same care in her touch that he felt in himself for the plants. Mrs. Norris was very kind and social with them, and very lenient with schedules. However, most of the time, Phil and Dorothy wanted to show up. Phil had been taught carefully over time different meanings of flowers and plants, and heard many endearing facts that Mrs. Norris had to share with him.
This day was just the same as any other. Phil mostly made sure the plants were hydrated and that there were no issues with any of them. Mrs. Norris came wobbling towards him with her cane, Dorothy following her with a tray of small pots. Phil told them about Dan without mentioning his name, and Mrs. Norris chuckled heartily, muttering, 'plant boy' as she listened, and Dorothy grinned.
"Sounds like you like him quite a bit?" Dorothy inquired, wiggling her eyebrows cheekily, sliding across the counter to meet him.
He shrugged a little, smiling and squinting a bit in the sunlight coming in through the windows, unable to fully see Dorothy's form. "Yeah, he seemed really nice anyways. Oh god, don't-don't be the friend that obsesses and-"
"I'm not the one obsessing," Dorothy laughed teasingly as Phil's cheeks flushed pink. "It's okay sweetie, I'll see you tomorrow." And with that she took her bag from the coat rack and slipped out the front door.
Plant boy, who was partially in love with his new nickname, soon left with a quick goodbye to Mrs. Norris, rushing to get home. Once he arrived on his block, his eyes quickly scanned the yards of any unfamiliar houses on the block, focusing mainly on his neighboring house to the right. He was looking to find any sign of Dan, who must have moved in just recently-there was no way he could have missed him all these years.
Because he couldn't find anything better to do alone, Phil returned to his usual routine. Play video games, browse the internet, listen to music loudly, tend to plants, get a snack-Phil had grown accustomed to this for when he was home alone-or alone in general.
Finally, after a day full of loneliness, his brother Martyn came home, ignoring him to collapse on the couch like a member of the undead. Phil harassed him endlessly, throwing pillows and small items his way, but Martyn didn't do anything but grunt. So, nothing happened until his parents came home, when they had a nice little dinner outside. Phil took in the smell of cooking outside until his mouth was watering with hunger.
They sat outside for a while and played cards together until about ten, when the parents wanted to head in.
Phil waited excitedly for his parents to go to bed. He couldn’t wait to see if Dan would be out on the roof again. Of course, there was no guarantee that he would be. But it was worth it to check.
So around 10:30, Phil snuck outside once again. Except this time, he did not see his starry friend. He figured he could wait a while.
Once it was past midnight, he returned to his room. He was sad that he didn’t see Dan again, but at least it was once again nice out, and the stars kept him company.
The next day he followed his previous schedule during the day, except for adding in a movie in the middle of the day. He tried to call a few friends, but most of them were busy or working. He got Chris’s voicemail, but Pj answered. Phil talked about his midnight meeting, and Peej’s attitude was, “He sounds interesting. Befriend.” Unfortunately, Pj had to go after about half an hour.
Well, so much for that. Once Pj had to hang up, Phil felt loneliness blooming inside of him. He really did need to try to make more friends.
He visited the roof again that night, and still didn’t see Dan. Once again, he tried waiting.
Tried. Phil’s eyes lulled open to the feeling of somebody shaking his shoulder. “Hey. Hey Phil? Wake up.”
Phil opened his eyes and saw the dark brown eyes of the person he’d been waiting to see. “Dan!” He rubbed his eyes and sat up. “Hi. Woah, what time is it?”
“It’s almost midnight.” Dan’s face was glowing with a smile as he leaned over Phil. “What, were you waiting for me?
“Actually, yeah, a little bit.”
Dan’s gaze fell to the surface beneath them as he tried to hide a blush. “Sorry, I had to go to camp during the day for the past week. And then me and my family stayed out late.” He stretched out beside Phil. “Well, I’m here now.”
A few nights later, both boys were out late laying on Phil’s garage-they'd been kept inside because of the heavy rain damaging their sitting space. They exchanged numbers, though they preferred the time they spent together at night. Both had an appreciation for the nature, the fresh air at night, and the overall peaceful aura when the outside was not full of traffic, children screaming, or generally other loud people noise.
“Phil, how old are you?” came Dan’s voice from Phil’s side.
“I’m eighteen. You?”
“Just turned eighteen last month.”
“Aw, I’m older than you!”
“Phil you’re literally...-”
“January 30th.”
“Like 5 months older than me.”
Phil laughed while Dan rolled his eyes at him.
“Do you plan on going to Uni, Phil?” Dan asked, and Phil looked up to see if he looked at uncomfortable as he sounded. He did.
“Yeah, I do.”
“Where are you going?”
“Manchester. They seem to have good programs.” Phil peered at Dan, who was nodding absentmindedly. “And you?”
“I’m supposed to go. My parents want me to go for law. And I don’t want to do that. Like hell I’m gonna do it. I’d rather…I dunno…”
“Let me guess,” Phil interrupted, grinning teasingly, “Astronomy?”
“Well…” Dan laughed nervously. “Doubt it. But I’d definitely prefer that over law.”
“You should do something else if you want to,” Phil encouraged.
“My parents are really insistent on this fantasy of me working for the law.” The fun spirit in Dan’s eyes seemed to be flickering.
“Just try talking to them about it. Maybe they’ll understand.”
Dan sunk to his side and sighed, “I doubt that.” He propped his head up on his arms, facing Phil. “They also want me to stick around here. But I wanted to explore. I said that I’d love to go to Manchester, too-I was accepted and everything,” he added with a little smile. “I just wish I could do what I wanted.”
“You should! And then we could still hang out.” Phil’s heart grew heavy as he realized a truth within his words. “I’d miss you if we didn’t get to talk.”
“I’d miss you too.” Dan reached out and touched his arm. “Don’t worry about it. Seriously, they’re allowing me to go.”
We'll be fine.
Phil’s heart stuttered as Dan's nimble fingers held him captive. He quickly nodded to hide his gasp. “G-good.”
Dan smiled and removed his hand, but Phil found himself wanting to take it back and hold it. He wanted to take his hand back and play with his fingers, kiss them and watch the boy blush, and damn it, he was falling.
After a moment of curiously gazing at Phil's face, Dan's eyes fluttered shut. "You work right?"
"Yep, a few days a week," Phil nodded, laying his head right across from Dan's, appreciating his gentle features.
Dan seemed to startle himself awake. "Where?"
"That little flower shop down the road, Norris's Florets. It's run by this really sweet lady-she's taught me so much about what I know," Phil said admirably.
Dan managed to peek an eye open for a moment. "That's very sweet Phil. Sounds perfect for you," he said, the words tumbling from his mouth.
When Dan's eyes closed again, Phil felt his own cheeks-they were rather warm. “Hey, Dan?” Phil prodded his arm tenderly, and his eyes reopened.
“Yeah?”
“Do you want to go back inside?”
Dan nodded slowly. “Yeah, I guess I’m pretty tired.” He yawned, covering his mouth sheepishly. “I had a rather busy day.”
“Well hey, before you do.” Phil eyed him as he sat and stretched a little.
Dan surveyed Phil with tired, smiling eyes. “Yeah?”
“You should talk to your parents. About your whole-er-law thing. See what they think.”
The younger smiled sleepily. “I-I will. I’ll try again. Thank you. Goodnight, Phil.” He awkwardly moved back to his room. Phil watched and waited for a few minutes, just staring at the beautiful night sky. His face lifted into a smile, remembering some of the first words Dan had ever said to him.
Later that week, Phil pulled himself out of bed for an early shift at work. As much as he hated waking up so early, he knew he wouldn't regret it-Mrs. Norris was like a kindly grandmother that he could never resent. Plus, hardly anyone came in in the morning. He slipped on a light sweatshirt for the chilly morning, got himself spruced up in the bathroom, and put coffee in a travel mug to truly wake up.
Phil grabbed his apron from the rack once he walked in and called out for Mrs. Norris, sitting in the spinny chair-despite the fact that he was far too tired for spinning. It felt like being a little kid again. Mrs. Norris soon came out, handing Phil a little paper plate with a cookie and some apples.
"I'm sorry Philly, didn't think you'd be in so early!" She said apologetically, slowly retrieving a watering can from below the counter. "How's your week been, cupcake?"
“Thank you!” Phil smiled, leaning back in his chair with the cookie to his mouth. "It's been quite an awesome week for me, I'd say," he said, recalling in his mind a sleepy Dan getting closer to him. "Has yours been good?"
Mrs. Norris smiled sweetly and nodded slowly. "Yes! It's been wonderful. Yesterday a handsome young chap came in asking about flowers and volunteering-quite the sweetheart, just like you. Just as tall, too."
Phil held onto the counter, slightly alarmed by her statement. Could it have possibly been Dan? Not every tall, handsome boy was Dan, even if he was the most. "Was it maybe the kid I told you about, D-Space Kid?"
"Well," she paused in her tracks on the way to a little cactus. "It could have been. I can’t recall whether or not he told me his name."
"Oh god," Phil groaned in his seat, wishing almost too much that Dan would walk through the doors at some point during his shift that day.
Once he was onto his apple, he stood to help around the store-which was still immensely lacking of customers at the time. As he and Mrs. Norris peacefully worked around each other, Phil found himself feeling slightly jealous. If by slim chance it was Dan that was the charming young lad Mrs. Norris was going on about, then she got to see Dan in the daylight before he ever got the chance.
The next day, Dan called Phil at around ten. Phil's heart quickened. Quickly, he smiled and answered.
“Hey you,” he answered cheerily, but the cheer quickly dissipated when he heard Dan on the other line.
“Hey Ph-Phil, um- could you come outs-side? Sorry it’s so early and-sorry I'm.” Clearly Dan was trying to sound calm, but he was crying.
“I’ll be out there in about thirty seconds.”
“Thanks.”
Phil closed his bedroom door and speedily went out to the roof. Dan was already out there. His eyes and nose were ringed with red, and his arms were wrapped tightly around his legs, holding him in. Once he saw Phil, a sad smile crossed his face and surprisingly tears came pouring from his eyes.
“Hey.”
“Hey, Dan.” Phil sat down next to the crying boy. “What’s up?”
Dan let out a shaky breath, seeming to prepare himself to talk. “W-well. I talked to my parents.” Phil closed his eyes. “They still want me to go to Uni for law.”
Phil frowned. “That’s a load of shit.”
Dan pinched his lips together and nodded. “Yeah.” After another breath, he explained. “They said that’s all they would pay for, and if I wanted to do something else, then I’d have to pay for it on my own. I can’t-afford that! I just can’t Phil.” His body started racking with sobs.
Phil hesitated to set an arm across Dan's shoulders. The latter buried his face in Phil’s shoulder, a hand reaching up and gripping his shirt. Phil held the boy close in his arms. He didn’t know that hearing someone cry could hurt him so, so bad, but hell- it could. They sat for a while, Dan crying and Phil keeping an arm around him.
“I’m sorry, I feel like an idiot.” Dan mumbled into Phil’s shoulder, his voice thick with emotion and tears. “I shouldn’t be crying this much.” He let out a short laugh as a few final tears slid down his face.
“Hey, don’t. This is a perfectly good reason to cry. It’s fine to cry.” Phil rubbed the boy’s shoulder. Why was he so rubbish at this?
“I-I know. I just, I don’t know what to do. I’d hate my life if I took law, I know it’s not what I want to do. I never have. My parents don’t seem to get that.”
“We’ll get there. Don’t worry. We have a lot of time to convince them before summer’s over.”
Dan finally removed his face from Phil. He looked up with a hopeful grin. And the fact that Phil had managed to make Dan smile, even a little, in this state, meant the world to him. "We?"
“Yes, we," Phil said, squeezing Dan's shoulder. "I promise I'll be with you for this."
Dan looked at him with such a strong feeling that Phil couldn't put a name on it. The boy smiled and laid his head on Phil's shoulder.
They were on the roof again a bit over a week later.
“Phil?”
“Hmm?”
“Are we going to be okay?”
Phil hummed with thought. “Well, yeah! I think so. We’re gonna be fine. Well, define okay?”
“Like after Uni and all that. Will we still be in each other’s lives? And will we like our career paths? Will the family be okay-families, and will our friends still be friends?” Dan sounded rehearsed, as though these concerns passed through his mind enough for him to have memorized them.
“Our friends will be friends, and I’m sure we’ll have more. And as soon as we convince your parents to let you do what you want, I’m sure we’ll love our careers-”
“What are you going for, Phil?” Dan interrupted suddenly. “You just, you never told me.”
“Well, I want a degree in English. And possibly something with botany. I’ll figure it out.”
“That sounds great,” Dan nodded with a smile that made Phil grin like an idiot.
“Th-thanks.” He cleared his throat. “Our families will be okay. And yes, I’d like to say we’ll still be in each other’s lives.”
“Good,” Dan answered, and Phil could hear the newfound smile in his voice. “By the way, I’m still talking to my parents about Uni. I feel like the more I bring it up, the more I’m convincing them that they’re not right.”
“Good.” Phil beamed. “Really good.”
Dan nodded and smiled idly, reaching out a long arm to brush Phil’s hair out of his face. Phil, startled, looked up at the boy. They hadn’t ever had a touch this tender for no reason. There was the time Dan was crying, but that was for comfort. This was just for them.
Phil’s startled eyes met the boy’s happy ones, and Phil felt something stirring in his chest, a warm sensation as Dan held their gaze for a few more moments.
Dan laid down next to Phil, a hand still playing with bits of his hair. “Hey, Phil?”
“Mhm?”
“You want to say goodnight? You look like you’re going to fall asleep.”
“Just a few more minutes, please.”
“Phil?”
“Yes, Dan?”
“You’re a friend right?”
“Is this a question?”
“Okay, I have an actual one now.”
“Go for it.”
“Have you liked anyone before?”
“Yes, Dan, in my life I have liked a lot of people. You’re one of them.”
“Y-you know what I mean.”
“Care to clarify?”
“Like…like like.”
“That entire sentence was a load of like.”
“Phil!”
“Yes, I know what you meant. And yes, my answer is pretty much the same. I-I have liked a lot of people.”
“Do-did-what do you do if you like someone? I haven’t ever really acted on it before and-well I mean, I’ve gotta be honest with you, Phil-I’m not straight.”
“Aw, thanks for telling me Dan.”
“Sure, so anyways, there’s this guy, and I just-I don’t know how to tell if he likes me?”
“Ooh, every great story starts this way.”
“Shut up. Answer my question, please?”
“I dunno, I’m pretty open with it I guess. Just flirt with him for a while and then tell him.”
“I feel like I have been flirting.”
“Well, maybe it’s about time you told him.”
“Maybe.”
Dan and Phil continued their nights together. Normally a few times a week, they’d meet outside at night and talk about anything. Anything bothering them, any news on Dan’s parents. Everything.
During the day, at least one of them would have work or something else, and so the other would find other things to fill their time. But they would always be free the nights they wanted to talk.
The nights they spent together always felt euphoric. There was no other way to describe them. Everything just felt well.
One day in August, Phil was positively anxious to get out of work. He knew he had to go get ready to start packing, as his mum had been reminding him for ages. The thought kept provoking his mind; he had brought it up to Dan, his brother, but kept it from his parents-he was scared. He was terrified of Uni and being away from his family, completely. Phil always was a mama's boy.
At least Dan would be there, and he was always good at talking and comforting and being generally calm when Phil couldn't be that for him-they were a perfect equilibrium.
"Phil? What are you doing with that pot?"
Phil clutched the plant pot close after nearly dropping it. “N-nothing, was just thinking,” he answered, shaking his head. He turned around and once again it started slipping from his fingers.
“D-Dan?” Phil’s eyes looked over him frantically. His breathing started to speed up as he looked over the boy-he looked beautiful. His skin was tanned, and his shirt was hanging off him so nicely and he was standing right there, right in front of him.
Dan smiled, pressing his lips together and raising his eyebrows teasingly. “Like what you see? Hopefully you’ll like what I have to say too.” He grinned and stepped closer to Phil, who was by now smiling goofily. “Can I ask you to take me to the back of the shop?”
Phil looked up for Mrs. Norris’s approval, and she nodded.
“Yeah, come with me.” Phil took Dan’s hand, his stomach flipping like the first time they touched, and stopped when they were in the back of the shop.
“So, Dan,” Phil started, leaning against the wall. “Just decided you missed me today? What’s this all about?”
Dan’s tongue poked out of his lips as he prepared to talk. “Well I just decided to take some advice that you once gave me,” he giggled nervously, causing Phil’s cheeks to turn red.
“Alright, go for it,” Phil encouraged anxiously as he watched the slightly shorter boy suck in a breath.
“The night that I met you, I never knew that I would meet someone that I had such a connection with. As we got to know each other, I could never wait to see you again, I felt like there was so much that we had in common, and you just helped me so much,” Dan was smiling widely, his cheeks turning the color of a rose. “And soon enough I felt like I just wanted to learn everything that I could about you because-because you fascinate me. I’ve never met someone with such a beautiful mind.”
Phil felt light and airy while Dan spoke and soon he had to remind himself to breathe. The last comment made Phil crack a huge smile. He nodded, knowing he would be unable to form words quite yet.
Dan pulled a small bouquet of flowers from behind his back. “Red tulips,” he began, “mean ‘a declaration of love.’ I don’t want to freak you out with love talk, Phil, but I really like you.” He made a point to catch Phil’s eye and smile before continuing. “Sunflowers. Adoration. If I could put my feelings for you into a word, though it’s hard, I think that’s pretty damn close. I fucking adore you, Phil Lester.”
Phil stepped closer to Dan and took his free hand. Once he caught his breath, he asked quietly, “Can I kiss you?”
Dan just grinned back. Phil cupped his cheek in his hand and caught Dan’s lips on his and leaned into him. Dan moved up onto his tiptoes and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, kissing back sweetly. Once they pulled away, Phil stroked Dan’s cheekbone with his thumb, and Dan looked into his eyes, and slowly they crinkled with a smile. He pecked his lips once more then stood back at his normal height.
“So you’ll accept my bouquet?” Dan asked, holding it between them. “I was super excited to show it to you, since you said you loved learning about flowers.”
Phil simpered. “I happily accept it, Dan,” he said, taking it from his hands gently. “Thank you so much for them-they’re amazing.”
Dan bit his lip, still smiling. “So you feel the same way-or at least, you seem to, I mean you seemed really into that kiss if it’s not just me-“
“Yes,” Phil chuckled, “I’ve totally felt the same way for a while now. I thought you were really cute when we first met, and then I slowly realized how special you were and how much you were growing on me. And you’re still cute.” He squeezed Dan’s hand. “I mean, I have work, and you can stick around and keep me company if you want, but would you want to go out later?”
Dan nodded excitedly and hugged Phil. “Yes! I should probably get ready though, I have to look extra nice,” he smiled. “Text me later okay? I’ll meet you-maybe we could go to dinner, and then stargazing and-ooh the park! Okay, we’ll figure it out.”
Phil couldn’t wipe a smile off his face. He leaned down and kissed Dan’s cheek. “Yes, that sounds lovely.”
Dan grinned and soon left the shop, both boys blushing brightly and unable to stop smiling.
And Phil was endlessly happy that he met the boy that belonged with the stars.