Speak up already - Phan

Chapter 15

CHRISTMAS SPECIAL (MORE PARTS TO COME)

"Are you sure you're cool with me not spending Christmas with you and spending it with Kei's family instead? You know, like normal parents?" Dil shuffled awkwardly.

His dad Phil grinned. "Are you scared? We're letting you go because we haven't had a Christmas along in forever, plus Kei's responsible."

Dil whined, dragging his arms around childishly, following his dad around the house who was watering all the plants.

"But daaaaad. I'm so fu-fricking anti-social and awkward. Who do I get this from?" Dil sighed again, tugging at the ends of his sleeves to cover his hands as he slid around the kitchen.

"I was super depressed in school." Phil smiled to himself. "And your dad was an idiot with socialising. But he was good at it."

Dil smiled, jumping onto the kitchen counter, swinging his legs at the bottom. "How?" He asked quietly, tilting his head.

His dad shrugged. "He wanted to be my friend, and I was kind of a outcast because I never talked at all. Obviously it's complicated. But he insisted on helping me get better and stuff."

Dil rolled his eyes. "Sounds like a bloody fanfiction."

Phil smirked. "And then I fell in love with him."

Dil stared in disgust. "Ew."

"And he helped me talk, learn to love myself too, speak up already. And we kissed and it was amazing."

Dil groaned in disgust, clenching his eyes shut. "Stop, i'm gonna be sick."

Phil nudged Dil's arm. "Without us you wouldn't have been born."

Dil jumped off of the counter, quickly exiting the room. "NO DETAILS." He yelled.

Phil giggled, humming a tune to himself as he continued to water the plants.

**

It was almost 2am and Dil was still on the phone with Kei. The lines were quiet for at least five minutes, oddly content with hearing the creepy sound of one another's breathing through the other line.

"Did I mention my parents' tradition?" Kei spoke, voice a little raspy.

Dil, who was also falling asleep, phone to his ear hugged his giant teddy that he slept with as a pillow. He sighed contently. "No."

"Well, they do this thing where they handmake christmas jumpers...mum designs them, dad knits them...yeah it's really dorky I know. But they sent me one to wear to their house, and they sent you one too. You don't have to wear it but it would make my mum and dad super happy and...yeah." Kei hid his face in his pillow, feeling his face go hot with embarrassment.

Dil giggled, squeezing his teddy more and smiling into it. "Of course i'll wear it you bear."

"How am I a bear? Aren't bear...in gay terms usually someone big and hairy?" Kei mumbled, muffled by his yawning.

"Hmm." Dil said sleepily. "I feel like you should be called bear. I don't know, I'm sleepy."

"Should I hang up?" Kei asked.

"No, keep talking, your voice is soothing. Tell me a story." Dil yawned, snuggling deeper into his covers, soothed by Kei's deep voice.

"Okay. Along long time ago, there lived a really tall guy. He had a mean face, so nobody would go near him. Hey kid, you better not fall asleep okay?" Kei quickly said.

"Mm hmm. 'm listening."

"The tall man had a mean face. The face of a hawk. But on the inside, it was quite the opposite. It was like he repelled everybody away from him by his mean hawk-eyes. He had always thought due to his personality, not by his horrid face. He was always told he would never found love. And now let me mention this, one thing hawk-eye always dreamed about, ever since he was a little kid, was love. So being told that, ripped his heart out of his chest. But suddenly, one day, this prince guy comes along. A goofy prince who thinks he's so cool."

Dil smiled.

"And the prince stumbled into the hawk-eye's life just like that. Like someone tripped him. And the hawk-eye finally found someone who wasn't scared anymore. Because...this prince didn't care about the scariness. This prince was a...weird one, he could handle old hawk-eyes. And eventually hawk-eyes...well hawk-eyes found his love. And as for love finding him...well I haven't quite figured out the ending for that just yet, I don't know if hawk-eyes will ever find love for himself. But for now, the end."

Kei listened closely to any sound across the line. He could only hear steady breathing before slight snores, proving that he was long gone in a deep sleep. He smiled sadly to himself. "Goodnight prince." Kei whispered before finally hanging up, eventually falling asleep  himself.

xx