self-help // phan

septem

Self-Help
a dan and phil fanfiction
chapter 7
Enjoy.

It had been a month since the apartment sessions started.

Each time was better than the last, the sessions moved to two or even three times a week. Somehow, Dan wished he had a chance to see Phil more than he did, but his job often prohibited him from seeing him during the day. He avoided staying the night unless he was locked out again, but he couldn't stop himself from being at Phil's whenever he possibly could.

The last thing he wanted to do was make Phil tired of seeing him.

A few days ago Phil had suggested that they change the environment up again, this time getting lunch.

He'd spent the morning messing about with the hem of his shirt, wondering if it looked too dumb or not. He'd chosen a short-sleeved black shirt with a white ring on the front, an eclipse look. Of course, he sported a thick coat for the outside air.

Dan had always worn long-sleeved in front of people, but Phil had given him a new confidence he didn't have before.

His eyes traveled outside of the taxi at the winter-wonderland outside, most streets practically empty because of the freezing temperatures.

After stopping at the coffee shop, he'd searched for Phil, but he hadn't arrived yet. Dan sat close to a window and waited for his arrival.

Phil had never been late for an appointment before. Several minutes passed that stretched into a quarter of an hour, Dan found himself extra impatient.

His hands trailed invisible designs into the table awkwardly saying to an employee, "Oh, he'll be here soon," whenever they tried to take his order.

At last, he saw Phil hurrying through the door carrying a big brown paper bag. He set it down beside the table and sat heavily. He was dressed in a white long-sleeved button up, the sleeves rolled back to show his arms. A blue patterned tie hung from his neck, it had been weeks since Dan had seen him in his formal attire.

He seemed almost out of breath, his eyes flicking around as if he hadn't had time to relax all day.

"Are you okay?" Dan asked softly.

When Phil had finally settled, his eyes met Dan's seriously.

"Yeah, I'm alright. Tell me about your past few days?"

Dan launched into the voices he's heard and how he's been doing, what his dad has said and how he's been handling things. It only lasted a few minutes, as the horrible voice he'd been hearing rarely came to him.

"And you?" Dan said when he had finished."How have you been doing? You seem sort of out of it."

While the younger was talking, Phil eventually relaxed into his normal friendly look. He picked at his hands, but other than that he showed no sign of problems.

"Oh, I've been good. But, there's a reason I preferred this day to be a bit different. It's... A special day, I guess."

Dan immediately went through each holiday in his head, but he couldn't remember one for today What was special about January 30th?

Phil reached into the brown paper bag and brought out a white cardboard box, folded neatly on each side. Dan's curiosity grew as he began opening it with slender fingers. At last, when the box popped open he got a waft of a sugary, sweet scent.

He leaned closer to peer into the box and saw what was left of a baby blue birthday cake, cut just enough for two slices.

"Wait," Dan looked at Phil closely, and it hit him. "It's your birthday?!"