ART DECO | PHAN

thirty two.

3/1/17

phil lester had... very strong feelings.

they were laying on the hood of phil's car, tangled in a blanket that phil had in his trunk. dan was pressed against him entirely, his eyes closed, his hair falling over one of them.

they hadn't done anything, not really. they had kissed, and dan had pushed phil's shirt up enough to run his hands over his chest, but that was it.

now phil was just watching him, his eyes traveling over his face, admiring him. dan looked at peace when the only light on his face was from the moon, the other half of his face shadowed, the arch of his nose cut out on his cheek, and a bit on phil's arm where dan's head was rested.

"stop looking at me like that." dan's eyes were still closed, and his mouth hardly moved when he spoke. phil laughed.

"how did you know?"

"i could tell." a smile tugged at the corners of dan's mouth. "i can feel it."

"you can feel when people are looking at you?" he made a soft grunting noise as he shifted to get more comfortable, wrapping his arm around dan's waist. "is that, like, a superpower?"

dan hummed. "more like a curse."

phil bit his lip, and leaned in to kiss him again. his lips were still swollen from earlier, and his mouth was already open and pliant when phil got there. phil shivered, sliding his hand to his cheek, his fingers splayed.

"beautiful," he whispered against his lips, hardly even thinking about the words he let slip. he felt dan go ridged, and then soft again, more relaxed than he had been before.

"save that word for someone who deserves it," he whispered, and phil could tell he was only half joking. phil shook his head, their noses brushing.

"i've found them." he reached up, tapping his nose. "right here."

dan rolled his eyes, but phil could tell he was blushing, even in the pale moonlight. pleased.

☞

the ballet was two days later. phil could hardly focus on his classes; he and dan had hardly touched their project for days. the day of, it felt like phil's birthday, back when he used to have big parties after school. he caught dan's eyes quite a few times, and he could tell dan was giddy too. he even kissed phil in the hall when he passed him that morning, open mouthed. he tasted like blueberry muffin. phil beamed, and kissed him back.

phil caught eva giving him a few weird looks throughout the day, but phil ignored them. jesus, whatever she wanted from him, she wasn't getting it. phil had heard around that she was already going on dates with one of phil's teammates, robert.

it was hard not to care, if he was honest. he didn't have feelings for her anymore, that was for sure, but it was difficult to see her with anyone else. they had been together for what felt like an eternity.

but when he looked at dan, all those thoughts went away, and he just saw him.

dan was glowing now that he was eating again, or at least it seemed like it. sometimes while they ate out on the grounds, he caught dan scowling at his food, or picking it apart for a few minutes before he put it in his mouth. phil got it- god, it must be so hard for him to throw away the rules he had made over the years, destroy the walls. it made phil's heart swell with pride.

dan's mind was a living thing; a flower, or a heartbeat, something delicate. phil just had to learn how to deal with it, take care of it. he felt like he was doing a pretty good job so far.

phil wore black pants and a fucking jacket and tie that night. he couldn't help dressing nicely; he wanted everything to be perfect, it had to be. he got to dan's door early, and knocked anyway. katie came to the door.

"fuck, phil! who'd you dress up for?" she was smirking, and she laughed. phil rolled his eyes lightly.

dan stepped into his line of vision, wearing tight black jeans and a dark maroon button up, with long sleeves. his eyes widened when he saw phil.

"shit," he cursed, his cheeks going red. "shit, oh god, you look so n-nice, and i... i just look like... a sewage fairy."

phil laughed out of outright shock at dan's rambling. the boy was looking at the ground, chewing on his thumbnail in distress. katie stepped aside and phil came in, grabbing dan's wrist.

"you look amazing," he said softly. dan didn't look up. "hey... earth to dan." he touched his chin, bringing his face up. dan met his eyes, finally.

"are you sure?"

phil nodded. "yeah. you look perfect. you always look perfect."

dan rolled his eyes, but his cheeks were still a rosy shade, his bottom lip trapped between his teeth. phil laughed quietly, thumbing it out.

"you ready?"

dan shrugged, reaching up to mess with his hair. phil could tell he was nervous.

"i guess so."

phil smiled, sliding his hand into dan's. katie made a soft sound and phil caught dan flipping her off.

"god, they grow up so fast..." she swooped in and enveloped dan in a bear hug, likely just to annoy him. dan groaned, but didn't push her away. phil's grin widened; a month ago, he probably would have cried at a hug like that.

phil squeezed his hand. he felt dan squeeze back.

"don't think you're getting out of this, either," katie said, turning to phil. phil fake coughed.

"oh, i would, but i don't want to get you sick..." she hugged him anyways, knocking the air out of him. he heard dan giggle.

"have him home by seven thirty."

"katie, it's already seven-"

"eight at the latest."

phil chuckled, shaking his head as she pulled back. "i'll take good care of him."

"philll..." dan whined. phil shoved him gently.

"alright, alright, go, you crazy kids," katie said, grinning at them. "i'll be here."

phil took dan's hand again, and dan smiled gratefully at him as they left the room.