When Light Met Dark // Phan

Thirteen

Dan didn't know how, but he'd somehow ended up flush against Phil's back, and though it would have been common sense to remove himself from this accidental contact, it was just too comfortable, and he was sure Phil wasn't awake yet to mind. He had to get ready for work soon, but that seemed unimportant right now, as he was enveloped in warmth next to his best friend, whose back was raising and lowering steadily along with his breathing.

"Is he your boyfriend?" Tyler's voice found its way into Dan's head, and he could almost hear the mischievous smirk lighting up his co-worker's face. He sighed quietly; he was confused, and even if he were to have some sort of feelings for Phil, his chances were slim to none and he was kidding himself if he dared to hope otherwise.

What was the point in getting his hopes up if he was ultimately going to get rejected?

As if on cue, the man next to him began stretching, forcing Dan to roll over onto his back as if he hadn't been way too close to him the whole time.

"Mornin'" Phil mumbled, rolling to his other side to face Dan, his usually perfect fringe now messed up in a quiff on top of his head, which actually suited him rather well.

"Morning" Dan replied, but he couldn't take his eyes off the light stubble on Phil's lower face, having sudden urge to touch it, "nice sleep?"

Phil yawned, though he took care not to blow his morning breath into Dan's face, "it was great! You?" He froze suddenly at his own question, "sorry, stupid question."

There was a brief silence, the two men remembering Dan's disturbance the night before.

"You want to talk about it?"

Dan should have expected this question to come up sooner rather than later, and though he'd opened up about everything else, this was one thing that he didn't want to tell anyone. It was quite selfish, in a way, considering Phil had opened up about his own problems, and frankly, it was an insult to his trust.

But what happened to him... It's not something he could just disclose at the drop of a hat. If anything, he wanted to forget it ever happened. Sure, that tactic wasn't the most effective, but it hadn't taken a huge toll on his mental health as of late.

"It was nothing." Phil didn't look convinced, his eyes searching Dan's in the vain hope that he'd find all his answers, but he couldn't have found anything, for a moment later, he nodded, throwing the duvet away from their bodies, exposing them to the cool air of the room.

"Fuck it's cold!" Dan hissed, curling in on himself for extra warmth; he'd only been wearing his boxers and a thin t-shirt. He could have sworn he saw Phil staring at him out of the corner of his eye, but as soon as that thought emerged, Phil heaved himself up and went to the bathroom, and soon enough, Dan could hear the running water of the shower.

Instead of getting out of bed like he should have, given that he only had an hour until he had to leave the apartment, he layed amongst the mess of sheets, hoping he could somehow get sucked into another universe, where he wouldn't have so many things on his mind.

They say a problem shared is a problem halved, but he couldn't understand that logic himself; it just meant he would drag the other person down. He'd learned better than to do that.

"You gonna get ready?" Phil's voice could only just be heard from the bathroom over the shower. It was obvious Phil cared quite a bit about him despite having only lived together for a few months, but this kind of stuff? That was just too much to handle this early on. In Dan's eyes, anyway.

"Yeah." Dan shouted back, heading back to his own room, dampening his mood even more.  While Phil's room was filled with various knick knacks, practically overflowing with personality, Dan's was still bare and isolated, just like the person who lived in it. Dan sighed, retrieving his plain black button up and trousers. Tyler had mentioned that Anne really didn't mind what they wore to work, but somehow, Dan didn't think she'd let him turn up in his pyjamas.