Just a little idea I came up with one night, hope you enjoy
"Dan we need to tell them now." Dan looked up from his laptop to look at his husband, Phil. "We have no choice, especially as we're picking Rosie up tomorrow."
"I know. We've just spent so long keeping us a secret, ya know?"
"I know Dan," Phil cuddled into Dan as they sat on their bed. "But we can't now, it's too late at night. We had trouble keeping the wedding secret and with all of the subscribers we have now, I'm surprised that no one has guessed it already. I mean, they were tipped off my Chris that we were going to get married but I'm guessing they just passed it off as another joke."
"Fine, we should do it once we have Rosie tomorrow. We can announce it on Younow so everyone can see it." Dan kissed Phil's forehead lightly as the two of them laid together in a comfortable silence. They were definnitely making the most of it seeing as after tomorrow the house wouldn't be quiet for a while.
"And this is your new hom Rosie." Phil pushed the door open, holding it for Dan who had a bundle of blankets in his arms. Inside was a beautiful baby girl with bright blue eyes. Their baby girl. After their weddding in 2022, they'd quickly made the decision to adopt, knowing that they'd love to have a child that they could bring up together. "I just want to hug her forever, she's so precious." Dan cooed causing Phil to chuckle at the younger man.
"Go and make her a bottle Dan, I haven't held her yet." Dan was reluctant but handed Rosie over to Phil, stealing a kiss from Phil before going into the kitchen to make a bottle for her. "Do you want me to set up Younow?" Phil asked from the kitchen doorway.
"Now?"
"Might as well get it over and done with before we're completely exhausted.""Ok sure." Phil went into the living room and opened his laptop, going onto the website before sending out a quick Tweet about an emergancy broadcast including some important news. People began to pile into the 'Shows 2' room, so Phil jumped into the queue and waited for the person in front to leave.
3...
2...
1...
Ding!
"Hey everyone!" Phil started cheerfully, a massive grin on his face before realising that he still had Rosie in his arms and Dan was still making a bottle. "Ok so the news will be told when Dan gets here. Many of you will have noticed that I'm currently holding a baby! And no, I won't drop her Kayleigh C; she's too precious to drop." Phil smiled down at the girl in his arms. His daughter. Not biologically, but it wouldn't matter. The chat was going crazy asking who's baby it was and I grinned knowingly. At that moment Rosie started to wake up and cry. Phil stood up, bouncing her up and down on his hip to try and stop her, but he knew she was hungry. "DAN IS THAT BOTTLE READY YET?" Phil called out.
"ONE SECOND!" Dan came into the room adn handed him the bottle, sitting down in front of the laptop and waving at the screen. "It shouldn't be too hot but I'd check first."
"It's ok, I trust you." Phil took a bib off of Dan and held Rosie in a laying down position as he sat down next to Dan before placing the bottle in her mouth. The cries died down immediately adn the two new parents smiled at each other.
"So hey guys! We kind of ignored you for a second there, sorry about that." Dan started.
"Yes and now Dan's here, we can tell you the important news!"
"They don't want to hear the important news!" Dan joked. "Do you guys?" He smirked as a large swathe of 'YES's came up on the screen. "Ok, how to start..."
"You guys were right. Phan is real."
"Way to go in at the deep end Phil." Phil shrugged.
"You carry on." Phil turned his attention back to feeding Rosie as Dan searched for a way to start the explanation.
"Basically in 2009 we DID start dating for a while and after a few months we broke it off, then in 2013 we got closer again and had a serious relationship. Then, as predicted in Chris' panel gameshow, we got married in 2022, which we somehow managed to keep secret. I've no idea how you didn't notice the rings." Dan held his left hand up to the camera to show off his wedding ring. The chat, once again, was going mental, fangirls screaming in CAPS lock about how their OTP was real and taking hundreds of screenshots. "And over the past few months we have been in the process of adopting a little girl, and FINALLY we got to bring her home. So here she is. Say hello to Rosie Lester-Howell."
"Someone in the chat asked how we decided on the double barrel name and whether we'll have the same as Rosie or keep our own surnames. Well we deciede that the surname Lester-Howell sounded best on both of us so we kept it as that and we wanted to have the same surname so things were less confusing for Rosie as she grew up."
They stayed on for another 20 minutes answering questions about Rosie and their wedding and they even kissed in front of 10,000 people.
"Anyway, that was all we really needed to do a live show for, just to say a few things and that we love you all for being as supportive as you are. And whether you've been with us since the beginning, you've known us for a few moths or even a week, thank you." They both did hearts to the screen as Dan pressed the button to end the live show. As soon as it was off they both looked down at their daughter who was fast asleep. "I love you Phil."
"I love you too Dan."
~ 3 years later ~
"Finally I got her in bed." Phil rubbed his eyes tiredly as he sat down on the sofa next to Dan. He laid sideways in Dan's arms as Dan stroked his hair.
"We knew it would be tiring to bring up a child, and we'll get through this as we get through everything. Together. At least she's quiet now so we'll have the evening to ourselves." A sudden cry erupted from Rosie's bedroom.
"Spoke too soon." Phil stood up again and walked into her bedroom as Dan was left sitting on the sofa. Phil came in, the crying child in his arms. He was rubbing her back and telling her it was going to be o.
"Is everything alright?"
"Yeah, she just had a nightmare." Dan patted beside him.
"Bring her here." Phil sat down and passed the girl to Dan. "Hey, what's wrong precious?"
"M...monster." She whimpered aand hid her face in his chest."
"Dan...did you let her watch Monsters Inc by any chance?" Phil suddenly asked. Dan bit his lip and nodded. "Dan! You knew that it would scare her! She's only young and doesn't understand!"
"I know that now don't I?" Dan retorted, leaving the two of them in silence. "Idiot." He chuckled jokingly. Phil grabbed a cushion from beside him and hit Dan over the head with it.
"Mind your insults around Rosie. She's only young and will pick up on them."
"Yes dad." Dan winked at Phil before hitting him on the head with another cushion. Phil then retorted with the same action until Rosie suddenly started crying again.
"No daddys! Don't fight! Don't fight daddys!"
"Hey, it's ok. We're only joking. Look, see." Phil kissed Dan quickly and put his arm around him. Dan returned the kiss, giggling.
"Say sorry daddys." Rosie ordered the two of them.
"Sorry Phil."
"Sorry Dan." They both tried their hardest to keep straight faces. Rosie giggled and snuggled into the two of them, her eyes drooping. Soon enough all three of them were asleep together in each other's arms.
~ 2 years later ~
"Dan calm down." Dan looked up at Phil and smiled weakly.
"I'm allowed to be nervous on our daughter's first day of school. Why aren't you?"
"Because we have nothing to worry about. Martin's wife works there and will keep an eye out for her. She's my sister-in-law so I think technically she's yours too, so calm down Dan. She will be fine. Are you going to get her ready or am I?"
"I'll go." Dan got up and went into the dining area where Rosie had just finished her cereal. "Morning princess." He kissed her on the top of her head and picked up her bowl. "you ready for your fist day of school?"
"I'm excited daddy!" She huugged him before rushing off to her bedroom. Dan chuckled and put her bowl in the kitchen before going into her room.
"Rosie have you brushed your teeth yet?" He asked as she tried to pull her pyjama top off.
"Oh." He offered her his hand and led her to the bathroom. After helping her brush her teeth, get dressed into her uniform and comb her hair, she was ready to go.
"Phil! Are you ready to take her to school?" Phil bustled out of their room, a camera in his hands.
"I wanted to take a picture of her on her first day of school.! He put a timer on it and they both crouched down, their arms around Rosie on either side as it was taken. "Perfect." Phil grinned, looking at the camera before putting it back down. "Shall we go?"
"One second." Dan stepped forwards and patted down a sticky up piece of Phil's hair, who blushed slightly. "Did you even check your hair?" He shook his head and giggle. Both of them took one of Rosie's hands each as they walked down to the local school. They lifted her up from the floor by the arms, making her giggle with happiness. They were happy that these days homophobia was almost non existent and if you were homophobic then it was frowned upon massively, so they could walk the streets hand in hand and no one would bat an eyelid. Lots of people smiled at them as they walked with Rosie as they would to any happy family. When they reached the school they immediately recognised the teacher in the playground.
"Michelle!"
"Oh Phil, Dan. I was wondering whether or not I'd see you today. Hello little Rosie."
Rosie jumped forwards and hugged her Auntie. "You'll be glad to know that I'm teaching her for her first year, so you don't have to worry." She looked at Dan, knowing how worried he'd been about this. Phil slipped his hand into Dan's.
"I'll look after him." Phil grinned as Dan elbowed him lightly. The two of them bent down and hugged her tightly. "Have a nice day and we'll see you later, ok?"
"Ok daddy." Phil kissed her on the head and stood up.
"Be a good girl for us and make sure you make some friends." Dan copied Phil's previous movements, kissing her on the head and standing up, slipping his hand into Phil's as Rosie was taken into the small, school building.
"She'll be ok." Phil reassured his partner.
"I know. I just worry, that's all."
"We have nothing to worry about Dan. It'll be fine."
~ 11 years later ~
"And where do you think you're going?" Dan's voice was heard from the other side of the house, receiving a frustrated sigh in reply. Phil came into the hallway to see what the fuss was about.
"What's going on?" Dan turned to him.
"Do you remember your exact words last night when she came home 3 hours late?"
"That she was grounded?"
"Exactly." He turned back to their 16 year old daughter. "You are grounded."
"That's not fair! Everyone else is going to this party except me! I'll be shamed at college!"
"You have to learn that when you break the rules, you have to face the consequences." Phil put in.
"Exactly. So no, you're not going to the party."
"URGH I HATE YOU! BOTH OF YOU!" She stormed upstairs into her room, slamming her door loudly, both men wincing at the sound.
"Were we too harsh?" Dan asked, suddenly worried.
"No." Phil replied before heading back into the dining room where his laptop was sat open at his emails. Both of them still worked at BBC Radio 1, despite them having disbanded their YouTube channels years ago. Many people still tuned in to hear their favourite YouTubers, the nostalgia of their once close fandom making them smile as they went about their now adult lives. Dan sat opposite him, tapping at the table anxiously, replaying the argument through his head over and over again. "Dan if it's bugging you then go and talk to her. Tell her that if she wants to go then she has to make up for it later." Dan grinned and sprinted up the stairs, knocking on her door and walking in. Rosie was lying face down on the bed, her head under her pillows.
"Go away!"
"You'll like what I have to say."
"Go away!" Dan smirked.
"Fine...if you don't want to go to the party then that's ok..." Dan pretended to walk away but she sat up quickly.
"Wait! What?" Dan turned and sat on the bed beside her.
"Oh you're so silly." He wiped away a stray tear on her face. "If you really want to go to this party, if it means this much to you, then I guess we can let you go." Her face broke into a grin and she hugged him tightly.
"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!" He pushed her away to look her in the eye.
"On one condition. You do something to make up for being late last night."
"Maltesers?" Dan's eyes lit up and she knew she'd got it right.
"Only if there's lots, but don't tell Phil." She giggled and nodded.
"I'll get Dad another Lion toy or something. That'll make him happy."
"It will indeed. Anyway, don't you have a party to get ready for?"
~ 10 years later ~
"Hey Will, how's it going?" Dan addressed the young man in their living room.
"Dad stop trying to act cool, it'll never work." Rosie walked into the room and kissed Will as Phil walked in and laughed.
"She's right. You're not 22 anymore."
"I don't know about you, but I'm feelin 22 ooooooo!" Dan sung badly. "That was a popular song when I was 22, well I say popular..."
"Lots of people hated her but lots liked her." Phil finished for me.
"I'm just going to put some make-up on, then I'll be ready to leave." Will nodded as she left the room before turning to Dan and Phil.
"I have something very big to ask you." He addressed the parents.
"Go ahead." Phil encouraged him and Dan smiled.
"Well...I was wondering...um...may I ask your daughter to marry me?" Both Dan and Phil gasped in shock and grinned excitedly at each other.
"Of course!" Both of them hugged the unsuspecting Will, who hugged them back, chuckling.
"Well that went better than expected."
"Just know that if you hurt her you have both of us to watch out for." Phil warned on a more serious note. At that moment Rosie entered the room.
"Don't worry, I'll look after her."
"What were you guys talking about then?"
"Oh nothing Rosie." Dan replied, grinning. "You go and have a great night. You're really going to enjoy yourself tonight." As soon as the two of them had left Dan and Phil jumped around, hugging each other.
"Our little girl is growing up!"
"I know Phil. I know."
~ 7 years later ~
"Grandad, where's mummy?" Little 5 year old Erin asked Phil who was now in his early 60s.
"Mummy's in the hospital room next door with daddy. You're going to have a new brother or sister soon." Erin nodded and went back to playing with her toy Lion, given to her by Rosie, who had originally got it from Phil. Phil still had Lion who was perched on his and Dan's bed most of the time. He could never give him away, but knew that Rosie would get it, as specified in his will. Suddenly Will popped his head around the door.
"It's twins! Two boys! Rosie knows what she's calling them already." Dan and Phil exchanged a happy glance, hands intertwined. Even at an older age they were still inseparable.
"We've named them Dan and Phil; after the best parents I could have ever wished for." Rosie explained to them after they were allowed in the room. Erin scrambled up the bed and stared wide-eyed at the two newborn babies.
"Babies!" Was all she said.
"Say hello to your new brothers Erin."
"Hello." Erin uttered shyly. Suddenly Phil gasped and grasped his chest, collapsing and falling to the ground in one swift movement.
"Phil? Phil, what's wrong? Phil wake up!" Dan gasped.
"Dad? Will is he ok?" Will rushed out of the room, bringing a nurse back with him. They lifted him onto a bed and pushed him out of the room, Dan following quickly. He hadn't left Phil for over 40 years and he wasn't going to break that now.
~ 4 months later ~
Dan sighed, the sigh echoing around the empty house. He had been the only one living there for 4 months now, after Phil had passed away. A sudden heart attack they'd said. Completely random. Phil was just unlucky. Dan felt tears in his eyes but blinked them away as he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Are you ok to sell this place dad?" Rosie stood beside him as he hung his head.
"It's time to let go. I don't have enough money to keep this place by myself. I wouldn't be able to live here anyway...too many memories..." Dan let out a sudden sob so Rosie hugged him tightly as tears streamed down his face. "I can't live without him. How am I supposed to live alone? He left me Rosie. He left me alone. I want to be with him."
"It's ok dad. You will be with him one day. Come and stay at ours tonight, then we'll help you get sorted." Dan nodded and followed her out, closing the door to his old apartment for the final time. No more Phil is not on fire. No more Live shows. No more Radio shows. No more Dan and Phil. Just Dan.
Dan laid in bed that night thinking about Phil.
'I don't want to be on earth without you. I want to be with you Phil. Please take me to where you are.' He thought as he closed his eyes.
He felt like he was floating. Drifting away from his body, if that feeling was even possible. He drifted to what looked like his old apartment door. He raised his hand to know on it to discover young hands. No wrinkles. He brought his hands to his face, feeling his fluffy hair. Could he be...22 again? He knocked on the door for it to be opened by 26 year old Phil. Phil pulled him forward into a passionate kiss before pulling away and hugging him.
"I've missed you. But you came to me. Now we never have to grow old again. We can stay young forever."