The morning started off in a weird groggy haze. Dan didn't know what it was, but he wasn't feeling up to much when he got himself out of bed. Probably just chalk up the day to sitting around and browsing through Tumblr again.
As he left the kitchen and slogged towards the couch, his toe struck something and sent it skidding down the hallway. Dan bent over, examined it for a moment, then cursed under his breath. Once again, Phil had let his overflow of assorted trinkets get underfoot. This time it seemed to be the SAO notepad he had bought when they were in Japan. It had mysteriously disappeared for a month or so, and had chosen just now to turn up again, right by Dan's feet. Dan was about to toss it aside when a somewhat cheeky idea struck him.
Dan grabbed a pen from the countertop in the kitchen and furiously scribbled: Have you any idea where this has been the past few months? Because I honestly do not. He tore it off and strode over to Phil's room. The door was closed, and Phil was nowhere in sight. With a sideways grin, Dan stuck the note on the door and trotted off to find his laptop.
The internet seemed oddly bleak and devoid of good material today. Or perhaps Dan had just seen it all before. He checked the time. Only fifteen minutes had passed. Great. What a day this was turning out to be.
Footsteps sounded in the hallway. Dan looked over. He didn't see Phil anywhere, but a curious little slip of paper had somehow found its way back onto the floor. It was another sticky note from the same pad. Dan rolled his eyes and reached over, planning to simply crumple it and throw it away, when he noticed something scrawled on it in Phil's handwriting.
No, I don't. Have you been looking for it? Sorry.
A tiny smiley was squeezed into the corner at the end of the note. Dan let out a sigh of exasperation. What was it that he'd started? He turned the note over and wrote in reply, Do you even sarcasm? With a sketch of the grumpy face emoji to emphasize his point. Then he flung it best he could back into the hallway.
While he waited for Phil's turn in their new little game, Dan bent over the DVD shelves, thinking maybe he'd just while away the day watching some TV series he'd already finished ten times over. As his fingers hovered between season two of Arrow and his Doctor Who box set, he heard someone enter the room and then flee just as quickly. Dan turned. Phil was already around the corner, surprisingly nimble for someone of his level of clumsy. This time the entire notepad was on the table, with one torn off and waiting patiently beside it.
No, not really... I can lion, though! Rawr! On the back, a rather childish drawing of a lion looked like he was trying to jump out of the paper. Dan couldn't help but chuckle out loud. Already this was getting quite ridiculous.
Are we going to actually going to talk like this all morning? Dan wrote with a flourish. He walked out of the room, pretending he had somewhere to go, to give Phil a chance to reply. When he returned five minutes or so later with a glass of water from the kitchen, there was a response.
Don't see why not. Hey, why don't you try and find where I put the next note? Bet you can't top my master hiding skills!
"We'll see about that, won't we, Philly?" Dan murmured, then caught himself. What was he doing? Whatever it was, though, it was keeping him entertained more than anything else had today, so he turned his attention to the bookshelf in hopes of finding a clue to the note's location. Nothing seemed like it had been touched or moved. The best strategy then, he figured, would be to try and think like Phil. He grabbed the Buffy DVD set and slid it from its spot, figuring he had triumphed. But no note was to be found. The Adventure Time case went next. Still nothing.
Dan sifted through the Death Note box set, five seasons of Supernatural, and half of the Harry Potter movies, and the only thing he found was half a note reading, You're getting warmer! At this point, he was surrounded by a miniature fortress of movies, TV shows, and anime, and he was beginning to question what it was his life had come to. In an attempt to stand up, he lurched towards the bookshelf, missed, and hit his head on the wall.
"Jesus Christ!" He swore out loud this time, and again when a Pokemon DVD from the very top shelf bounced off his head. It tumbled down and almost magically opened itself on the floor, revealing an innocent little note waiting to be read.
Yay! You found me! Next time, please don't swear, though.
"God, Phil, I don't know how you do this," Dan managed to say through his laughter. "It's like you're inside my mind."
Now it was time for Dan's revenge. He snatched up the notepad eagerly and began writing up a storm. He laid out the notes in a chain stretching into the kitchen, slapped one on the refrigerator door, then opened the fridge and slid one underneath a plate of cheese. Dan hopped out of the room and darted for his bedroom to wait.
He could hear Phil lumbering down the hallway into the kitchen. Silence fell for a minute or two, then the footsteps resumed, quicker now. Dan's door edged open a crack, and a new note along with the notepad slid into view. Dan knelt down and picked it up. It read: That was cruel, telling me there was a note inside the cheese! What kind of best friend does that?!
Oh, come on. You probably just picked it apart instead of eating it anyway.
Yeah, I did, lol.
We're almost out of notes.
We are. We'll have to go back to Japan and get more. I kinda like this game.
I do too.
A small pause followed as Dan waited for Phil's response, then:
I was kidding before. You're still my best friend, Dan.
I know. You're still my best friend, too, Phil.
You're sure? You don't think that could ever change?
Of course not. What could possibly change that?
Another hesitation from Phil. Dan sat cross-legged and faced the far wall, tapping his fingers somewhat nervously. Another note slid under the door.
Well... This maybe could.
Dan flipped the note over. There was nothing on the back. He checked the remaining ones in the stack. There was nothing there either. Had Phil forgotten to complete the thought? Dan turned the note over and over in his hand, contemplating what to do, when it hit him. With the edge of one fingernail, he pried a second sticky note off of the first one. He shook his head in an odd sort of amazement. That was rather clever.
Dan scanned the second note. In small, slightly shaky writing, it read:
If I told you that I loved you.
The note fell to the floor and disappeared into the carpet. Phil jumped when the door opened and got to his feet to meet Dan eye to eye.
Dan said nothing. He just gazed at Phil with huge, melted brown eyes.
"Dan, I—" Phil stuttered. What was he to do? He couldn't take back what he'd said. Or written, rather. "I... Just... I'm..."
Phil's attempt at speaking was cut short when Dan rested his head on his best friend's shoulder. Wordlessly, he shoved a crumpled note into Phil's open palm. Phil fumbled to read it, holding it up to the dim hallway light to form the shaky letters.
Phil...
... I love you too.