Merry Christmas! :D

Romance

Phil pushed through the door, trying and failing not to drop his keys and bash the shopping bags against the wall. He sighed irritably before yanking down his hood, shaking out his hair, and grabbing his keys back off the floor. He was about to call out to his boyfriend, when he became distracted by the small grey streak along the wall from the bags. "Great" he muttered under his breath "another thing to cover up before the inspection!". He stumbled through the corridor, trying not to cause more destruction, and dumped the bags in the living room doorway. "Dan!" he called out, realising he hadn't seen or heard him since he'd arrived. For a moment he wondered if he had planned some sort of surprise. He had told promised him that they were going to spend some 'quality time together' when he got back. The thought had kept him smiling throughout the hustle and bustle of Christmas time in London. The swearing business men, the shoving teenagers, the irritated retail workers. He grinned now, thinking about it and called out again, more loudly "Dan!". When there was no answer he made his way casually further into the living room, glancing around and trying to hide his excitement and suspicion. Then he spotted the quietly snoring Dan, his head buried into the arm of the sofa, his long legs sprawling. Phil quickly grabbed his phone, typed out a message and tossed his hood back over his head before venturing back out into the pouring rain.

There was a quiet knock of PJ's door, and he opened it to find a dripping Phil. He gave him a warm smile and Phil stepped in, kicking off his shoes and taking off his coat. Without another word he wandered into the living room and sat in the chair nearest the radiator, and began sub-consciously rubbing his hands together. PJ chuckled slightly before disappearing into the kitchen and re-appearing a few minutes later with a hot chocolate. He passed it to Phil, who glanced up at him, a distanced look on his face, and whispered "Thanks." PJ grinned again before dumping himself onto the other sofa, next to Chris, who was distractedly switching through TV channels. PJ elbowed him gently in the ribs and asked "Did you even notice that we had company?". Chris glanced over at Phil and laughed before saying "Hey Phil! You look soaked." Phil smiled slightly and replied "yes Chris, we are in London."

PJ shook his head as Chris laughed again. He could tell something was up, Phil just didn't seem like… Phil. He slipped his phone out of his pocket and glanced over the message Phil had sent him. There was not one mention of Dan. PJ glanced back over at Phil and asked "Dan not want to come over?". Phil looked at him for a minute, his blue eyes studying PJ's face carefully before shrugging his shoulders. "PJ, how the hell do you always not what's going on?" he asked, but before he could reply Chris nodded and said very seriously "our Peej is magic!". Phil laughed, but his voice died down again as he met PJ's interested stare. He shrugged, his fingers drumming out a slow rhythm on his rain soaked jeans, before saying "Me and Dan had plans for today, but he forgot or whatever, so I figured I'd come over here instead." PJ didn't reply, so Phil continued defensively "It's nothing! It happens all the time, you know what he's like!".

Dan's eyes fluttered open, and he sighed contentedly before he remembered. "Oh shit" he groaned, rolling off the sofa. Phil would be back soon, and Dan needed to get everything ready. He stood up, and was about to go to the kitchen when he noticed the bags that had been dumped unceremoniously in the doorway. "Shit" he muttered again. Phil must already be back from Christmas shopping. "Phil!" he called, but received no reply. A quickly look confirmed that he was gone. Dan ran his fingers through his hair, irritated with himself. He wandered back to the sofa and grabbed his phone, scanning through his contacts. He was probably with PJ. Dan hit call.

PJ's phone started to ring, and Chris glanced over at the glowing screen. He grabbed it before PJ could, and nodded quickly, standing up. "Excuse me, president calling" he said, before walking briskly out the room. He answered it, but before Dan could say anything he told him "Phil's here. He's not upset or anything, I can't tell what's up. Disappointed maybe? Anyway, you need to sort it out. You know you're not gonna find anyone who loves you more than him."

"I don't want to find anyone else" Dan replied quietly.

"Maybe you should let him know that every once in a while."

A week had passed, and Dan hated the awkward atmosphere that had come between him and Phil. He just didn't know what to do, Buying presents, flowers, taking him out for a meal, none of that seemed good enough. Then he came up with an idea. Soon PJ and Chris's phones were lighting up with the message 'I need your help'.

Phil un-locked the door, and when he walked in, was surprised to find a grinning Dan stood in front of him. Before he could take much more in however, his eyes were covered, and all he could hear was Dan's bubbly laugh. Despite himself, Phil grinned. "What's going on?" he asked, and Dan started to manoeuvre him, replying "trust me". Phil sighed, and let Dan lead him. He felt someone else slide past him, and heard Dan whisper a quiet "Thank you". The other voice replied "see you later." Was that PJ? After a few more seconds of awkward shuffling they finally stopped and Dan whispered "OK, you can open your eyes now."

Phil stared around the room in awe. The first thing that caught his eye was the towering Christmas tree. It was beautifully decorated, and Phil found himself breathless. "I thought we weren't having-" before he could finish Dan said quietly "I know how much you love Christmas trees." Phil grinned. Candles and fairly lights were illuminating the walls with a soft glow. He turned slightly, and stared at the packed table. Two starbucks cups, still steaming. Too much chocolate to count. Two large bowls of popcorn. Behind that, a box set containing all 7 season of Buffy, the first episode ready to play.

Phil laughed and spun around quickly, throwing himself into Dan's arms. They hugged tightly, and when they finally pulled away Dan asked "so it's ok? I wanted to-" Phil silenced him with a quick kiss, which Dan returned happily, before leading him over to the sofa which was draped with a thick blanket. They both burrowed underneath, emerging with Phil wrapped tightly under Dan's arm. He buried his head into Dan's chest, content.