The cold snap of November held London in its grasp, flushing cheeks and making a hundred collars turn up against the wind. Dan pulled on Phil's hand, dragging him through the crowd, their smiles bright against the field of grey.

"Dan," Phil laughed, breathless from the cold. "Slow down! It won't kill us if we get there a few minutes late."

"I don't want them to give our table away," Dan stopped suddenly, pulling Phil closer and wrapping a hand round his waist. "Also, if we hurry, I have more time to do this," he smiled, and pressed their chapped lips together, heart fluttering in his chest. Phil rolled his eyes, but kissed him back- he tasted of something light and citrusy, a dash of summer in the cold.

Phil broke away, a smile still playing on his features. "I've changed my mind. It's cold and I like kissing you. Let's go to the stupid restaurant." He stood on tiptoes to kiss Dan on the cheek. "Before my fingers freeze off, please."

"Your wish, my command," Dan grinned, and started off down the street again, dragging Phil behind him.

"Aw, Dan this is fancy," Phil gasped, looking round the restaurant. "This is way too fancy. They're going to kick us out for being peasants and we'll be brutally executed for not showering in caviar." The building really was beautiful, all soaring arches and crystal glasses, the candlelight throwing everything in a soft, warm focus. "Seriously, though. You didn't have to do this."

Dan smiled warmly, kissing him quickly on the cheek. "Yeah, I did. Here, let me get your coat." He needed to do something with his hands, or he'd end up ripping apart the tablecloths, but he had to admit, the place was perfect. It screamed grand gestures and traditional values and the perfect textbook date, and it was nothing less than what Phil deserved, and what the tiny velvet box in breast pocket demanded.

Of course, that didn't mean this wasn't absolutely terrifying.

He sat down, wiping sweaty palms on his trousers as menus were set down in front of them. I can do this. It's Phil. I'm safe with Phil. Dan took a deep, shuddering breath, and dipped his toe into the small talk. "Ahem. So, er, nice place."

"You should know, you booked it," Phil said distractedly, looking down at the menu. A grin broke out over his features. "Look at all the cocktails! Is it socially acceptable for us to only order cocktails?"

Dan laughed. "I'm not- wait, is that a Batman cocktail?" It was. It tasted of cherries, apparently. "With this development I'm going to go with yes."

"But the food…"

"First world problems, the struggle is real." Dan's heart started to settle into a normal rhythm. This wasn't too bad. He could relax with Phil. No reason to act like this was their first date- if Phil was ever going to run away, he'd have done it by now. They ordered drinks (Phil went with red velvet, the sweetest one he could find), and Dan began to loosen up, just a little.

"Play guess the crime with me," Phil said, stirring the red liquid with a cocktail stick.

"You honestly never get tired of this game, do you?" Dan smiled, but started looking round the room. "Alright. The woman by the doors."

"Hmm," Phil considered for a second. "Shower cap thief."

Dan snorted, half his cocktail going up his nose. "What?" The woman looked about fifty, and distinctly unthreatening, although the large diamond on her left hand could perhaps do some damage in a fight. Dan felt a familiar pang of nerves- how had her husband proposed? Had he been a quivering wreck, like Dan was now?

"Shower cap thief. Definitely." Phil's voice dragged Dan back from his inner fretting. "She commits daring bank heists wearing a frilly pink shower cap, so when she's in a place like this, nobody recognises her."

"Oh, she's wearing the shower cap. I thought you meant she stole shower caps."

"Why would anyone want to steal shower caps, Dan, don't be silly," Phil nodded to Dan's right. "The guy in the white suit."

Dan glanced over, and quickly caught sight of him. "Kitten prostitution."

This time it was Phil's turn to choke on his drink. "Dan!"

"What?" he said, eyes widening innocently. "Look at him. I bet he steals them from catteries and forces them into a life of debauchery."

Phil clapped his hands over his ears, laughing. "Oh my god, don't explain it." He leaned forward in his chair, scrutinising Dan. "What are you guilty of, Dan?"

"Oh, I don't know," Dan rested his elbow on the table. "Dashing good looks? Devastating wit?"

"Stupid hair, massive ego…" Phil sipped the cocktail.

Dan reached out tentatively, taking Phil's hand. "Loving my boyfriend far too much?"

"Hmm," Phil wrinkled up his nose. "If that's a crime, I'm even guiltier than you." He leaned forward, pressing their lips together. Dan's heart began to pound.

This is it. This is the perfect time. Ask him now. Get the ring out. Ask him.

Dan pulled away, clearing his throat. "Er, Ph-Phil-" god, I'm stuttering like a teenager. "I… um, what I mean is, I love you a lot, and erm… we've been together a very long time, and that's good- obviously, obviously that's good, great in fact." Beads of sweat began to break out over his forehead, and Phil squeezed his hand.

"Dan? Dan, baby, what's wrong?" Credit to him, he seemed to have no idea what was going on.

Dan closed his eyes, breathing deeply. "Phil, would you-" The end of the sentence was cut off by the sound of a perfect C sharp. Dan turned, incredulous, and was met with the faces of six men. With string instruments. And moustaches.

"A song, for the two gentlemen!" The one with the violin said, striking another note. Oh no.

"Ah, that's very kind, but completely… unnecessary…" Dan's protests were lost in a sea of Souvenir de Florence. The viola player even produced a rose, laying it on the table in front of Phil, making Dan sigh and rest his head in his hands. The song seemed to carry on for an age, Dan's blush becoming more pronounced as it wore on, Phil finding his discomfort increasingly funny. By the time they left, it was pretty safe to say the moment had been lost.

Phil covered his mouth, trying to stifle his laughter. "Why did they all have moustaches?"

"Ugh, I don't know," Dan rubbed his eyes. "I honestly could not tell you."

"Anyway," Phil managed, as soon as his giggles subsided. "You wanted to ask me something?"

It didn't seem as special now, unsurprisingly. "Ah, it doesn't matter. It was just me having emotions." He waved his hand dismissively. "Let's eat."

The little velvet box started to burn a hole in his pocket.

By the time the waiters brought dessert, Dan had almost worked up the courage to ask again. Maybe everyone had a little slip-up on their first try. It was nothing to get worked up over. I'm in control here. Totally in control. Just because I'm going to burst out into anxious tears any second now, doesn't mean I haven't got this.

He took a deep breath, steadying himself. "Phil-"

"OH MY GOD! It's AmazingPhil! And Danisnotonfire!" There was a loud squeak before two girls ran over two the table, their family staring on with vague distaste. "OMG I can't believe it's you! LOL sorry we're so socially awkward," did she seriously just say LOL unironically? "I'm Emma and this is my sister Bea and we are, like, definitely your biggest danosaurs and phillions!"

Phil forced a smile. "That's great! It's always lovely to meet fans… unexpectedly."

"We love your videos like sooooo much!" If possible, Emma went up an octave. "We tried to order Delia Smith llama placenta pancakes and the waitress looked at us like we were mental! She doesn't understand that we just love Phan!" Dan sighed. The girl was slightly spoiled and loud but otherwise harmless- at least he hadn't been kissing Phil when she'd chosen her badly timed moment.

"So, do you guys want some pictures?" Emma and Bea nodded eagerly and the two men made happy faces for the camera, sending them on their way. Other people started staring at them, murmuring, and Phil rolled his eyes. "Wanna get out of here?"

"Is the sky blue?" Dan gave Phil a grateful look, quickly asking for the bill and throwing down some notes. They left the restaurant as fast as they could, waiting until they were out of sight until their hands found each other. For once, the sky was almost clear, and constellations glowed on a velvet sky. Dan sighed, leaning into Phil's shoulder.

"Hey, there, don't be sad," Phil kissed his cheek, smiling. "It's a nice night. Fancy going on an adventure?" Dan nodded, still depressed. He'd tried so hard to make everything perfect, just once, and he'd failed. If he couldn't do that, was he really going to be able to keep Phil happy?

They walked for a while in silence. Grey concrete bled into the occasional splash of green, the trees creating strange shadows underneath their feet. Unasked questions floated between them, making the air thick, unbreathable. Eventually Phil dropped Dan's hand, sitting on a steel bench by the side of the road and drawing his knees up to his chest. "Okay. What's wrong with you?"

Dan sat down beside him. "What do you mean?"

"Don't play games, Dan. We've- or at least, I've- had an incredible evening. It's been so nice to spend time with you like this, but ever since we sat down you've been nervous and distracted and trying to ask me something. So I'm not moving from this bench until you tell me what's up."

"I'm sorry," Dan sighed. "I don't know. I just wanted to make things perfect for- yeah."

"It was perfect, Dan. I'm with you, it was always going to be perfect," Phil reached out and took his hand, a smile curling his lips up at the edges. "Why have you been so worked up about this?"

Dan glanced round, mind racing. This was romantic, right. Sure, the clouds had gathered, and it wasn't how he'd intended, but this way it was spontaneous, picturesque- a Notting Hill moment, a heartfelt declaration of love amongst the trees. He closed his eyes and strengthened his resolve. "Phil, I… I wanted to ask you…" Rain started to fall, the first few drops unthreatening, before the sky opened with quick, fat splashes. Dan groaned, wiping instantly wet hair from his eyes. "Oh, you cannot be serious."

Phil laughed. "You're never going to get this out, are you?"

"Apparently not," Dan's face was set in anger. "First the band, then those girls, now this. All I wanted was to give you a perfect night, a perfect night for you, and then I could propose and you'd be so happy, and-"

Phil clapped a hand over his mouth. "Y-you were trying to propose? That's what you were trying to ask me?"

Dan smiled, face softening. Rain continued to streak down his face. "Of course I was. I'm surprised you didn't guess already." Phil shook his head, speechless. "Phil. When I'm with you… when I'm with you, the world changes. Music doesn't sound the same, colours look different, even the taste of water is better, because when I met you, the world became so, so precious to me. I honestly cannot imagine a future without you, and it would be the highest honour to try and make you half as happy as you've made me. I love you, Phil Lester. Of course I want to marry you."

A laugh bubbled out of Phil's chest, rainwater mixing with what looked like tears. He didn't speak, just desperately pressed his lips to Dan's. "Yes," he half-sobbed, smiling. "Yes. Yes Yes." With each word, he kissed Dan again.

Dan's eyes widened, realising what had happened. "Oh, my god. I just proposed. To you. And you said yes."

Phil wiped his eyes, still giggling. "Of course I said yes, you idiot. I love you too, in case you hadn't noticed."

"Oh my god," Dan whispered, and started to laugh too. "You said yes." He wrapped his arms round Phil and hugged him tightly, still in hysterics "Wait," he said, pulling away and reaching into his inside pocket. "I got you a ring, too, I forgot."

Phil took the little velvet box. "Aw, Dan, you didn't have to…"

"I know. Like I said, I wanted to make this perfect. Didn't quite turn out that way, though."

"We're engaged. Yeah, it did," Phil bit his lip, smiling.

Dan nodded. "Yeah, it did."

Phil opened the box, eyes widening at the shimmering opal inside. "Diamonds aren't really your style, so…" Dan tailed off, nervous. "If you don't like it, I can get something else."

"Shut up, Dan," he whispered. "This is magical. It's magical and beautiful and perfect and I love it and I love you." He slipped it onto his finger- it fit perfectly there- and kissed Dan, taking Dan's hand in his own. That fit perfectly there, too. "Thank you. This is perfect. You're perfect."

Dan grinned, pressing their foreheads together, feet entwined. "Not quite."

"Maybe not," Phil closed his eyes, but Dan looked up. The rain had stopped, and the clouds had parted enough to show stars. "Maybe not. But good enough for me."

Thank you for reading xxx you guys are so fab omg.

Idk how I feel about this fic, but your reviews mean the world to me, so please tell me what you thought, either here or on my tumblr (also called uhnonniemiss) ^_^