"I have a surprise for you!" Dan declared suddenly, unable to keep the good news to himself any longer.
"What is it?" Phil asked, leaning closer so the webcam showed a close up of his face. Dan and Phil had been internet friends for a handful of years, but all of their contact had been through a computer screen. They were each other's best friend and longed to meet in person, but due to Dan's slightly overprotective parents, had never gotten the chance.
"I can come!" Dan practically screened, smiling so big his face hurt. The screen lagged just enough for Dan's heart to jump into his throat, Phil wanted to meet him, right? Then, Phil's face twisted into a smile so large it mirrored Dan's own. Dan felt all of his worries fade away, Phil's smile had that effect on him.
"When?" Phil asked, and Dan wished that he could hug his friend through the screen, because Phil looked so excited and Dan knew he looked exactly the same. Love-struck, a tiny voice whispered in his head. But no, he and Phil were just best friends. There was no way the older boy thought of him like that. Any other thoughts were stupid, he couldn't assume anything, or worse – set himself up for disappointment.
"I have a whole list of dates," Dan said, "so whenever works for you."
"As soon as you can," Phil declared, "I'll cancel anything else." Dan's heart pounded, and he felt himself blush, hoping Phil couldn't tell through the poor video quality.
So a date was decided and Dan would be off to Manchester the following month. Sometime later, after Phil moaned sadly about how he had to log off in a couple minutes, Dan did it. He said it. He hadn't even meant to, it just came out.
"I have to go," Phil said with a pout, "I'll call you in the morning.
"Okay, I love you," Dan said, offhand, then realized what had just happened. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. He wished he could take it back, play it off as a joke, anything to not have Phil feel awkward or reject him. The silence lingered in the air between the two, then Phil was grinning.
"Really?" He asked, "I love you, too." The silence that fell between the two was no longer awkward, but comfortable and familiar, because nothing had changed. Not really. That was just the way it was.
.
Dan was shaking with anticipation. He was on his way to meet Phil for the first time in person, he was excited and nervous and scared that Phil wouldn't like him as much as he did through the computer screen, where Dan came off calm and collected, not shy and antisocial. Dan knew these thoughts were stupid, because Phil loved him. He said as much every chance he got, but that didn't stop his heart from pounding or his legs from shaking. His mind was wandering, picturing Phil standing in front of him, close enough to touch. He imagined running his fingers through Phil's ebony fringe, gazing into Phil's blue eyes. Then he didn't need to imagine, because the train was pulling into the station and Dan was grabbing his luggage and being pushed out the door in a wave of people on their way to see their own loved ones.
Then, his name was being called, and Dan was looking around because Phil was here. Phil was actually here. And then the face Dan had been dreaming about for months was in front of him, Phil was smiling and Dan was smiling and every inch between then felt like miles. Dropping his bags onto the cold floor of the station, Dan launched himself into Phil's arms. They were so close that Dan could hear Phil's heart beating, and he was laughing and crying at the same time because this was his best friend. This was his best friend, who was real, and warm, and who smelled nice.
Everyone around them probably thought they were a couple, Dan realized, because of how close they were pressed against each other and how long they were hugging, but Dan didn't care.
Phil was here, Phil was real, and Phil loved him. That was just the way it was.
.
Phil never wanted Dan to leave. The visit was wonderful and exciting and full of promises spoken in the dead of night and would be over far too soon. Making the most of what little time they did have, Phil insisted on showing Dan all of Manchester and his favorite haunts. Every time he looked at the younger boy Phil had to force himself not to focus on Dan's lips. Lips that were begging to be kissed. Was it wrong that Phil was having an uncontrollable urge to make out with his best friend? Maybe, but Phil didn't really care.
"We should ride the Manchester Eye!" Dan exclaimed, pointing. His other hand was wrapped in Phil's, which was normal for platonic best friends, right?
Stepping into the car, Phil fought the urge to press his nose against the glass. This wasn't his first time on the ride, of course, but Dan's naive innocence was contagious, and the view never failed to amaze him.
The car jerked to a stop at the top of the ride, the city of Manchester spread out below them. It was perfect and romantic, but Phil was nervous because he didn't know if Dan would be okay with kissing.
Then Dan was saying his name and blue eyes were meeting brown. Phil was struck by the realization of what was happening mere seconds before it actually happened. Dan closed the distance between their faces, their lips, their bodies, and they were moving together in sync. It was better than anything Phil had ever dreamed about, and it was over far too soon.
Both breathless as the car descends toward the ground, Dan's smiling and Phil's wrapping Dan's hand in his. Fingers intertwined and comfortable silence. That was just the way it was.
.
Under the cover of darkness, when the silence of night was broken only by two pairs of steady breath, when one had left the guest bedroom in favor of sharing a mattress with the other, whispered promises ghosted the air.
"I never want to leave," Dan said, "I want to stay with you." The forever hung in the air between them, unspoken, but there all the same.
"Come to University, here," the other whispered, "then we can see each other all the time."
Dan smiled, his teeth gleaming in the darkness, "I'd like that."
.
Even though he and Phil talk and text and skype as often as they can, Dan knows that nothing can ever compare to the time they actually spent together. It didn't take much for Dan to convince his parents that he wanted to go to Manchester to study Law, in fact, they seem glad that Dan's life has a newfound purpose. While they know that Dan has a friend who lives in Manchester, they had no idea about the extent of Dan's relationship with Phil, or the fact that they owe his newfound happiness to a stranger on the internet.
.
A year later and Dan and Phil are in a familiar situation, Dan on a train with shaking legs and Phil waiting at the station. This time, a couple things were different. Dan was accompanied by his parents, who were helping him move his stuff to his dorm. Not that he had much to take. And Phil was surprising him at the station.
This time Dan's legs were shaking for a different reason.
Then the train is stopping and Dan and his parents are getting off. Luggage gripped in sweaty hands, Dan tried not to think about what it would be like at Uni, about having to make new friends, or struggle through more classes, instead he tried to think about how often he could see Phil, how he could hide out with his best friend, boyfriend?, whenever he wanted. Dan knew that he should probably tell his parents about the extent of his feelings for Phil, but he didn't even know where to start. To him, Phil was just Phil.
As Dan and his parents pushed their way out of the busy train station, Dan caught a glimpse of a familiar face. Because Phil was a stupid, sentimental idiot and Dan didn't even bother to hide his smile.
"What are you so happy about?" Dan's father asked, following his son's gaze. Then they were through and Dan could see Phil properly, and suddenly the only thing that mattered in the entire world was that he felt Phil's arms around him.
"Dan," Phil called, stepping toward the group, brown eyes meeting blue for a second time. If either of the boys noticed Dan's parents sharing confused glances, no one said anything.
If either of the boys noticed Dan had dropped his luggage, so much like the first time they met, no one said anything.
The distance between them suddenly became too much, and they closed it. Dan threw his arms around Phil, locking them in an embrace that was far too tight for 'just friends', but no one said anything about that, either.
Dan realized how much he had grown, then, as he pulled back and realized his eyes were almost exactly level with Phil's. His father clearing his throat was a welcome interruption because Dan had quite honestly forgotten they were they. Even if all Dan wanted to do was kiss Phil, he didn't want to do it in front of his parents. That might have been a little too much.
"Daniel," his mother asked, sounding uncomfortable, "who is this boy?"
An unspoken conversation passed between Dan and Phil. He had to tell his parents the truth, Dan decided.
Taking a deep breath, Dan reached down and intertwined his fingers with Phil's. "Mum, Dad, this is my boyfriend, Phil."
.
It didn't take Dan's parents long to adjust to the idea, once they were over the initial shock. Dan knew that once Phil wasn't around his mother would moan about no natural grandchildren and his father would pointedly avoid the topic, but for now everyone was okay.
"You called me your boyfriend," Phil whispered, as they lingered outside of some store that Dan's parents had gone into, their hands warm against each other's.
"Is that alright?" Dan fidgeted, nervously. Phil felt his face light up with a smile.
"It's perfect."
.
University was hard. University was hard, and Dan hated Law but he was stubborn. So stubborn he kept trying to fit himself into a mold, even though he knew he never would.
"I hate Law," Dan declared as he lay on the couch. Phil glanced up from his laptop, but said nothing, allowing the younger boy to open up on his own. "It's the worst thing in the world."
"So drop out," Phil said, "you don't have to do something you don't want to do."
"And then what?" Dan asked, full existential crisis mode enabled as he stared at the ceiling, "my parents will kill me."
"So, we'll tell them together, then you can focus on YouTube," Phil said, ever Dan's voice of reason.
"But where will I live?" Dan asked, "It's not like I have a job."
"You can live with me," Phil said simply, "you practically do, anyway."
And that was just the way it was.
.
It had been five years to the day since they met in person. It was the Teen Awards and discussing what to do for Phil is Not on Fire 6 and wearing a dress shirt with keys on it, while Phil's is covered in hearts. And they think their being subtle with their 'heart eyes' and jokes about fanfiction and Nick Jonas, but they're not and everyone knows it. It's their anniversary and they're just enjoying each other's company. Maybe later will be spent with a nice dinner and a bottle of wine, or maybe it will be spent with gaming controllers and a bowl of crisps, but the details don't matter.
All that matters is that they're together, they was it always was, and the way it would always be.